Post by Gbru on Jan 18, 2019 13:36:32 GMT -5
Eels
Live eels are actually quite easy to keep alive. The surprising thing about eels is that they can live for days without being submerged in water. The main thing they need is to be damp and cool. The best place to keep eels is in a cooler tray placed inside an igloo type cooler. Spread them out so there is only a single layer of eels so they do not suffocate each other. Do not lay the tray directly on the ice for a long period of time or you will freeze them. Suspend them off the bottom or place a towel between the ice and the tray. You can also lay a wet paper towel over them.
In the fall, when the temperatures are cooler, you can simply put the eels in the bottom of a cooler or 5-gallon bucket with no ice, and sit them in the garage or in a cool place. Inside in an air conditioned room will work! You might lose one or two overnight, but most will stay alive.
If you put live eels in water you must have them in a working live well or aerated bucket. Without aeration the eels will quickly use up the oxygen and drown. This will happen with live crabs and live minnows as well. Better off with no water then with some water and no oxygen! Eels will live in fresh or salt water, but if you use fresh, you need to make sure there is no chorine in the water. Pet stores that sell goldfish generally have bottles of additives that take chlorine out of tap water.
If you don’t live on the water and want to set up a little aeration system in your garage or work area, it’s not that hard to do. Fill your biggest igloo cooler with water, buy an aquarium pump and a good aquarium stone and plug it in. You can’t keep loads of bait, but you can keep a few dozen eels or spot alive overnight.
Minnows
Treat live minnows exactly the same as live eels. They will live fine in a tray in the cooler. If you try to keep them overnight in a bucket with no aeration they will use up the oxygen and die. If you live on the water, the best thing to buy is a “flow troll” bucket. Most are either yellow or orange and have holes in the bottom and in the top. The bucket floats in the water and the water flows in and out, keeping them alive. Eels will also live in the flow troll bucket.
Spot
Live spot will not live well in a flow troll bucket overnight because they will beat themselves up in it. If you keep spot for a long period of time, it is best to keep them in something round so they won’t bruise their noses. Square holders just don’t seem to work as well.
Spot need lots of aeration, and unlike minnows and eels, they will not live out of water. If you go to the bait shop and buy a dozen live spot to go fishing you had best have a plan in action or the spot may be dead by the time you get to your fishing grounds. Carry a 5-gallon bucket set up with a battery operated aerator when picking up your spot at the bait shop. If you are fishing in a boat, put them in your live well and keep the water flowing. If you don’t have a live well, carry extra batteries and change the water when it gets dirty. (Spot poop a lot!)
Peanut Bunker
Peanut Bunker are great bait. Throw them in an aerated bucket immediately and go fishing! Don’t try to put more than three-dozen in a 5-gallon bucket or they won’t make it. They are so delicate, that it is almost impossible to keep them overnight. Cast net them before you go fishing, go fishing, and then release the rest. Bunker won’t live in fresh water, so be sure to use fresh salt water.
Finger Mullet
Live finger mullet are almost as good a bait as live spot. They will live fairly well in a large bait keeper but not as well as spot. That’s because they try to jump all the time and will beat themselves up. “Keep a lid on it!” is the only thing I can say about live finger mullet. They need lots of aeration and will jump right out of the live well or 5-gallon bucket if you don’t keep them covered. They won’t live overnight in a flow troll and they won’t live out of water. It’s best to catch and use them the same day!
Sand Fleas
Sand fleas, or mole crabs that you dig on the beach will live maybe two days. Wash them off in salt water and keep them in a Styrofoam container in the refrigerator. If you can fashion a wire mesh screen and elevate the crabs off the bottom by a couple of inches by placing a couple wooden dowels on the bottom you can get a few more days out of your sand fleas. They continuously urinate and need to drain themselves of it, or they will die. Washing them off in salt water every other day will get a little more life out of them. If you live on the water, in the spring and fall when the water is cooler, you can keep them alive overboard. Take a minnow trap, crush in the ends so the bait cannot escape, and tie a rope to the trap. Tie it to your dock, but do not let it sink all the way to the bottom. Extend it off the bottom a couple inches. (You can also keep minnows and eels alive this way.)
Green Crabs
Green crabs are very hardy and will keep alive in a cooler just like the minnows and eels with no water. Just keep them cool and damp. They will also live in the salt water in the minnow trap with the crushed ends. Do not put them in a bucket of water with no aeration or they will die and REALLY smell.
Bloodworms
If you want to keep bloodworms for 5 or 6 days, you have to keep them refrigerated in a cold refrigerator and turn them once or twice a day so they work themselves through the grass or dirt. If you place them in a zip lock freezer bag they will live longer than in the lightweight plastic bag they usually come in. Then, if you put that bag inside a brown paper bag they will live even longer. Don’t forget to turn them. How long they live often depends on how fresh the bloodworms were when you bought them.
