When fishing from Florida’s shores some of the most popular and most effective baits are bait fish. Ranging from Pinfish to Finger Mullet to Scaled Sardines these bait fish have been responsible for some of the best fishing trips.
The main downside to using live bait fish is that they can be difficult to keep alive in captivity. Some of the fish are very sensitive to overcrowding, some are very sensitive to the loss of their protective slime, some are sensitive to lower levels of oxygen and some are very sensitive to temperature variations.
There are a few things you can do to help ensure that your bait will be lively for your entire fishing trip, and here are a few of them.
Container Size
The container that the bait fish are kept in should be large enough to keep the amount of fish that you plan on using in a day alive. Most bait fish require about ½ gallon of water per fish to keep them alive long term. A 5-gallon bucket can keep about 10-15 finger mullet or 10-12 pinfish alive for a full day (if all other conditions are met)
Overcrowding in a container can lead to the rapid death of baitfish.
While in the container the fish will continue to produce waste. This waste will cause the water to foul (usually ammonia from fish urine) and become toxic to the bait fish.
Another adverse condition created by over crowding is lack of oxygen. Too many fish in a small container will cause the water to quickly become depleted of oxygen, which can be fatal to the bait fish.
Having fewer fish per gallon of water will help reduce this risk.
Oxygenation
A major killer of bait fish is the lack of dissolved oxygen in the water that they are being kept in. In a closed system, like a bait bucket, bait fish can use all of the dissolved oxygen rather rapidly if it is not replaced.
A bubbler or a spray bar will kelp to counter this problem.
No matter what solution is chosen, make sure that the surface of the water that the bait fish are kept in is always kept disturbed. The disturbed surface of the water will absorb much more oxygen than any other method. Bubblers tend to do a VERY good job at disturbing the surface at an economical price.
Water Temperature
Fish are cold blooded, so their metabolism is highly affected by water temperature as are many other biological functions. The higher the water temperature, typically, the faster the fish kept in it will die.
Keeping the water temperature a few degrees bellow ambient temperature on warm/hot days will help ensure a longer life for the baitfish.
A good aerator (bubble or spray bar) will not only help with oxygen, but it will also help keep the temperature down a little bit by encouraging evaporation. Another tip to help keep the water temperatures down is to keep the container out of direct sun. If this is not possible, cover it with a white towel, this will help prevent the sun from raising the temperature.
A small bottle of frozen water can be added to large containers to help keep temperatures down if not other techniques are working. Just ensure that the amount of frozen water added does not DRASTICALLY change the temperature as this ma be shocking and deadly to the bait fish.
Water Changes
On long trips it will sometimes become necessary to do water changes in your bait container. The water changes will help eliminate any toxicity that has built up in the container.
Change 25-50% water volume with water from the body of water you are fishing every 4 hours. Use a small bucket to collect the water and after emptying an equal amount from your container, slowly poor the new water in.
Note: Do not change more than 50% of the water volume at a time as this can be shocking to the bait fish. The rapid change in water quality can be to much for the bait fish to handle.
If you have any other tips for keeping baitfish alive, please join our Facebook Group and let us know!
