Preserving minnows

[Riverfishin]

What is the best way to preserve minnows.

[waskawood]

I use formaldehyde. I use to take the nice ones to a taxadermist but it got to spendy.

[mechanictim]

You can also just freeze them in ice and chop out how ever many you need for a trip. Of course a trophy minnow should be Caught Pphoto and Released and a replica purchased from any good tackle outlet.

If you are looking to keep minnows alive for the next trip, the most important thing is not to overcrowd your container. Keeping them cool (refrigerator) will extend their lives considerably. Another option is an aereator like those used in an aquarium. You can also keep changing the water using tap water that has been sitting till the temp matches your bait container and the chlorine has evaporated, about four or five hours per gallon.

[wormdunkr]

I've been using a bait keeper from Aqua Innovations for the past couple weeks and can't say enough about it. I received the item for Xmas and just started using it. I've been keeping 2 doz minnows alive for 10 days now with one change of water. I turn the unit on for a half hour in the morning and a half hour in the evening. Very simple and very effective. Product is available online at Cabelas.

[Slyster]

I bulit a 3 foot deep pond in my backyard. Complete with water pump and nice sounding waterfall. Not JUST for minnows.. mainly for Koy and Goldfish and just nice landscaping. It was very easy to make.. and maybe cost around $200 for the pond fabric and filter/pump. BUT... I toss in a couple yellow minnow buckets in there.. each loaded with minnows and can keep them alive all summer. I only buy bait one time.. at this time of year.. I toss in a tablespoon or so of fish food flakes into the minnow buckets ever week or so.. the tiny holes tend to keep it in there long enough for the minnows to go nuts.

The pond is in complete shade... but even if full sun.. a larger pond won't get that warm.. but maybe in full sun they wouldn't last as long?

I have a third minnow bucket that I use for fishing.. I take out a few dozen from the others when needed... although I don't use minnows very much after opener.. but once in a while.

[Riverfishin]

Thanks for the replies, I'm going up to canada and going to bring up some sucker minnows and it sounds like freezing them would be the best option, Is there a way you could preserve them with salt.

[CrappieJohn]

Salting them is another option.

[Northland Sportsman]

You might want to check the rules for bringing minnows into Canada. I don't think they will let you do it, but maybe dead ones. They made a friend of mine carry a bag of minnows back across the bridge before letting us proceed into Canada a few years back.

[Norsky]

No live minnows into Cananda! They'll nail ya for that one. We always take fatheads preserved in salt, just buy a couple of the big salt containers (non-iodized) from any grocery store and just mix up the salt with the minnows. I usually use a coffee can, seems to work the best. I then just keep it in the freezer until the day we leave, then by the time you drive up there and start fishing the next day or so, they have thawed out and you just take out what you need. The salted minnows plus plastic on a jig works great up in most remote canadian lakes for walleyes. Very easy, and cheap. Get your minnows now before all the bait shops start selling all the fatheads that have the big black head with bumps on them (those don't seem to work as well).

[CrappieJohn]

For every two pounds of salt add about 1/2 cup of Borax...the stuff used for laundry issues. This will harden or toughen the minnows and they will stay on the hook better and last longer.