Live eels are actually quite easy to keep alive. The surprising thing about eels is that they can live for days without being submerged in water. The main thing they need is to be damp and cool. The best place to keep eels is in a cooler tray placed inside an igloo type cooler. Spread them out so there is only a single layer of eels so they do not suffocate each other. Do not lay the tray directly on the ice for a long period of time or you will freeze them. Suspend them off the bottom or place a towel between the ice and the tray. You can also lay a wet paper towel over them.
In the fall, when the temperatures are cooler, you can simply put the eels in the bottom of a cooler or 5-gallon bucket with no ice, and sit them in the garage or in a cool place. Inside in an air conditioned room will work! You might lose one or two overnight, but most will stay alive.
If you put live eels in water you must have them in a working live well or aerated bucket. Without aeration the eels will quickly use up the oxygen and drown. This will happen with live crabs and live minnows as well. Better off with no water then with some water and no oxygen! Eels will live in fresh or salt water, but if you use fresh, you need to make sure there is no chorine in the water. Pet stores that sell goldfish generally have bottles of additives that take chlorine out of tap water.
If you don’t live on the water and want to set up a little aeration system in your garage or work area, it’s not that hard to do. Fill your biggest igloo cooler with water, buy an aquarium pump and a good aquarium stone and plug it in. You can’t keep loads of bait, but you can keep a few dozen eels or spot alive overnight.
Minnows
Treat live minnows exactly the same as live eels. They will live fine in a tray in the cooler. If you try to keep them overnight in a bucket with no aeration they will use up the oxygen and die. If you live on the water, the best thing to buy is a “flow troll” bucket. Most are either yellow or orange and have holes in the bottom and in the top. The bucket floats in the water and the water flows in and out, keeping them alive. Eels will also live in the flow troll bucket.
Spot
Live spot will not live well in a flow troll bucket overnight because they will beat themselves up in it. If you keep spot for a long period of time, it is best to keep them in something round so they won’t bruise their noses. Square holders just don’t seem to work as well.
Spot need lots of aeration, and unlike minnows and eels, they will not live out of water. If you go to the bait shop and buy a dozen live spot to go fishing you had best have a plan in action or the spot may be dead by the time you get to your fishing grounds. Carry a 5-gallon bucket set up with a battery operated aerator when picking up your spot at the bait shop. If you are fishing in a boat, put them in your live well and keep the water flowing. If you don’t have a live well, carry extra batteries and change the water when it gets dirty. (Spot poop a lot!)
Peanut Bunker
Peanut Bunker are great bait. Throw them in an aerated bucket immediately and go fishing! Don’t try to put more than three-dozen in a 5-gallon bucket or they won’t make it. They are so delicate, that it is almost impossible to keep them overnight. Cast net them before you go fishing, go fishing, and then release the rest. Bunker won’t live in fresh water, so be sure to use fresh salt water.
Finger Mullet
Live finger mullet are almost as good a bait as live spot. They will live fairly well in a large bait keeper but not as well as spot. That’s because they try to jump all the time and will beat themselves up. “Keep a lid on it!” is the only thing I can say about live finger mullet. They need lots of aeration and will jump right out of the live well or 5-gallon bucket if you don’t keep them covered. They won’t live overnight in a flow troll and they won’t live out of water. It’s best to catch and use them the same day!
Sand Fleas
Sand fleas, or mole crabs that you dig on the beach will live maybe two days. Wash them off in salt water and keep them in a Styrofoam container in the refrigerator. If you can fashion a wire mesh screen and elevate the crabs off the bottom by a couple of inches by placing a couple wooden dowels on the bottom you can get a few more days out of your sand fleas. They continuously urinate and need to drain themselves of it, or they will die. Washing them off in salt water every other day will get a little more life out of them. If you live on the water, in the spring and fall when the water is cooler, you can keep them alive overboard. Take a minnow trap, crush in the ends so the bait cannot escape, and tie a rope to the trap. Tie it to your dock, but do not let it sink all the way to the bottom. Extend it off the bottom a couple inches. (You can also keep minnows and eels alive this way.)
Green Crabs
Green crabs are very hardy and will keep alive in a cooler just like the minnows and eels with no water. Just keep them cool and damp. They will also live in the salt water in the minnow trap with the crushed ends. Do not put them in a bucket of water with no aeration or they will die and REALLY smell.
Bloodworms
If you want to keep bloodworms for 5 or 6 days, you have to keep them refrigerated in a cold refrigerator and turn them once or twice a day so they work themselves through the grass or dirt. If you place them in a zip lock freezer bag they will live longer than in the lightweight plastic bag they usually come in. Then, if you put that bag inside a brown paper bag they will live even longer. Don’t forget to turn them. How long they live often depends on how fresh the bloodworms were when you bought them.