Buying minnows the evening before?

[wyoutdoors]

Does anyone use the Frabill Min O-Life to keep minnows overnight for next day use? Normally I don't use live bait and am wanting to use a few tip-ups this season. Thanks for any input.

[field_of_dreams]

I've used some aerators to keep minnows alive and its worst for up to a week, just as long as you are changing the water (not all at once) 2-3 per day.
I'm not sure about the frabill unit however, as long as you aerate and you remove some of the water (contains feces and CO2) they should be hardy for a few days easily.
Good luck! 
Can't wait for first ice!

[filetandrelease]

i use a 5 gal. igloo water jug, i  buy enough bait ,perch and eye bait for about a week and use an arreator i change the water about 3 times in a week no trouble it has a bottom spikit so the bad stuff drains off ,if you drain off to much water on buckeyes then add very cold water you will throw them in shock ,they don't care for big temp changes

[MN Bassfisher]

Last year I turned an old 48 quart Coleman cooler into a bait tank to keep minnows alive when I didn't use all of them. I bought an aerator at a pet store and plugged it into my garage wall. I drilled a small hole in the top of the cooler and fed the hosing through. Added water and I had myself a bait tank. Changed a bit of the water every couple days, chipped the thin layer of ice that sometimes formed on very cold nights, and it worked great! And cheap! I would scoop out any minnows that were dead and I had fatheads, crappie minnows, and suckers live for over a month. And that is no exaggeration. Shiners didn't last more than a week it seemed but the others would last a long time!

[mrcrowley138]

I've kept minnows in the garage in a five gallon pail with no aerator for a few days.  As long as you go out and bust the ice up periodically, it shouldn't be a problem for the short term.  Granted this is temperature sensitive.

[Voltaire]

I've found that the air temperature plays a really big role as to how long my minnows last. They seem to like to cold much better.

[nonamer]

i use the frabill min-o-life in the spring when it warms up. love it

[stumper]

I've found that the air temperature plays a really big role as to how long my minnows last. They seem to like to cold much better.

They dont use as much oxygen when the water is cold.

[MECDave]

I have minnows in a small fish tank in the garage that have been around for 4 months now, with no aerator.

--I put the tank on a small piece of carpet on a table to help with freezing, but my garage is warm
--When I have mInnows left I put them in with the rest  so my 2 year old can count them
--Change the water twice a week with water that I have left out for the day in a 5 gallon bucket. (In the sun is better to get rid of the chlorine, and crap in tap water)
--She feeds them crunched up animal, or ritz crackers 
--She always knows when some have gone with Daddy on a trip to see their family

[esox_magnum]

I keep mine 2-3 weeks at a time, just put them in the bottom of the fridge in the minnow bucket....

[Voltaire]

I have minnows in a small fish tank in the garage that have been around for 4 months now, with no aerator.

--I put the tank on a small piece of carpet on a table to help with freezing, but my garage is warm
--When I have mInnows left I put them in with the rest  so my 2 year old can count them
--Change the water twice a week with water that I have left out for the day in a 5 gallon bucket. (In the sun is better to get rid of the chlorine, and crap in tap water)
--She feeds them crunched up animal, or ritz crackers 
--She always knows when some have gone with Daddy on a trip to see their family
[/quote

Nice! Other then the crackers is that the only food they get?

[codewordcs1]

-She feeds them crunched up animal, or ritz crackers 
--She always knows when some have gone with Daddy on a trip to see their family

Just seems like yesterday they were that old.  Good thread though and I use an aerator as well in my 5 gallon bucket in the garage. Works most of the time unless it gets real cold and freezes over. Fatheads and crappie minnows.

[jibbs]

i always buy my bait the night before...i usually get 6 or 7 dozen, so i spread them out in 3 or 4 six gallon buckets...put an aerator in each...in the morning i change the water...i use water right from the tub and they love it....works for me...i can keep them that way for a week or so

[wiredstone]

I use a 54qt cooler. Add a pinch of rock salt and keep the water just above freezing. I change the water once a week. Bait stayed all winter. I buy by the pound. cheaper. You do not need to feed them if the water is cold. No food no crap

[icejunky]

I have a buddy (Airs24) who uses the frabill. It works great when we are on a three day trip and have to buy bait on the way in. We hook it up each night and run it till we head out in the am. Does the trick

[wyoutdoors]

I use a 54qt cooler. Add a pinch of rock salt and keep the water just above freezing. I change the water once a week. Bait stayed all winter. I buy by the pound. cheaper. You do not need to feed them if the water is cold. No food no crap

Kind of dating myself here wiredstone, but I used to go to a football camp held in Stroudsburg back in the late 70's. Did quite a bit of road running getting into shape and the area was beautiful. Great memories form you location, thanks!

[caddy084]

I use a 54qt cooler. Add a pinch of rock salt and keep the water just above freezing. I change the water once a week. Bait stayed all winter. I buy by the pound. cheaper. You do not need to feed them if the water is cold. No food no crap

Where do you buy your bait by the pound. I have 55 gal aquarium set up in my basement for the ice season and would like to buy my bait in bulk as well.....   

[MECDave]

Nice! Other then the crackers is that the only food they get?

I guess it depends on what the little one has in her hands, and no I don't feed them.

The more she feeds them the dirtier the tank gets, and the more you would have to clean it.
Arguing with a little teething child would get you nowhere 

[Grumpyoldman]

I haven't used the product mentioned that started this thread, I just want to track this thread for tips cause I have a high bait mortality rate. I've used many of the methods mentioned to no avail. I think its my water. Bait guy said to throw a little rock salt in the water. I did and had twice the mortality rate. Either I did something wrong or the bait guy likes the repeat business. 

[jethro]

I have a pretty solid ritual of buying minnows on Friday afternoon on my way home. The bait shop is pretty much right off the highway, so at about 5pm on Friday night I pick up 4 dozen in two bait buckets. I leave them in my basement, making contact with the door, which is metal and transfers the cold pretty good. No airator or tablets at all. I don't have much dead loss and I always have bait for Sunday morning depending on how many bait I went through on Saturday.

I can't buy bait the day of fishing becasue I like to be on the ice at 5am. Earliest bait is 6am around here.