do you think something like this would keep peanut bunker, mullet, spot alive for long? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AHXXPYI/...SIN=B00AHXXPYI
Senior Member
bait cooler
do you think something like this would keep peanut bunker, mullet, spot alive for long? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AHXXPYI/...SIN=B00AHXXPYI
OGB
bait stays better in round containers keeps them swimming and bruising there noses in corners and bleeding
Pay attention to what history has taught us or be prepared to relive it again
Senior Member
what does actually kill the PB so quickly? Is it the lack of aeration or lack of current?
OGB
aeration to move surface area is more important than depth of the tank. Toxins they secrete into water especially any blood which causes water to foam and block surface air absorption. The aeration bubbles do not add oxygen to water it's the stirring effect on the surface of the tank as they burst. The finer the bubbles the more absorption.
Pay attention to what history has taught us or be prepared to relive it again
Senior Member
Have to agree with what finchaser said. On the boat the livewell is rectangular but it is bigger and you have constant water exchange. The smaller the cooler the more the chances of stressing them out and getting ammonia, urea, blood and other toxins in the water. If you are lookiing for something portable I would go with round.
Senior Member
Originally Posted by robmedina
Rob although I would not recommend that for salt water bait it would be ok if you were using freshwater bait for something like catfish like this thread
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...ve-well-advice
Senior Member
Fin chaser gave amazing advice. I didn't know the foam that builds blocked oxygen absorption.
Peanuts are hard to keep alive. They won't stay alive in a square bucket for more than a few minutes as they get trapped in the corner and need to swim in order to breathe.
In a round 5gal I can keep about 1.5 dozen alive for a few hours WITH regular water changes.
If you have a pickup truck the small Brute trash cans are popular.
Senior Member
thanks Gents- not that I am really interested in buying or using one, I was just curious because it seemed like as soon as I put the PB in the bucket they died. I am getting a clearer picture now as to why. Thanks for the replies!
Administrator
^^ Rob, but there was a time when that's all the fishing I did....and yes, I was obsessed about it......I knew every hole and harbor where bunker or mullet would congregate, when they came in, the best times to net....and had all sorts of places to trap bait in the feeder creeks....
Even though I don't bother much with bait anymore except for eels, there are times when there is nothing like the real thing they are feeding on.
What I used to do is use the 5 gal bucket like John and others said.
I had a system....
1. I was obsessive about keeping that bait alive. I actually had 2 buckets, one to hold the bait, and one to change the water every 15 minutes. BTW my buckets were always round unless we were going to Canada and smuggled in shiners in a 120 Qt cooler.
2. Or, if fishing at one place for a whole night, I would net the bait, take a 5 gallon bucket with a lid, put a few dozen in there....and sink it to the bottom of a harbor or pier area with a brick in it. I did this same trick when we snuck in the reservoirs to spend the weekend fresh water fishing and I would have to keep 12 dozen shiiners or killies alive for that weekend. Bucket with lots of holes on the top half, holes in the cover, all drilled with large drill bit for maximum water flow and removal of toxins. That was my stash bucket.
3. Then, I would have a smaller minnow bucket that I would use for the day, where I put 3 dozen or less minnows in there, constantly circulating fresh water as we trolled it behind the canoe or small boat we snuck in to the reservoir. When I ran out I would go to the stash bucket and bring it up from the bottom, As I usually stored that bucket on the bottom in about 5-10 feet, there was hardly ever any mortality. Oxygen levels and lower temps at those levels helped keep my bait live and kicking.
4. When I transferred my addiction to the salt, I fished bait for many years.
I did the same thing for peanut/adult bunker and mullet, keeping a stash bucket at the end of the pier or bulkhead I was fishing (can't do this if the current is too strong), and with a brick in the bottom. I minimized the amount of bait that I would keep on the surface.
5. **As some of you have said, it's hard to keep more than a dozen or 2 baits alive when fishing from shore without changing the water frequently. The one thing I was big on was double or triple aerators. If someone else used one, I was using 2 or 3...that helped,. but the toxin buildup is your most important factor.....you still have to change the water frequently.
6. Therefore, I was happiest with my little minnow bucket as part of this system, that I used as an auxiliary for a dozen or so at a time... I felt that by floating it in the water, it was a lot less labor intensive.....
