istalvey
Trout
6000' in Afghanistan
Posts: 106
|
Post by istalvey on May 31, 2013 13:46:39 GMT -5
Hey fellas I've been wondering what you guys do about live bait. How/Where do you keep it and how do you keep it alive. I know the mud minnows are pretty hardy but the rest prove a real challenge especially with such limited space to do it in. What are my options as I look for a new kayak? I've seen some like the Malibu and Ocean Kayaks that boast a "bait well". Do those features work?
What do you guys prefer for love bait? Mid minnows, shrimp, mullet, pogy?
Lastly, catch or buy? I learned last year how to cast a net but can imagine it getting real interesting on a kayak, lol.
|
|
|
|
Post by reefdonkey on May 31, 2013 14:47:28 GMT -5
I just use a Frabil bait bucket tethered to the kayak. I keep it behind me and every so often give it a dunk in the water to freshen it. Mud minnows will stay alive through anything...shrimp on the other hand dont last very long (for me anyway) in a baitwell. I seem to do just as good with fresh dead shrimp though too.
If I have time, I'll throw the cast net the evening before I fish and then keep the bait alive in a 5 gallon bucket with a small fish tank aerator in it. But usually, I just end up buying bait due to the ease and relatively cheap cost (live shrimp go for $4.90/dozen by me here in Hilton Head, SC).
|
|
istalvey
Trout
6000' in Afghanistan
Posts: 106
|
Post by istalvey on May 31, 2013 15:49:48 GMT -5
That thought crossed my mind, reef donkey. I even considered just leaving it in the water once set up and fishing or slowly drifting. Is that a possibility or does it attract unwanted attention or??
|
|
|
|
Post by 3spots on May 31, 2013 20:41:10 GMT -5
The flow troll buckets are good as well as a 3 or 5 gallon bucket paired with an aerator.
Mud minnows will stay alive in a cup of water. Shrimp on the other hand have to stay a certain temperature to keep them happy and alive. When the heat turns up its hard to keep them alive no matter what you do. Some guys freeze a water bottle the night before and when the bait water gets too warm they put the bottle in for a while to cool it off.
I generally use artificial baits, makes life simple.
|
|
|
|
Post by bigredobsession on May 31, 2013 22:34:59 GMT -5
A pot of guys build aerators that reciurculate fresh water in and out the live well that they carry. Its easy but in some yaks you'll have a intake and overflow tube hanging over the site of the yak or in same kayaks they can go through the scupper holes. Those kind of aerators will keep anything alive as long as your battery is working.
|
|
|
|
Post by 3spots on Jun 1, 2013 16:19:00 GMT -5
A pot of guys build aerators that reciurculate fresh water in and out the live well that they carry. Its easy but in some yaks you'll have a intake and overflow tube hanging over the site of the yak or in same kayaks they can go through the scupper holes. Those kind of aerators will keep anything alive as long as your battery is working. Not true. Although its a great way to keep bait fresh and lively, when the water temps get high it doesn't matter how much surface water you aerate it will still be hot water and shrimp don't like hot water. |
|
|
|
Post by Redbeard on Jun 1, 2013 16:58:21 GMT -5
3spots pretty well said it, but you can keep shrimp most of the time. When the weather really heats up, you are better to stick with mud minnows and leave the shrimp alone. I am a bait chunker most of the time. I will mix arties and live bait to see which is producing on a given day. Surprisingly, I have seen plenty of times when artificials like a GULP shrimp or a D.O.A. under a popping cork would beat live bait hands down. Get a Frabil bucket and a couple of aereators. Use the large round Frabil airstone, not the small ones that usually come with the aerators. Usually you can buy them separately for a few bucks. They produce a lot more "microbubbles". The finer the bubbles, the more absorption of oxygen. Using two aerators keeps five dozen shrimp pretty lively for most of a day, providing you do a partial change the water a couple of times to get rid of the waste that accumulates in water with that much live bait. Be careful adding ice to your water in hot weather. You can accomplish cooling by using small quantities of ice in a small ziplock bag and changing it out occasionally. The problem with doing this is that although you keep the bait alive and livelier, if it is hot enough to cool the water in your bait bucket, the bait will not last when it hits the water on a hook due to temperature differences. We see this a lot when using herring for stripers in Lake Lanier. Another tip for keeping shrimp livlier is to place a piece of cheese cloth or similar netting in the bucket for the shrimp to hold on to. I read this one a couple of years ago in an article by Captain Judy Helmey, Miss Judy Charters. Works Pretty good. Good Luck, Redbeard  |
|
|
|
Post by bigredobsession on Jun 1, 2013 23:59:53 GMT -5
I still have to disagree with 3spots. I have never seen shrimp die in a recirculating aerator because of heat. Whats different in a kayak? I am new to kayaking but not new to chunking a cast net for bait shrimp. I have kept bait shrimp in a recirculating live well all day in the summer here. Now a bucket with air pumped into the water is a different story, shrimp will die within a few hours like that.
|
|
|
|
Post by bigredobsession on Jun 2, 2013 0:01:38 GMT -5
I guess this is something we'll ha e to agree to disagree on. Or maybe we're fishing in different climates lol.
