Minnows are not a endless supply!

[leech~~]

Has anyone else started to think about a minnow shortage sometime down the road if we have to dump our buckets & live-wells every time? I use to be able to save a bucket of minnows for a few weeks which accounted for a few fishing outings. Now if we have to dump them each time we are going to at some point burn up a good supply of them. Just like any fish there are only so many to net. .

[harvey lee]

I never dump my bait. I have a small cooler for minnows and a larger one for flathead bait I keep in the box of my truck.

My bait goes to the lake or river in the cooler and then I take it out of the livewell when I am done and put it back into the cooler in my truck with water from home.

Boat goes home with empty livewell and I have all my bait left with water that is good.

This way, I never waste any bait.

Do we have to dump out leftover bait? I guess that is new to me.

[CAMAN]

Only bring enough for you to use in an outing. Never understood why people bring scoops and scoops of minnows with them each time out.

[harvey lee]

I agree on this caman but when one stops at the baitshop on the way fishing, you do get many minnows.

When I go flathead fishing and we have 2-3 people in the boat, I like to have 2 dozen bullheads or suckers along. If the bite is slow, I do not want to throw my bait as suckers are spendy and I go through alot of work catching my bullheads.

[leech~~]

Only bring enough for you to use in an outing. Never understood why people bring scoops and scoops of minnows with them each time out.

CAMAN that is a good point and many times I have told the bait guy not to put a full scoop in and still pay him for it. I don't like wasting more then I can use and still understand they need to make some income.

[amateurfishing]

10 yards from the last 2 holes i drilled yesterday, someone dumped bout 5 sucker minnows & 2 dozen shiners right on ice...it disgusted me a little, i figured at least dump em down a hole for i fish feast somewhere, no birds were coming in for em.

[harvey lee]

They can dump those in my bait bucket and I will deal with the leftover. Waste of spendy bait.

[leech~~]

I don't think that you are suppost to dump them back into other lakes and the birds will eat them during the week when more people aren't out there!

[KrabbyPatties]

Sometimes I fish lakes where I actally pass the same bait shop on the way back from fishing. In a few cases, I've stopped back in and said, "I bought these minnows a few hours ago, only used a dozen of them, and I'm not going to be using minnows again soon enough to bother keeping them. Would you like the leftovers back?"

In all cases, the person at the bait shop has taken a look at them and saw they were lively and scooped them right back in the tank. So, it's possible some of you have fished with my recycled minnows.

[remington 300]

i believe its illegal to dump bait down the hole or otherwise into a lake or river,not a recomended way to dispose of unwanted bait,the dnr says to dump it in the trash,

just sayin,

mike.

[Northlander]

Bait shops shouldnt be taking back minnows and putting them back in their tanks. They dont know if you put lake water in them or not and that water they are in could be ful of Exotics. Do not do this.

Either keep extra water to use or just wait til you get home and switch out the water with good clean stuff. I use a 1 gallon igloo water cooler with a twist on top. I can keep minnows in it in the basement for a few days before I have to change water. I keep my minnows for weeks some times. Ya I have a few die but its not like I run to the bait shop every time I go fishing.

[KrabbyPatties]

Hmmm. Thanks for the reply. Have I done something illegal by returning the minnows if I know that I haven't put any lake water in them? For that matter, the bait shop doesn't know if my water is "clean", but they also don't know if the water coming in on their shipments is clean, right? (Forgive the stupid question, I've never run a bait shop.)

Otherwise, I hate trying to keep minnows at home. I lose lots of them, even when I follow all of the standard advice. I don't have a fridge I can dedicate though my basement floor is cold. I always use an aerator and change the water daily, but I still end up with tons of dead ones that are a pain to deal with. That's why my preference was to just return them and let someone else get some use from them. I've often walked up to other guys who were fishing and just gave them the rest of my bait too.

[Ringtailhunter]

Sounds like a good opportunity to me. Corner the minnow market, rule the world!

[BigDogRob]

Forgive me if wrong, but don't we have to change the water at the landing and not at home to be legal? That is how I read it. No transporting the water from the lake to another spot? If not then I have been carrying water jugs for no reason than to make myself look good to the CO's. lol

[NKLCOLT1911]

i have a bait tank in my garage for my bullys thats the water they make the trip to the river in and the trip home even when i catch new ones i put them in fresh water before going into the big tank.

[Brad B]

doesnt' this water change rule apply only to lakes that are on the infested list or did they make it all lakes now and not just the infested laked.

[BRULEDRIFTER]

Minnows will more than likely be outlawed in the coming years so I wouldn't worry about there being a shortage.

Pretty sure no matter what, minnows can only be used as a one time deal, legally. There's no way to prove to a CO that the water they are in is not from a lake. Sure, a lot of lakes are murky, dirty, etc, but there are plenty that are gin clear.

Sucks that we have to pay for crimes committed by our Govt!

[amateurfishing]

Hmmm. Thanks for the reply. Have I done something illegal by returning the minnows if I know that I haven't put any lake water in them? For that matter, the bait shop doesn't know if my water is "clean", but they also don't know if the water coming in on their shipments is clean, right? (Forgive the stupid question, I've never run a bait shop.)

Otherwise, I hate trying to keep minnows at home. I lose lots of them, even when I follow all of the standard advice. I don't have a fridge I can dedicate though my basement floor is cold. I always use an aerator and change the water daily, but I still end up with tons of dead ones that are a pain to deal with. That's why my preference was to just return them and let someone else get some use from them. I've often walked up to other guys who were fishing and just gave them the rest of my bait too.

i had same problem last year, bought entire aerator setup to keep going in garage for leftover minnows, major PITA &$20 spent on $2minnows only to lose em all within days. this year has been unreal, still on same minnow bag in styrofoam bucket in garage fridge (as cold as i can keep it without freezing) & change water every 3-4 days (tap water sitting for 24 hours first), have only lost 2 minnows in 2 weeks so far!!

[amateurfishing]

mmmmmm.......cannot discard unused live bait in water??? will have to check regs, that does not make any sense to me? cant feed fish for free, will look into it, thx.

[simple1]

I just keep my minnows by changing their water every few days and using fish tank purification drops. It takes less than 1 drop for an entire bucket. The minnows last forever.

Simple1

[leech~~]

mmmmmm.......cannot discard unused live bait in water??? will have to check regs, that does not make any sense to me? cant feed fish for free, will look into it, thx.

I believe it is because they don't want minnows infested with some kind of disease to give it to other minnows in another lake spreading it around.

[KrabbyPatties]

A garage fridge isn't a whole lot cheaper than an aerator...

[Brad B]

Minnows will more than likely be outlawed in the coming years so I wouldn't worry about there being a shortage.

Pretty sure no matter what, minnows can only be used as a one time deal, legally. There's no way to prove to a CO that the water they are in is not from a lake. Sure, a lot of lakes are murky, dirty, etc, but there are plenty that are gin clear.

Sucks that we have to pay for crimes committed by our Govt!

I don't see them becoming outlawed as this would have a major economic impact on bait dealers that trap minnows for a living.

[amateurfishing]

A garage fridge isn't a whole lot cheaper than an aerator...

cheaper enuff (free) from another online site and already had it!!!!......& its not killing my minnows!!

[bigpiker]

When using my perm I keep my minnows down a hole. I took a 2' lenght of 4" pvc pipe and drilled small holes in it. Glued a cap on one end. Drilled holes on each side of other cap though pipe. Ran a piece of cord though holes and knoted the ends inside of pipe. When hanging the cap is held in place. A lenght of chain is a good idea if the hole does freeze. At any rate it works for me.