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Posts: 241
| I sometimes I have sucker or two left over that I would like to use the next day or I would like to get them a day early to avoid the early morning bait shop crowd.
How long can 3 small/medium or medium sized suckers survive in a 5 gallon pail. I have a good aerator set up so there is plenty of oxygen.
Do I have to feed them? If so, what ?
Backdraft |
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Posts: 538
Location: northern indiana | Do NOT feed them and keep the water as cool and dark as possible. Might also want to put a lid on the bucket. |
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Posts: 162
Location: Metro, MN | No need to feed them. Ive had several suckers in a bait bucket with aerator for over a week and they are just fine. Just change the water every other day |
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Posts: 16632
Location: The desert | Soft classical music helps too. |
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| If lid is used, may want a hole or 2 in it to help release gases like ammonia created by the bait in addition to water changes. |
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Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | How long would you estimate them to be? A 5 gallon bucket might be on the small size for storing them for long. If they are shorter than the diameter of the bottom of the bucket you might be okay.
Otherwise, cold water, or at least cool water and and aerator should keep them pretty well. I wouldn't feed them unless you are planning to keep them for many many weeks. Overnight like you said feeding isn't needed.
I like to keep my suckers in my boat's livewell, or an old cooler that's probably 2 feet or so long to give them plenty of room to lie flat. In the boat I use a battery operated aerator. At home I plug a higher volume aerator in. Can usually keep suckers till the next weekend without any issues, unless they've been used and tired out quite a bit already. |
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Posts: 1220
| Try this
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Posts: 42
| Was there once a post about some solution that can be purchased at exotic fish stores the toughens up suckers? |
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Posts: 8716
| I'd consider feeding them if you're going to keep them for long periods of time. Two caveats:
1. Fresh well fed suckers (we like the wild caught suckers) are indestructible, but the amount of excrement you have to deal with is unbelievable.
2. Whatever you use (I like Marty's system!) make sure it has a lid, and one that cannot be easily opened by critters. |
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Posts: 833
| Survival is obviously important, but so is the health of the minnow when it is actually presented to a Musky. Here is what works for me:
1.) COLD water. This is key. If the water is gets over 60, bad things happen
2.) Aerate the water, all the time. The only time my minnows are not aerated is when they are in the livewell on the water. Then they are getting constant infusions of fresh lake water.
3.) You can add fin saver treatments and even feed them pet store fish food. I like the fin saver, I find that most of the food goes down the drain when I change the water, but it makes me feel better, so I keep adding it.
4.) Change the water regularly. The Minnows are urinating and pooping in the water you are keeping them in. Eventually those waste products will contaminate the water and kill your minnows.
#4 is the most relative advice point. What is "regularly" for really depends on how big your storage is and how many minnows (and what size) are in it.
My goal is for all my minnows to hit the water and look like they just crushed a case of Red Bull. I want them spunky and motivated.
Edited by Brad P 10/16/2014 1:12 PM
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Posts: 241
| Thanks guys! Great advice.
I'm talking 24 hours max. Either purchased the day before or left over to use the next day.
Backdraft |
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Posts: 34
| They can jump out of their container, so make sure you have a secure cover on whatever you are keeping them in. Once I left about 4 of them in a cooler overnight, and in the morning two of them were laying dead on the garage floor because they jumped out in the night.
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Posts: 43
Location: United States | When you guys say to change water what are you using for your water source? |
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Posts: 8716
| I guess tap water would be better than not changing the water at all, but if you have chlorinated water, I'd be leary about using it unless you let it sit in a bucket for a day. I killed a lot of bait before I figured that out... |
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Posts: 211
Location: Wisconsin | Naming them is also very important as it makes them feel important. |
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Posts: 4269
Location: Ashland WI | dirtybird - 10/17/2014 12:37 PM
Naming them is also very important as it makes them feel important.
Examples???? |
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Posts: 8716
| dirtybird - 10/17/2014 12:37 PM
Naming them is also very important as it makes them feel important.
'Ya gotta be careful. Naming them after people you don't like/exes/etc. pretty much guarantees they won't be worth a #*#*. And if you name them after people you DO like, you feel kind of bad when they get murdered.
So now I've started naming them after dead rock stars. The good thing with that approach is that there are always new names.  |
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Posts: 211
Location: Wisconsin | 14ledo81 - 10/17/2014 1:23 PM
dirtybird - 10/17/2014 12:37 PM
Naming them is also very important as it makes them feel important.