|
|
istalvey
Trout
6000' in Afghanistan
Posts: 106
|
Post by istalvey on Jun 2, 2013 4:25:50 GMT -5
Thanks for all the feedback guys. I'm sure I'll put all of your methods to the test!
|
|
|
|
Post by troutman on Jun 2, 2013 8:01:26 GMT -5
Well I have the Hobie Livewell, and it recirculates water throughout...... The water inside still warms up, even tho it is recirculating. With this being said, Skrimps dislike, and therefore die. I have heard people keep them alive all day in wet newspaper and or Wet Saw dust but never tried it.
|
|
|
|
Post by bigredobsession on Jun 2, 2013 20:08:54 GMT -5
It may be different in a kayak. Like I said I'm new to kayaking. In my boat I had no problem keeping them alive. I bought the hobie live well but read too many horror stories about it so I returned before I even installed it. I'm going to make a live well out of a cooler. There is a guy on YouTube that has a sweet set up, I'm going to copy his build. His YouTube name is MOfisher I believe. He has a PA with a cooler he made into a live well. It recirculates through the scupper holes also. I may put the pump on the outside of the cooler to keep temps down on the inside of the cooler.
|
|
|
|
Post by battleyak on Feb 19, 2014 17:56:00 GMT -5
I am a live bait fisherman but not in salt. I will be soon though. I fish Lanier and Hartwell in north ga. I have done lots of reasearch and have ample experience with keeping bait here. I have a question about shrimp. Do they die because they can't tolerate warm water? Or is it because they require high O2 levels? Cold water holds much more O2 that why you have to ice your water here for bait in the summer. Would a O2 system solve the problem with dieing shrimp? Here with the O2 system no ice is needed because you can generate acceptable levels of oxygen. Plus it makes your bait act like its on meth.lol
|
|
|
|
Post by 3spots on Feb 19, 2014 21:56:38 GMT -5
I am a live bait fisherman but not in salt. I will be soon though. I fish Lanier and Hartwell in north ga. I have done lots of reasearch and have ample experience with keeping bait here. I have a question about shrimp. Do they die because they can't tolerate warm water? Or is it because they require high O2 levels? Cold water holds much more O2 that why you have to ice your water here for bait in the summer. Would a O2 system solve the problem with dieing shrimp? Here with the O2 system no ice is needed because you can generate acceptable levels of oxygen. Plus it makes your bait act like its on meth.lol If the warmer water has an affect on the O2 levels then that has to be the issue. Shrimp just don't do good in the warmer water, even with an aerator. With a freshwater aerator or insulated container they do better when you add ice bags or bottles. I've experience the Lake Lanier efforts on keeping those blue backs alive. |
|
|
|
Post by nubby on Feb 20, 2014 10:04:00 GMT -5
"To be or not to be, That is the question." I would guess we will need to do a test this summer. With warmmer weather coming we can start it soon.
|
|
|
|
Post by 3spots on Feb 20, 2014 22:06:37 GMT -5
"To be or not to be, That is the question." I would guess we will need to do a test this summer. With warmmer weather coming we can start it soon. What? Go ahead and do a test. Without a PHD or being a prawn I don't how we could decide whether the shrimp die from the actual water temps or lack of O2. I'll stick to my fake shrimp lures. |
|
|
|
Post by battleyak on Feb 20, 2014 23:51:21 GMT -5
"To be or not to be, That is the question." I would guess we will need to do a test this summer. With warmmer weather coming we can start it soon. I love this kind of test. I know nothing about keeping bait in salt but I'm willing to put in some time and effort to solve this mystery.  Either way we will be on the water fishing. You can't go wrong with that |
|
|
|
Post by Sharkattack on Feb 21, 2014 20:05:45 GMT -5
A majority of the salt water guys fish all artificial. Jigs soft plastics and a few others. I seem to be just as productive if not more productive with reds and trout this way. Live bait seems to catch more garbage fish like stingrays and whiting but you will catch a ton of little annoying sharks who like to destroy your tackle.
|
|
|
|
Post by battleyak on Feb 22, 2014 2:01:26 GMT -5
I hear you! It's going to be a big change for me. I have exclusively fished bait for the last 3 years. Besides vertical jigging and the occasional A rig, I have not slung a lure in a long time. I can say this, IM LOOKING FOWARD TO IT. I'm already changing my gear over to this type of fishing. I hope you guys can help me a long the way. Does anyone use plainer boards in some of the open water areas, of the back waters? Or is it too tight of spaces? HELP I'm a fish out of water! I'm all in. I'm moving in next Saturday afternoon. D Novak
|
|
|
|
Live bait
Feb 22, 2014 5:35:11 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Sharkattack on Feb 22, 2014 5:35:11 GMT -5
Planer boards around here wouldn't be effective on the inshore targeted species. We fish 5 to a few inches of water mostly. Just simply cast retrieve. Speed up or slow down retrieve as necessary and maybe put your own touch on it with letting it die and bouncing it a few times or however you feel is more effective. All retrieves are different in different waters
|
|
