Keeping minnows alive....

[dustink]

What is the best / easiest way to keep minnows alive? We're going to be picking some up on our way to Fushimi next month, and we'll need them to last about 4 days.

 

Any suggestions? We camp out on an island, so it's all pretty primitive...so I'm hoping the best solution will be as well.

 

Thanks!

Dustin

[lookinforwalleye]

Try a battery operated aerator that may do the trick.

[douG]

If you dump em in the lake when you arrive, they should stay fresh indefinitely. Just whistle to call them back to the dock.

[Whopper]

This time of year the ticket is to keep them cool and aerated. If storing in a minnow bucket in the water keep them in the shade all day.

 

Whopper

[dustink]

If you dump em in the lake when you arrive, they should stay fresh indefinitely. Just whistle to call them back to the dock.

 

 

Thanks, DouG! I was worried I'd have to spend a bunch of time training them!

 

Curious though....are we going to hear about this method in your report that's coming?

 

dk

[Wes Bender]

Most bait shops will fill you bag with O2 when you buy minnows. Trick here is to not open them until you absolutely need them. Keep the minnows cold as well. Then when you think you going to need them, toss the unopened bag into the lake for about 10 mins in order to bring the minnow up or down to lake temp slowly. This should help you tons.

 

I've tried those battery op aerators without success. Was on a 4 day trip in about 30 C weather. By day 4 I was using fuzzy minnow like critters. Kinda gross but the fish thought they were dinner so no biggie.

[John]

If you dump em in the lake when you arrive, they should stay fresh indefinitely. Just whistle to call them back to the dock.

 

 

 

I would think that if you take 2 or 3 minnow pails and split them up. Keep what you are not using in the minnow pails in the lake and what you are using refresh the water every hour or so you should be fine......

[dustink]

The one boat will have a livewell, so I'm thinking we should just be able to fill it when we get there....throw them in (using the method Wes said), and keep them in there for the duration, and scoop them to the other boat as needed.

 

I think we can charge a battery at the camp, and my buddy has two, so we can swap batteries to keep the livewell water moving a good portion of each day.

 

Don't really know...as I've always had great luck killing the minnows within a day or two....

 

dk

[addict]

use a minnow bucket with holes in it tie a rope to it and toss it in the drink simple.can buy one at crappy tire or save your time and money and skip the live bait and go artificial.i only use live bait under tip-ups for ice fishing,other than that i dont find it nessecary artificials almost always out perform live bait unless your fishing for pan-fish.

[Bly]

We managed to keep some minnows alive for a week by using a battery operated aerator, keeping them cool and changing the water daily. Good luck!!

 

 

bly

[seansmith_smith]

get your minnow bags filled with O2, and keep them in the crisper of the fridge if you have one....works well for me.

 

Smitty

[Fishnfiend]

Keep in mind that this is just my opinion...

 

Buy a couple dozen minnows and a minnow trap. As the others said, make sure that the bait shop fills the bags with O2. Also, buy a couple bags of Gulp artificial minnows.

 

On day 1 and/or 2 use your real minnows to locate the fish. Put your minnow trap in the water and try to catch some minnows out of the body of water that you are fishing. The shiny metal traps work better than the plastic ones. If it is ridiculously hot, you can keep your minnows in your trap, deep in the water where it's cool.

 

If/when you run out of live/real minnows, use the Gulp ones. Remember not to get any water on them until you are using them - this includes wet fingers reaching in the bag as they will start to break down. When done fishing for the day, take any of them off your hooks or they will be on there forever as they dry out and become rock hard.

[Moosebunk]

I had dace last 6 weeks in the fridge and they were still going strong when I used them. Put 3 dozen in one of the bags most baitshops use, they were packed on O2, and only 1 in 12 dozen went belly up.

 

Again, keep on O2 and keep cold. Otherwise, in a cooler with cold water and add some fresh water from the lake daily.

[dustink]

Thanks for all the help......much appreciated!

 

dk