Herring in Bucket Question

[Eskimo]

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Originally Posted by dakota560

I've heard it helps if the water is kept very cold by putting some ice cubes in it to slow the metabolism of the herring.

The trouble with ice is if it's made from chlorinated tap water, it releases chlorine into the water as it melts. Chlorinated water speeds the death of herring and shiners.

There are various livewell products that can be added to the water to help keep your bait alive. I have used ammonia neutralizers made for starting new aquariums (Amquel) to reduce the amount of ammonia the fish produce in the bucket until I can get them to the lake where I transfer the bait to a flow-troll bucket.

To keep the water from heating up in the car, i just blast the air conditioner and drive as fast as I can to the lake.

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[phil]

Originally Posted by Eskimo

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The trouble with ice is if it's made from chlorinated tap water, it releases chlorine into the water as it melts. Chlorinated water speeds the death of herring and shiners.

There are various livewell products that can be added to the water to help keep your bait alive. I have used ammonia neutralizers made for starting new aquariums (Amquel) to reduce the amount of ammonia the fish produce in the bucket until I can get them to the lake where I transfer the bait to a flow-troll bucket.

To keep the water from heating up in the car, i just blast the air conditioner and drive as fast as I can to the lake.

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do they survive in the flow troll? i was staying @ byram cove last week and took a trip to dows to pickup shiners, left the cooler with aerator back at the house, like an idiot and brought the flowtroll. my 6 year old was freaking out about how he wanted to get herring but i didnt think theyd survive the trip back. i think lori felt bad for me so she tossed a couple herring in with a dozen shiners for the kid. those stupid ******* fish were dead in the 12 minutes it took to drive to our rental.

[Eskimo]

Originally Posted by phil

do they survive in the flow troll?

Yes, they do alright. I keep the flow-troll in the water and I fish in the evening, so the bucket isn't in the sun.



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[OMC]

As I posted you have to use a very good Aerator to keep Herring Alive. I use this one http://www.marinemetal.com/products/.../power-bubbles

The battery operated cheap ones will not do the Job and they will die.

If I am planning on keeping them for an extend period of time I place them Large Bucket and have the bait shop fill it to the top and then add a scoop of the Blue Stuff they use for the bait. I will change the water with Cold Well Water the next day only if I have to keep then longer and use a cooler instead of the bucket. I never have any issues the key is to keep them in a lot of water that is very aerated. Good Luck

[Castaway]

Originally Posted by OMC

As I posted you have to use a very good Aerator to keep Herring Alive. I use this one http://www.marinemetal.com/products/.../power-bubbles

The battery operated cheap ones will not do the Job and they will die.

If I am planning on keeping them for an extend period of time I place them Large Bucket and have the bait shop fill it to the top and then add a scoop of the Blue Stuff they use for the bait. I will change the water with Cold Well Water the next day only if I have to keep then longer and use a cooler instead of the bucket. I never have any issues the key is to keep them in a lot of water that is very aerated. Good Luck

How many do you put in a bucket if you’re keeping them overnight?

[OMC]

The other day 2 1/2 dozen in the cooler instead of the bucket. Bought them the night before and didn't change the water we were out of bait by 11:30 but they were all lively up to then. Normally 1 1/2 dozen I will just use the bucket and if getting the bait that day never an issue up to 2 dozen.

I lost so much bait before getting this Aerator since then all good.

[AndyS]

Tough time of year to keep herring alive due to the heat. Small frozen SEALED water bottles added to the water helps.

[Castaway]

Originally Posted by OMC

The other day 2 1/2 dozen in the cooler instead of the bucket. Bought them the night before and didn't change the water we were out of bait by 11:30 but they were all lively up to then. Normally 1 1/2 dozen I will just use the bucket and if getting the bait that day never an issue up to 2 dozen.

I lost so much bait before getting this Aerator since then all good.

Thanks for the info. It sounds like I need a better aerator. I’m going to get the one you recommended.

[acabtp]

i set up a cooler with a livewell pump inside of it going to a spraybar i mounted inside the cooler. i keep the lid on it but cracked open. along with a couple frozen bottle of water it keeps herring alive for literally days and days. sure i'll lose one or two here or there, but no big die offs. i'm pretty sure i've had them over a week that way.

i think the spraybar does a much better job than a bubble aerator. if it's hot out, with a bubble aerator you transfer the heat from the air to the water a lot faster, heat up the water and that kills the herring.

[Blackfishhead]

Good topic. May I add as mentioned before the chlorine is no good! And as Andy said the frozen water bottles or blue ice packs are better. If your going to store bait fill a couple five gallon buckets of water and let it set the chlorine will dissipate over time unless you have access to well water . A 50% water change every 12/14 hours will keep your bait a lot longer as the amonina they release is toxic for them. Herring are not as hardy as shiners or killies so don’t overcrowd them. I use a 5 gallon Igloo water thermos that I found on the roadside 20+ years ago and ordered a lid on EBay for $7. I mount my Power Bubbles right on top or transporting and when I get to the boat I have a 12 volt Power Bubbles hard- wired in. At home I use a 110 volt air pump that I got from a garage sale to save on batteries. The blue stuff that others have mentioned also helps a lot it is called Finer Shiner and or Bait Saver. I got it on line when I was selling killies to bait shops years ago.Good luck and hope this helps out but remember the more bait more amonina/warm water= dead loss