Any pointers on keeping herring alive? Haven’t had much luck with it lately…
How about some specifice. What kind of bait tank do you have? What size is it? How many are you putting in it? Do they die on the hook? Hook them through the nose. in one sid and out the other. Wet your hand before you grab them. Get them in the water as fast as possible. They will do best at certain depths depending on oxygen and temp. Right now they are living good closer to the serface, not deep like in the summer. I use a cooler with a keep alive pump and I can keep three dozen alive all day. You do not have to ice the water now that it is cooling off.
What are you keeping them in?
Growing old is MANDATORY, Growing up is OPTIONAL!
do a search on “bait tanks” in “striper forum”. A wealth of knowledge shared there in just a couple of pages.
steely, a round cooler or rectangular? I tried the keep alive in my 40 gallon rounded corners live well and still ended up with a lot of red nosed baits. They were alive but not in great condition. Just curious how you are doing it.
i do believe the red nose is caused by lack of oxygen. I keep mine in a large cooler with 3 bubble boxes and have no problem. I go not like the idea of putting ice in with the baits i think they get a temperature shock when going from cold to hot. I keep 4 dozen alive for 2 days in the cooler.
palmettores,
I have mine in a small 48 qt square cooler. I am not sure, but if your tank is too deep the air will not get down to the pump. Or not enough anyway. Maybe the one you got is not rated for 40 gallons, I don’t know. I also get my herring at better baits and they give you the chemicals and fresh water.
quote:
Originally posted by steelytompalmettores,
I have mine in a small 48 qt square cooler. I am not sure, but if your tank is too deep the air will not get down to the pump. Or not enough anyway. Maybe the one you got is not rated for 40 gallons, I don’t know. I also get my herring at better baits and they give you the chemicals and fresh water.
i have a 13 gallon keep alive bait well from sportsman’s crackhouse. i’ve kept 2 dozen alive for close to 2 days in my tank during the summer.
also use better bait, the chemicals and cold fresh water make ALL the difference.
Good bait tank is the key, I use a Ron Vest Superbait tank II and I NEVER have a problem keeping bait alive. However I do not fish much with live bait in the heat of summer. I prefer then to use downriggers and leadcore line with jigs, cisco kids and etc so I do not have to fool with live bait.
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Sorry it has taken me so long to reply. I think my tank is good. It is 20 gallon oval tank with seperate compartment for filter and good flow. What I don’t have is an oxygen injection system. How important is that? Also, how important is adding rock salt or additives? Is it okay to use bagged ice to keep the temperature cool? What water temperature do you target in the tank? The bait seem to be dying in the tank even before hooked.
this a copy / paste from a previous thread, hope it helps:
Posted - 04/19/2006 : 10:40:31 PM
auto, if you are planning on keeping herring alive in your boats built-in bait well during the late spring or summer you will be terribly disappointed. when the surface temp of the lake gets much above 72 degrees the herring simply don’t do well in a recirculating well. I have used Vest tanks for many years for that very reason. it is best to maintain a temp between 55 and 65. Also, if you add ice to cool the water you need to add BaitSaver to offset the clorine in the ice / water. Another key to keeping your herring happy is to add salt to your tank water as it helps set the scales and carries more oxygen. for my 30 gal tank I use the following concoction: a one quart ziplock bag 3/4 full of pure water conditioner salt (yellow bag at Lowes), 1 to 2 tablespoons BaitSaver and about 4 tablespoons baking soda(as a water softner to carry more oxygen). When I have time, I go to the Hope Ferry landing on the Saluda to get my water. The river runs at about 55 - 58 degrees year round that close to the dam. Also, if you learn to catch your own bait on the lake, realize that the first thing that they do when you put them in your tank is to purge the contents of their intestines from the shock. If you are just fishing for a few hours they will do OK, but if you want to keep them for an extended period of time you’ve got replace the water. once you have them in fresh, conditioned water you can keep them for a couple of days if you control the temperature adequately.
I’m rambling. To answer your question, the tank you are considering should work fine to transport bait. the live well in your boat will work in cooler months and you can carry the bait from the truck to the boat the night before. If you wanna talk more, drop me an email.
the search function here is a bit cumbersome, but, with patience and perseverence, much
quote:db, if you get your water chemistry and temp right an O2 injection system is not necessary, but can be beneficial during the hottest months. i've contemplated adding oxygenation for several years but never justified the cost. i use poly-fil for my filter material(pillow stuffing in the sewing department at wallyworld). keep your scale trap clean and possitively avoid getting any sunscreen in the water. you would be suprised at how small an amount of sunscreen will kill a whole tank-full of bait.
Originally posted by dbrown9Sorry it has taken me so long to reply. I think my tank is good. It is 20 gallon oval tank with seperate compartment for filter and good flow. What I don’t have is an oxygen injection system. How important is that? Also, how important is adding rock salt or additives? Is it okay to use bagged ice to keep the temperature cool? What water temperature do you target in the tank? The bait seem to be dying in the tank even before hooked.
Flow means nothing if air is not being infused. My airline for my Keep alive disconnected on the way from better baits to the launch at the dam. By the time I got the boat in the bait was 3/4 dead. It was only about 20 minutes. Before I had my boat I fished with a guy from FT Jackson. He rented the boat there and we kept them alive in its livewell only using two cheap wallyworld aerators and ice. That was mid summer.
i’m putting 10 dozen in a 30. tank and water is VERY important.
db, what kind of tank are you using? i just assumed (yeah, i know) it was a tank designed for shad / herring. steely is correct in that if you are not adding sufficient air through a venturi system or bubbler them poor baits don’t stand a chance.
I am stuck at work so I can’t check the tank brand. It is a 20 gallon system that recirculates through a scale trap and filter located in a seperate compartment. There is a pump that recirculates the water between compartments but no air infuser. It was designed for herring and similar fish, or so I was told… I bought it at the little bait shop at the corner of Weissinger and 76 near Chapin. If I were to add an infuser, what would that take?
my guess is that it is either a masterflow or bluewater, both very similar to a vest. there is a venturi system made by Dannco that is kick-butt good. goes inline with the output of the pump with an air hose connection. look here:
http://www.danncollc.com/venturi.htm
take care, jim
KeepAlive Pump… Thats it. Some shad keeper if it makes you happy. I have had one for about six months …no more dead anything… Great for shrimp too.I rigged mine up with a twelve volt inverter to plug into 120V when I get home and it keeps shrimp alive all week but havent tested it longer. Have only tried herring overnite and it worked great. I use the 15 or 16 gallon livewell in my SeaPro. Open the air valve all the way to reduce water flow.Point it in a 7 oclock position on the side of the well at the bottom so it makes a gentle swirling motion. The herring will stay at the top as if schooling. If you do shrimp sit a brick in the bottom so they have something to grab on to.
quote:
Originally posted by dernflatlanderi’m putting 10 dozen in a 30. tank and water is VERY important.
You must be getting the 10 dozen deal from the best tackle shop east of the Mississippi.
MM
you know it, Matt. best tackle shop by a dam site.