7. Then. when I saw that sometimes the biggest fish concentrate around bridges, I gravitated to the 5 gal bucket, 2 bucket system (still using a spare bucket with long rope to change water frequently) with all the aerators, as there aren't many bridge areas where you can sink large 5 gallon buckets into the deep,. without the current taking them away.
8. I also noticed that mullet were hardier than peanut bunker. A good rule of thumb was I could keep almost twice as many mullet alive in the same amount of water, provided I changed the water every 15 minutes.
You or others may want to experiment with part of the above, or some variation. It is probably a little over the top, but when I was fishing bait it was important to keep as many of them alive, either at my house or on the water. I spent years learning about optimal water temperatures, oxygenation, and various bacteria that can kill bait in tanks.
Administrator
I know when Fin reads this he's gonna bust my balls as a bait obsessed goog....
But it's what I did for many years...I became pretty efficient at it.....and caught a lot of fish this way...
Eventually, I realized all the effort I was putting into it (had one section of my garage devoted just to bait traps and live bait fishing apparatus....I had large round containers for herring, smaller ones for minnows and shiners, live bait tanks in my basement, eel tank, etc....)
As my confidence using artificials grew I eventually left most of bait fishing behind, with the exception of eels...
I find it much more challenging to try to match what they are eating, instead of just hand feeding it to them.........but that's just my preference at this time....
I hope some of this is helpful to you or others reading it....
The wealth of info Fin offers here boggles my mind.Even though he doesn't like to admit it....he used bait for many years as well...and back in the day....bait fishing was the only way to catch fish at the Long Branch fishing pier...where he and his buddies hung out...their 2nd home.....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?5550-Long-Branch-back-in-time
There have been some members here who have given good advice as well.... thanks, as always....
Senior Member
Famous last words you had a system. I think you had bait stashed in 2 counties at one time back in the 90s.^^ Rob, but there was a time when that's all the fishing I did....and yes, I was obsessed about it......I knew every hole and harbor where bunker or mullet would congregate, when they came in, the best times to net....and had all sorts of places to trap bait in the feeder creeks....
I had a system....
1. I was obsessive about keeping that bait alive. I actually had 2 buckets, one to hold the bait, and one to change the water every 15 minutes. .
Remember getting big bunker in the river and bringing them to the jetties to liveline? I think you had at least 3 buckets back then because they needed so much water.
OGB
I used live bait at one time had 5) 30 gallon tanks in my truck to transport herring to my pen. Also spent many a night snagging bunker to live line at first light. Not many tricks we didn't know about catching and keeping live bait. My friend Eddie had oxygen tanks in his truck to saturate the tank water with oxygen so he could transport 2 bunker or herring to the gallon instead of one still the general rule.. A bait boat still sits in his drive way which we used in the 70's. But you yes will always be a googan and last but not least you fished so much bait you still stink from it
Pay attention to what history has taught us or be prepared to relive it again
Senior Member
^^^^ That brings back memories finchaser going down to the river with the herring tanks in the back of the truck. Fishing was so easy with those herring it was like taking candy from a baby. Boy how times have changed.
OGB
So true
Pay attention to what history has taught us or be prepared to relive it again
Senior Member
haha lol dark he knows u!!!!!!!!!!!!. But you yes will always be a googan and last but not least you fished so much bait you still stink from it
Administrator
But you yes will always be a googan and last but not least you fished so much bait you still stink from it
The stories of fin getting herring in the Spring, transporting them, keeping them in a mini swimming pool in his backyard, getting his girlfriend to help move them one weekend (I think a big storm was coming, you will have to ask him for the details)....fishing the herring from the jetties or sitting in the back of the truck with the herring tub on it, while fishing the Sea Bright wall, or Monmouth beach......
There are dozens of stories, and practical jokes he and his friends played on each other.....I consider myself lucky to have heard but a few of them,,,,,,the rest would fill a book....good times from the old farts......
If any of you mooks are lucky enough to run into him sometime while fishing, ask him about the Spring herring runs and the large they used to catch when they were around.....
Senior Member
Lmao!
I hope to see the herring make a serious comeback.
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