Bait tank

[korn_fish]

I am looking to improve my bait keeping capabilities on the river and also in my keep tank at my house. I have a couple ideas and wanted to get all your feed back first.

On the water I have two options that I use depending on the number and size of bait I carry. Option one is a 150 guart cooler with two super fish saver aerators and the other is a 60 quart with one of the aerators. Good thing is that the water stays cool, but I am not putting fresh water in it. If I want to put fresh water in it from the river, the temp rises considerably. I was thinking about putting some in-line carbon water filters on to the aerators to help keep the water in better shape without having to add water from the river. My thoughts are that this is what bait shops use. Any other ideas or know of special gear for this. I found some good possibilities already for the filter on-line. Any other recomendations????

For my off water bait keep, I have a 100 gallon stock tank that I treat the water with and have an in-line filter already. Looking for a refrigeration solution to keep the water at a specific temp. Any idease here?

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[Guest]

Ahhh you are a true catman!Bait tanks and all.
I can tell you what I will be running in my bait well this season.This is the top of the line aerator on the market today!Its the Aqua Innovations aerator.
http://fishingmn.com/oxygenator/
Rather than pumping air into the water it separates the oxygen from the from the hydrogen molecules in the water.The hydrogen escapes the water but the oxygen remains.It will produce 80% dissolved oxygen in you bait well.It will do this at any temperature too.A regular aerator can only produce something like 20% and the warmer the water gets the lower the dissolved oxygen.Thats why guys cool their bait wells,but that why they alway dam that the bait shop doesn't have lively bait.It isn't the bait, its the fact that they temp shocked the bait when they cast it in the water or they didn't keep the water oxygenated enough.Fish need 50% dissolved oxygen to thrive and those regular aereators can't get them that.
The Aqua Innovations aerator runs for a long time too.It will run for days on your battery,a lot less than the aerator pumps.Saves life for when you need to get home with the spot light.And the thing is quiet.I was always wondering if my aerator pump was keeping flatheads away with its constant whine.
If you keep your bait at a cooler temp than that of the river your bait can get temp shock when you cast him in the water.I have had this happen all too often and I always try to keep my bait at the same temp as the water I am fishing.
At home I never used a cooling system on my tank at home either, I just make sure the thing has plenty of oxygen and change the water often when it gets warm.
The higher the water temp the faster the amonia builds up.I think a good filter system is more important than a cooling system.A filter will host bacteria that will break down the ammonia.In my home tank I have a pond filter that is 16 inches long by 8 inches wide and 8 inches tall.I pump air into it and the air draws water through the filter.Oxygen also helps the bacteria break down the ammonia so keeping that tank well oxygenated is important.I run three air pumps and a spray pump to keep the oxygen up in my 120 gallon tank.I have kept 4 dozen big baits alive for a month in the heat of summer without cooling the tank.I think Aqua Innovations has one for bait tanks too or it is in the works.I am going to check into getting one of those too.

[This message has been edited by fishhead (edited 02-21-2003).]

[korn_fish]

thanks for the advice.

I would usually get to my spot that I would fish that night about an hour to 2 before sundown and would slowly mix river water into the tank to raise the temp up. Once the temp was up, I would usually place majority of the bait in 4 large flow trolls in the river with a few baits remaining in the tank. This way they were at river temp when I used them. However, that is one reason why I didn't move around at night, because of the flow trolls in the river, I didnt want to take the bait in and out all the time and stress them.

This Oxygenator sounds like a good thing. I had seem them before, but only the small AA battery operated ones. It almost sounds that I could even reduce the size of my on board bait tank with the use of one of these since the oxygen content is that much higher. The other disadvantage of my current on-board bait tank is that my battary would be just about dead if I had to run it all day and night. I was actually looking at getting an on-board charger that would charge my battery when my boat was running. But this new gadget you are telling me about, sounds like it wouldn't drain my battery anywhere as fast as my current set up. So the price difference between an on-board charger and the oxygenator sure makes the oxygenator stand out as a good possibility. Plus, since I will be buying new deep marines this spring, I could potentially get a smaller battery so I could also reduce the weight in the boat along with the less weight of a smaller bait tank with less water in it. Which means, more room for a cooler of beer

How big is your on-board tank and how many and what size baits do you normally keep in it with out any problems?

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[Guest]

I haven't had the opportunity to use the Aqua Innovations areator yet.I just got it.I talked to the guys who designed it though and they said that they did a test in Florida where they put 6 bass in a livewell,covered the the baot and left it in the sun in 90 degree heat for two days with the aerator going.They said they had a tough time catching the bass in the livewell when the test was done!
I have seen the bait bucket in use.A buddy of mine had 3 dozen fatheads,shiners and crappie minnows in it for over two weeks.To test it he left the bait bucket in the house where it was warm.He only lost a couple minnows.I was surprised that he didn;t loose the shiners.

[korn_fish]

Thanks fishead. I'll have to see what kind of deal I can get at Gander Mountain on one of these. (empoyee discount you know )

I guess we will both know better how they work in a few months.

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[DARK30]

I'm lucky enough to have my bait station located in the creek down in the back yard. I am thinking of setting up a tank in the shop because when it rains hard my bait station can and does disappear down the creek!

For bringing bait on the road, I have a 12 volt "Power Bubbles" I picked up at Fleet at a good price. I made a special minnow bucket out of two 3 1/2 gal pails that fit together...The inner one has holes in it and a 3/4" hole on top for the stone to fit in. It works slick but I can't put too many large baits in it...maybe a dozen and a half large chubs but thats plenty anyway.

