chest freezers for bait ?

[phisherdude]

Hey all,
Great to see the shanty hopping so early in the season, getting me pumped.
I'm thinking of setting up an old chest freezer in my unheated garage for keeping bait. It'll mostly be for sea-run smelt. I've tried keeping them indoors with little luck.  I have a fluval filter thats made for a 50 gallon tank and a small heater.  Do you guys have any experience or tips on the matter. It stinks going through all the effort to catch and haul home the little buggers just to have them die on me.  If I can get this set-up to work for me I'd be happy to have some bait available to any of you folks in the Raymond area.
Thanks
~pd

[billditrite]

welcome back phisherdude! i keep a bait tank in my garage all winter. i have used an old chest freezer before. it worked great. however nowadays i use a 55 gallon plastic barrel. as long as you keep that water moving and somewhat clean, bait is very easy to keep alive. saltwater smelts are easy too. freshwater smelt are a little tougher and often require very clean water and an aerator as well. click  here for more on bait tanks...

[goneicefishin]

i have kept bait for severel years and i have found that a chest freezer works great. you can keep between 1000 and 1500 fish in them if you change the water weekly and add a small amount of water softener to keep their scales. you need a good water movement also

[jp]

I use an old chest freezer for bait it works good. I use a heater and an air pump. I change out half the water once a week. this seems to keep it fresh enuf for shiners. I think the filter would help the smelt last longer.

Jeremy