Examples????[
I like to have a Dirty Harry and a Rambo out at all times. |
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Posts: 1198
Location: Walker, MN | Buliwyf - 10/16/2014 12:26 PM
Was there once a post about some solution that can be purchased at exotic fish stores the toughens up suckers?
I had a Striper guide tell me that a few drops of clove oil puts his gizzard shad in a coma of sorts, said that they live a lot longer. Anyone ever tried this? |
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Posts: 1134
Location: NorthCentral WI | I've been using an additive the past couple of years called Better-Bait. It's like Adderall for minnows. In combination with an aerator, look out. I think I found it at Fleet Farm.
Here is a link to the stuff...
http://www.sure-life.com/pro_BETTER_BAIT.html
Edited by MartinTD 10/17/2014 1:52 PM
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Posts: 70
Location: Winfield,IN | I had this problem this weekend and hers how it is solved. Go to Wally World get your self a small air pump for $5.97 a hose $0.97 and an air stone $0.97 and a bottle of stress coat $3.97. This will keep them alive for as long as you care to keep them. I keep them in my front live well on the boat that's 28 gallons and I have kept a dozen of them in there for three days. Only problem with the stress coat is it sort of sedates the suckers. So as soon as I get to the lake I open the drain valve and pump fresh water into the fish and it wakes them right up.
Another solution is to go get a small dog crate. The wire kind pull the plastic bottom tray out and take a peice of birch log or any wood that will float and tie it to a rope to the cage. Put the suckers in the cage at the end of the day and toss it in the shallows some where out of the way near a shore line or a place that is just not used for boating. The wood tied to the cage will act as an inconspicuous marker bouy that someone else wouldn't think twice about investigating. This option worked great for me before I had a boat with a live well and air pump. It was all things that I found for free laying in my dad's garage. |
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Posts: 1
| I would do couple things if you want to keep them long term:
1. Go to a petstore and get a bottle of Prime. It neutralizes all the ammonia that is produced due to fish poop. It also removes chlorine from tap water.
2. If you want to keep real long term, setup a 10 gallon tank and put a hang in back filter. Any poop these fish produced will be addressed by the filter
3. I have tried feeding these suckers variety of fish food but they never seemed to eat any. Guess if someone figures what food they eat, you can probably keep feeding these fish food and keep them in a fish tank for years if you really wanted. |
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| How does transporting bait to and especially from the lake come into play with AIS laws? Throwing off topic, but is it legal? Haven't used suckers since invasive laws came out. |
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Posts: 422
| I have had one for just over a week now. I have kept it in a cooler with an aerator and change the water every day. I have been changing with tap water because I haven't had any other choice. the last few days I have used the pet store water treatment when I changed the water to get rid of the added stuff from the town water, and for the last half week I have fed it left over goldfish flakes and it seems to be eating because all of it is gone in the morning. My goal is one more week but that will be pushing it. We'll see, but I have been adding ice to keep water cool. This will be as long as I will want to keep any but it will be nice to know if it works. I have kept them up to a week before, but two weeks will be pushing it. |
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Posts: 8716
| The way I understand it is that you can transport and use bait anywhere you'd like provided that it came from a licensed bait dealer. Once you've had it in the lake or in your livewell using water from that lake, however, transporting it elsewhere is illegal.
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Posts: 46
| 1. Appropriate sized container (no 12"+ suckers in a five gallon bucket). 2. Water change every day with Prime. 3. Cool water (if possible). |
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Posts: 470
| Try treating the water with amquell, it's an ammonia treatment for aquariums.... |
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Posts: 791
Location: WI | dirtybird - 10/17/2014 12:37 PM
Naming them is also very important as it makes them feel important.
I have to agree Jeremy. It gives them personality. I named most of my suckers last year Mexican cartel names. And we both know how that worked. Javier got taken out by a supertanker.
Start thinking of names for next week! |
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Posts: 335
Location: Minnesota | Transporting bait in Minnesota is legal as long as you aren't transporting lake water.
What the DNR has said is that you have to keep the fresh (well) water in a container in your vehicle and place the bait into the container after you are done fishing. For suckers it is pretty easy - lift them out of the livewell and place them in the container. Make sure you drain all of the water out of your boat and you are legal.
You can legally transport the bait after you are done fishing and there is no rules that I know of regarding where you can sue that bait again. |
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Posts: 32
| Tap water stored in old milk jugs mixed with lake water, hasn't killed any yet. |
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