keeping minnows alive

[riverboy]

OK after walleye fishing I usally take my walleye minnows home. I bring them inside and put them in a 5 gallon bucket with a air pump. My problem is they are dying off kind of fast. Is it the difference in water/air temp or the city water Im using or what? I try to keep them alive so I dont have to go across town to buy new ones the next day. anyone have any tips on keeping minnows alive at home? Is there a chemical to use or something? The water in the bait shop seems to be a real blueish color. What do they use?

Thanks!
Keep jigging!!!!

[mickey]

That blue water is magic. You can buy some de-chlorinator from a pet store to remove chlorine from tap water.
The real key is keeping them in your garage or outside. Slow down those metabolisms. Anyway, COLD is key.

Been weird for me too this year. Seems like my little minnies have been croaking but the bigger ones living. Usually when its this cold, no problems. I can keep em a week or more.

[Sib]

Not sure what kind of minnows you're using, but I'll guess "blues" since you're fishing the Saginaw area. What is a blue? Is it a shiner? If that's the case, I find very hard to keep shiners alive for any legnth of time. Flat heads and sucker, no problem, can keep them alive for a good long time. Shiners if they live beyond the trip home, will probably be dead by morning.

BTW, thanks for your reporting on the river, I'm coming from the GR area on Sat. and plan to fish the day. I'll sign up for the Shiver while I'm there.

[chad 1]

When I took mine in the house I always had alot die off. I put them in my garage with air pump And they lived alot longer. I think the change in water temp is a big factor.
As for city water I don't know because I have well water.

chad1

[Z202]

First thing I keyed on was when you said, "brought them inside...". Going from cold weather to even 65 degrees is not good for them. If you could keep them colder like around 40 degrees or so, it would be much better. My buddy has them outside in his garage with the bubbler. It helps the ice from freezing also.

Second, don't change all the water at once. If it gets cloudy, change a third of the water at a time, and let it cool down before you throw it in.

Sir Don

[riverboy]

ya I thought it might be to warm for them. I let the tap water get super cold. Maybe I should try throwing some ice cubes in there. Might work has to help anyways! Anyone else with any good idea's The way its been so cold at night Im afriad it would freeze solid if left outside.

[UNCLE AL]

I keep everything in the refrigerator in the garage. Minnows, night crawlers, wax worms, mousies. They seem to live quite awhile. The old lady doesn't like it, but she puts up with it. Keeps her away from the beer.

[Steve J]

It's definately the temp change that's hurting them and possibly the chemical makeup of your tap water. I just put my bubbler right in my minnow bucket when I get home and keep it in the garage. That way they stay in their same water temp and chemical makeup. I use a 2 gallon igloo cooler that's actually a drink dispenser to keep my minnows in. The lid screws on so there is no worry about spilling them and the insulation keeps the water from freezing.

[krt]

I agree with everything said. Keeping them real cool and no abrubt temp. changes. My friend even throws snow in the bucket while fishing. But one more thing you might want to consider is keeping them in a stryofoam bucket. I've heard that there is something about a foam bucket that helps them live longer.

[slammer00]

I have had my minnows since monday annd have just left the out in the garage with no air pump and not one has died. Had to throw out a couple today, but they were the ones weezer gave me and some were already dead. Probably throw a air pump on them soon.

[FREEPOP]

Bingo, snow is the key. It releases oxygen into the water. I seen a guy keep minnows alive for over a month that way with no aeriator (sp?). He left them out side, put snow in the bucket, took the ice out daily, and cleaned the dead ones out.

[garyrodbender]

I keep my minnows in a styrofoam bucket,in the garage.Also I change the water once a day,they live over a week.I dont have a bubbler,but pour the water from 2ft. so as to create bubbles.Blues,greys not so lucky with pin-heads! Anyone use a bubbler say to keep Smelt alive ?? Sure would like a live Smelt on my tipup in the morning.

[Crappieman]

Our city water will kill my minnows with in 1hr. of adding it to my bucket.:eek:

[Mullins Sports And More]

Speaking from experience and a pile of dead minnows I can tell you that minnows are very sensitive. Here are some of the things that I have learned along the way to keep them not only alive but thriving!
First and foremost....water temp can be a killer. Above 50degrees and they will start dying. Below freezing and they start dying! If you can keep them in an insulated bucket outside in the winter you will have much better luck with them.
Second....your water! Chlorine kills minnows fast! You can buy products to remove the chlorine but you have to treat it BEFORE you put minnows in it! An easy way to cure that issue is to take as much water as you need from your tap and leave it sit in open air 24 hours. The chlorine gas will escape and the problem is gone. The blue water in bait stores is a product called Better Bait, or similar. This product removes chlorine/ammonia from the water and helps rebuild the slime coat. You can find it here..http://www.wholesalebait.com./ but for the average guy its an unessesary expense.
Third....you should change 20% of your water daily with water that is the same temp! Keep your chlorine free water next to your bait bucket so they are in the same temp range. Be careful not to BEAT your minnows to death when you put it in the bucket! When the water is cold there metobolizm is much slower, and the amount of oxygen used is much less, so you should have very little concern about making sure they have air!
Forth...use a minnow net when taking them from the bucket. Minnows have a slime coat that can be easily damaged by handling! Be gentle...they will appreciate it and your trips to the bait store will decrease!
Fifth....when you go fishing with fresh minnows from the store, make sure you slowly add lake water to your bucket to lower the temp. This will help you immediatly by not shocking them when you drop them in the hole, and in the long run by slowing there metabolizm so they live longer!
And last but not least....get your dead minnows out of the bucket fast. When they die they release tons of ammonia. 1 dead minnow can kill 10 more!
Hope that helps!
Its good to see the other replies as well as many have good info! I still learn everyday so keep the info coming!
Keep your tip up and your bait wet! Good luck!! :D

[jpollman]

Here's a link to a post I made a little over a year ago. It explains how I've had good success with keeping minnows for a long period of time at home. Good luck.

