The hardest part of crappie fishing....RANT

[captmikestarrett]

Is keeping live bait.. what a pain to keep. Last night I lost 50% of my bait for no reason I can figure out.

I have got to invest in one of those living streams someday.. but the 4k chunk is a hard nut to crack.

Arggg....

Capt Mike

[BeardedFishingMD]

hey capt!

so they just died all of a sudden? luckily i have a lil river on our backyard that my father made yet i really never use live bait except nightcrawlers.

[captmikestarrett]

I am thinking the PH was too high..so I buffered the water with a bit of baking soda. Changed out 1/2 of the tank with fresh water and added shad keeper. Cleaned the filters.. I lean toward the filters as the culprit and charcoal not working well.

The water is slightly cloudy now and the shinners are down on the bottom of the tank where they should be. No new dead ones this morning but tonight will tell.

I guess the best bait is always the toughest to keep.

Used to have a Living Stream for a couple of years with a chiller and two charcoal filters and it was great. The owner sold it so now I use a home made setup. Cost less than 200.00 but works well till the weather getswarm.. Only two weeks to go and it will be back to Black Salties and catfish..

You can not kill those baits if you try..

Capt Mike

[MDCrappie]

Generally when things start dying, in a closed system, it is the "waste removal" that breaks down. That's where I would look to improve your system.

[TheRevolution]

When you cleaned the filters did you use tap water or used tank water?

If you used tap water the chlorine or chloramine probably killed the bacteria colony in your filter causing your tank to re-cycle. That could be why the tank is cloudy now.

It is very important to never clean the filter media with tap water. Always use tank water that you are going to throw out. And of course always use dechlorinator when adding tap water to the tank.

I have been keeping aquariums for over 5 years now, so if you have any questions feel free to ask

Also charcoal is unnecessary, I havent used it unless I medicated a tank, then I would use some charcoal for a few weeks to soak up any extra medication chemicals. Charcoal will only be effective for about 2 weeks and then it reaches its capacity to absorb anymore and will sometimes leech chemicals back into the water. If you do a weekly water change for nitrates you shouldnt need to use charcoal and will probably be better off without it

[captmikestarrett]

Mucho TANKS rev man..

Capt Mike

[tear-em-up]

That hassle with bait is another reason I love that we catch em on artificials over here good. I saw the caps clinched the playoffs last nite capt. mike ,does that means more work for you? lol

[captmikestarrett]

That hassle with bait is another reason I love that we catch em on artificials over here good. I saw the caps clinched the playoffs last nite capt. mike ,does that means more work for you? lol

Yes a few extra hours here and there.

If they had not Ted would be a bear to be around.

Capt Mike

[tear-em-up]

I hope your working hockey games for a long time this spring! lol

[Mikeguard01]

Ditto on the artificials. My plastics stay fresh.