I've never had a problem putting the minnows into the river water for awhile. There just as lively when I get home.

I know one thing for sure... I can't wait to use it again!!

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cast,cast,cast,cast......

[dragon master]

My transport tank has a submersible bilge pump for a small boat. Hose runs from pump to a PVC pipe with holes drilled in it, mounted about 4in above water line to create a power spray back into tank. I have two tanks one for the pickup one for the boat. The one in the boat is smaller and has an external pump. Pumps are run off 12 volt car batteries. When I get to where I want to fish, The bait is moved into a rubbermaid tub that has holes drilled in bottom and sides with boat bumpers tied along the top to keep the tub aloft. This then can be tied to the side of the boat, Or when shore fishing tied to a line and left to float.

Home tank is a 100gal stock tank run with a swimming pool pump. The intake line is covered with a foamrubber pad that has to be cleand almost on a daily basis. This year I am going to move the tank indoors to see if I can keep the temp down so I dont have to haul so much lake water, Hot temps mean big water changes

Pumps, foamruber, boat bumpers and rubber maid tubs all came from wal-mart. 100al tank, PVC pipe, rubber hose at local livstock dealer. Oh yeah --and a trout net. I use BIG bait

[Guest]

korn
Do you like Oreo's? And get upset when they are all gone?

[Guest]

The feedback I get from all over the fishing world is the oxygenator system is da-bomb for bait. I hope to find out for myself this season too.

I use the Frabill systems for buckets now, good bucket, poor configuration on components I am sorry to say. I may convert them with a oxigenator and see what that does. I think that would be a winner!

What I do for long term bait storage is keep a live crib bait holding pen in a shady spot on a local creek/river. It is handy and a constant flow keeps them lively, happy, and apparently feed well too.

You can fashion one by using PVC tubing and cribbing, whatever size mesh works for the bait you use. Be sure to set the crib up so it can easily float off the flow and rise and fall with the river. If you do not a sneaky floating log will eat it on you after a heavy rain.

Now if I get my all season frog habitat built, I'll be in good shape!

I still want a pet (Conraua goliath). , the buggers that get 5-10 pounds, or bigger. (I thought Fishhead was going to give me one for Christmas too.)

Yup, thats a little deer he is siting by.

The biggest kind of frog is the Goliath frog (Conraua goliath). They come from Cameroon in West Africa. Their bodies can reach the size of nearly a foot (30 cm) long.(remember: their legs are also AT LEAST that long!!!!) The Conraua Goliath weighs as much as a large housecat! The cane toad, that is really a bullfrog is a huge bugger too, just not as purdy is all.

The Cane Toad get about 10" long.

Thats a SUMO hopper!

Ed "Backwater Eddy" Carlson

[email protected]

[This message has been edited by Backwater Eddy (edited 02-23-2003).]

[Guest]

Now thats a BIG frog!If I dare to use a term I once heard, a "sumo" frog.I'll bring you two gifts at your B-Day party.
Hey Eddy whats up with your email?I keep getting failure notices when I reply.I am going to start fishing carp!

[korn_fish]

Fish head -

the oreos are my little tribute to the "Toad Man" himself. I make a little gesture for the "Toad Man" each time I go out. I eat half of an oreo and the other half is cat bait In hopes that Otis' spirit will bless the fishing trip.

The only time I get mad is if I forget to bring the oreos. All I need is one. Oh, and don't forget the bucket of chicken

Good chicken eh?

I think I have that movie memorized now!!!!

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[Guest]

Fishhead Make sure my email address is [email protected] that is a one (1) not an l. That gets a lot of folks that darn 1.

[Dirk W]

I converted an old freezer into a bait well for home use. It works great. The appliance store in town was happy to give it to me so they didnt have to pay to recycle it. Install a drain through a side and put a screen over it so your baits noses dont get stuck. I use a plug in areator that uses air stones (got it from Memphis Net & Twine). If you want to get fancy you could divide it so you can keep chubs on one side, bullheads on the other, etc. You can also round off the sides so your bait doesn't get their noses all smashed up. Change the H2O every few days and you can keep bait alive for at least a month. The system from aqua innovations sounds like its gonna work great.

[Guest]

korn
I know all about the oreos.I got a good chuckle when I thought about how many people scratched their head when they saw it. Cool site.
There is another tribute to Toad Smith here on FM.Our very own "Toad" took his username as a tribute to the great catman.

[korn_fish]

Fishead - I got a better tribute - My middle name is actually Otis

I only wish my mom would have let my dad name me Otis, but he had to settle with it being my middle name.

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[This message has been edited by korn_fish (edited 02-25-2003).]

[DARK30]

Hi Dirk W, Welcome to FM!

Good idea with the bait station! I wondered about that too but I thought it would leak...No leaks then? You catch any good ones down there around Hastings?

Otis Korn_Fish? Hey, thats kinda catchy! Sounds like a river rat for sure!

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cast,cast,cast,cast......

[Dirk W]

Thanks for the welcome. No leaks. The liner is one piece. The drain that comes with the freezer is too small so just seal it up with some marine sealer. Same with the drain I put in. I used a piece of threaded plastic pipe so I could just screw on a cap. Obviously, the bigger the drain the faster the water empties. It can take a while to drain.

As far as the cat'n near Hastings, I usually stick to pools three and four and the fishing is fantastic for both flats and channels. So good I dang near gave up walleye fishing during the summer months! Can't wait till spring!

[Sarge]

Yep, welcome Dirk W, its always good to have another catman on board!