Live bait can be expensive and by keeping it alive and healthy you are going to catch more fish and save a few bucks. Jake Wallace offers up some tips regarding live bait storage and handling.
Live Bait Storage and Handling
Any good tackle shop carries a wide selection of live bait and live bait storage containment systems. Minnows, leeches, nightcrawlers, butter worms, wax worms, and spikes are just a few of the different types of live bait anglers that can use throughout the season.
One of the biggest parts of live bait fishing is having healthy, squirmy, lively bait!
Well, the plain old minnow bucket does work. The best minnow live bait storage systems are like this insulated Engel 13-quart live bait dry box cooler. This will maintain a good supply of minnows for days.
To keep them alive for several days, the key is to intermittently add fresh, unchlorinated water. This is well worth the investment for anybody who buys a fair amount of minnows throughout the year. This will keep your expensive minnows in good shape for the longest time possible. This aerator this system runs on either 2 d batteries or plugs into your boat or car cigarette lighter with a 12-volt adaptor.
Nightcrawlers and worms are excellent bait for walleyes and panfish throughout the summer months. This is prime time for spinner rigging walleye where good worms are important. This Magic Bait carrier is a great way to keep nightcrawlers in top condition.
Simply place some worm bedding place add crawlers. Occasional dampen box and bedding; the evaporation keeps your bait cool during warm days in the summer. Extreme heat is bad for any types of worms, leeches or minnows. The nice thing about this worm box is that it has a door on both sides. Simply flip it over to find a fresh crawler.
Leeches are another excellent walleye bait throughout the summer. While a cooler will work to hold smaller containers, a couple of good options are the Frabill Leech Lodge or the Bait Caddy, which simply contains the leech’s in your boat live well. The nice thing about this system is that the bait gets fresh oxygen and is acclimated to the current water temperature your fishing in. Any bait put into any drastically different water temp tends to shock the bait.
Live bait is highly effective for all different fish species. The key to having good bait is live bait storage and maintenance!