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11805&highlight=minnows

[riverboy]

THANKS GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D :D :D :D

[fishfinder#74]

Hi riverboy,me and a buddy are havin the same problem with minnows,we change the water with whatever waters we are fishin seams to keep them swimming.also i read you we trying walleye at the bean,any tips i could use plan on going tonight.

[riverboy]

what tips are you looking for? Not much new! Lot of small fish Use #5 jigging raps and Jig head's with stinger hooks. Blue and silver and orange seem to be hot colors. Tip jigs with a big minnow, Tip the bottom treble hook of the raps with a small minnow. Jig, Jig, and Jig!!!!!! Good luck Ill be up along wicks drive with slammer and hoffie still looking for the bigger fish!!! Channel 8 if you have a 2 way radio!!!!

[Matt3ddsteel]

I have tried several methods and all seem to work. You can buy little blue oxygen tablets to throw in the water to keep them alive.. and also i bought this little clip on aerator thing to keep them alive and I have had minnows stay alive for a week or so. This is important since when you go to the bait shop you ask for a dozen and they give you about 3 dozen. It plays a big factor in how many times you run to the bait shop.

[Fishfoote]

Years ago my grandfather told me to put a few asprin (regular Bayer type) in the bucket. There's probably a scientific reason this works, but I don't know what it is...it just does. I've always had much better success keeping minnows alive in styrofoam - plastic seems to kill'em.

[COHO]

i have had the same minnows since monday jan. 6,in my living room with bubbler. not real convinced on temp change,i took them to kent lake this monday & zukey on wed. & thurs. but i do have well water . they came from blue water bait by the dnr launch, and for what i paid i want to keep them till they die. i do change the water every other day but i usually dump 90% of the water when i change it. just run the tap till it gets cold and let it rip. i do remove dead ones fast, maybe that is the key.

[Wishn I was fishn]

I always keep mine in the refridgerator, and have never a problem keeping the alive. I dont change the water unless it starts getting cloudy. Of course Im single and dont have to worry someone whining about fish in the fridge eithier. Thats might be one small advantidge.

[krt]

That advantage could turn into a disadvantage when it's time to go home & get warm.:D Just making a joke.

[Ruler]

I bought perch minnows twice this fall. I still have some in the basement. (I think they're shiners, but I'm not sure.) The ones I've got have been out on the ice about 5 times so far- 2 have died that I didn't stab with hooks. :)

I've got an old 10 gallon aquarium set up with a filter and airstone. I have my minnow bucket 3/4 full of water and leave it sit on the floor out of the way. When I need more water (because of evaporation) I dump it in and refill the bucket. This not only allows the chlorine to evaporate, but also equalizes the temperature.

If you use a 5 gallon bucket, what was in it before? Many times, chemicals are stored in buckets like this that will leech into the water over time and kill minnows.

I have my minnows in the basement to keep them cool, although it's far from cold. I have it in the middle of the basement, as the sun will warm the water enough to weaken them. (It'll also make algae grow a LOT faster.)

Something I overlooked for a long time is that they need something to eat. Every day, I feed mine generously. I stole some dried bread crumbs from the cupboard (used to make dressing). It's worked well so far- TetaMin fish food kills them quick. (Don't ask why fish food kills fish- I don't have a clue.)

[ifish4eyes]

I use some tropical fish food that brown and floats, about the size of a rat turd I would guess. ( not that I would know what size a rats turd would be ) LOL :D

[kbkrause]

Normally I just give my minnows away when I'm leaving the ice, but all this talk convinced me to try keeping them. I've stored them in a styrofoam minnow bucket in my garage. Taking tips from the post I dropped a few asprin in with the water and have been adding/replacing water everyday. We'll see how it goes. Not a minnow has died yet.

[Ice T]

I like the 2 bucket/airstone idea for keeping minnows in the garage. Does anyone think a battery airstone is all that benificial while on the ice? And if so should you run it all the time? Or could you get the same minnow preserving effect from running it intermittently and save battery life? Or does the cold water simply hold enough "O2" to keep the little swimmers happy for an afternoon?

[mcanes1]

Last year after returning from Sag. bay. I put my blue shiners in my aquarium with my other fish. They thrived in there. I put them in a gallon ziploc and set that inside the aquarium for 2 hours to get the water temp. change adjustment for them. They looked kind of cool in there so I left them in. That water temp was at 68 deg. The perch minnows didn't survive those temps. however.

My $.02

[ROBBY MEYERS]

that is some great advise guy's i am just now learning to use live bait and these tips sure help alot:)

[bigbob]

maybe thay will get big and then we can eat them?
:corkysm55

[ArrowFlinger]

Do you guys keep your minnows in the spring and summer too. Do you add ice to the buckets or keep them in a fridge?

[UNCLE AL]

I've always kept minnows, and worms in the fridge in the garage all year round, and they always keep for a long time. The ol' lady doesn't like it, but she like the fish that I bring home.