Keeping Shiners Overnight

[Down to Earth]

I'm just starting out ice fishing so not quite sure on minnow life as I don't usually buy many. Anyways if I buy a few shiners the night before an ice fishing outting will they still be alive the next day or will I just walk out into the garage to a pail of dead shiners? Unfortunately I don't have any type of aerato system. I'm not sure if bait stores will be open early enough on my fishing day to buy them the day of. Thanks.

Andy

[bigbucks]

If you get them in an oxygen bag from the bait shop (might cost you an extra quarter, probably free) & keep them cool they'll be fine. I have shiners in a minnow bucket in the fridge in my garage & as long as I keep the water fresh they do pretty well. Just don't put too many minnows in one bucket. Try to keep only a dozen shiners or so in one bucket & you should do alright. It really should be styrofoam lined. I've had terrible luck keeping them alive in a flow troll even in the fridge.

[metrojoe]

Hey Down to Earth, how ya been?

Unfortunately shiners are the most difficult bait to keep alive, sometimes they don't even make it from the bait shop to the lake

I picked up a small aerator and a small aerator stone, plus some water conditioner(makes your tap water fish friendly). I believe you can pick all this stuff up for about 20 bucks. Well worth every penny considering how much bait costs.

I keep a 5 gallon pail in the basement and I change the water every few days or I bring fresh lake water home when I go fishing.

It's worked really well for me I've still got shiners that I bought last Friday for the Minnetonka event. I also have some crappie and fatheads I bought over two weeks ago.

I hope to make it down for the “Backwater Brawl”

[Northlander]

Cold water and oxygen. I use one of the Frabil whisper quiet deals and that big blue stone really disperses a lot of oxygen to them. Change water at least every 2 days and use good clean lake water if ya can. Also pick out the dead ones whenever any do die.

[JEV]

I just changed the water on my shiners last night. I keep them in my insulated minnow bucket in my pump house. They had been in there since Saturday. Wasn't a dead one in there....

[HUSKIN FORA MUSK]

D t E

I have kept a school of 2 doz. shiners alive since Jan. 1 in the garage. I change the water every 3rd night.

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[dirtking]

I have had good luck with lake water and a 5 - Gal. bucket. Keep in the coolest spot you have - change water regularly

[TRZ]

I used to use a product called bait saver, it was blue pellets and it did wonders. if you kept them cool in the basement they would last weeks on end. i think the company went belly-up, anyone know if the product is still around?

[pathogen]

The secret is cool water and oxygen. Cold water has a higher capacity to hold oxygen than warm water. And there needs to be a means to distribute that oxygen throughout the water. Contrary to popular belief, a bubbler does not impart much oxygen into the water through the bubbles themselves, the oxygen dissolves directly from surface contact and a bubbler keeps the water moving. Tall narrow containers are not good, wide shallow containers are better (larger surface area for oxygen to dissolve into the water). Get yourself the widest styrofoam container you have room for. Put just enough water in it so the backs of the minnows are covered when they are in it. The movement of the minnows themselves allows the dissolved oxygen to distribute throughout the water, you don't need a bubbler. Put it in a cool place and keep it as dark as you can. Change the water when it starts to look dirty. Lake or well water is best. If you use city water, run hot water into a bucket and let it cool overnight. Hot water drives out the clorine faster than cold water and clorine has a bad effect on minnows. It might look strange to see your minnows swimming about with a bit of their backs exposed but I have excellent results keeping all kinds of minnows and seldom lose any at all with this technique. I just transfer them to my minnow bucket and fresh water when I go fishing.