Dead,dying,sloppy live bait is common this summer, it’s not cheap

Live bait is not cheap whether you buy it or catch it. Most fishermen say they never have bait problems in the summer because that have bought a new $200 bait tank, for that price not 1 bait should die or get the red-nose in August.
Some fishermen will admit that they do have summer problems with their live bait, it dies too quick, gets red-nose and gets lethargic in the bait tank and is not very good bait.

Just to be clear, bait tank and livewell are the same thing. Here’s what a functional livewell really is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livewell If that bait tank or livewell is not keeping your bait alive and Healthy all day… it is Not Functional.

Keeping bait alive and healthy all day in the summer, whether you are use a high dollar $200 super bait tank, ice chest or a 5 gallon plastic pickle bucket that Berger Kings gives away just for asking is all about your knowledge and ability to insure great water quality inside the bait box. Summer success is as simple and easy as maintaining excellent water quality.

The problem that kills and compromised live bait quality every summer is your poor water quality, that’s all.

This is all there is to keeping live bait alive and healthy all day every summer regardless of the brand, type, or what you use for a bait tank or livewell.

1. Oxygenated: maintaining minimal safe dissolved oxygen saturation levels is the most important. Low oxygen (hypoxia) kills and causes brain damage in seconds and minutes in livewells.

2. Ventilated: water must be flushed and cleaned of toxins (second most important). Metabolic toxins (dissolved CO2, acid pH, ammonia, nitrites) take hours and days to reach toxic levels that kill in livewells.

If you will and if you really know how to maintain minimal safe dissolved oxygen saturation and refresh your livewell water a couple times daily in the summer you too can have healthy live bait all day, all night or a week… every summer.

You can overstock your bait tank in the summer and keep live bait healthy and alive with the right bait tank equipment. This is the same equipment that hatcheries use to haul live shiners to bait shops in the summer and keep them alive and healthy during hours of overland transport. They never have any problems with excessive fish kills in the summer, but they know how to keep the bait alive and healthy in their haul tanks.

If you won’t or can’t insure minimal safe bait tank water quality, you will fail to keep live bait healthy (red-nose) or alive till noon in the summer.

Try this - Google: “livewells,bait tanks and water quality” Learn how the real professional live bait transporters haul live bait fish and keep their bait healthy in the summer.

Fishery science and fishery facts are all about the vital importance of bait tank water quality. Learn new professional ways to insure excellent water quality and keep your bait alive and healthy in bait tanks every summer… those predictable hot July-August live bait problem are really fixable, but if you can’t manage you bait tank water quality you will certainly have dying and crappy live bait every summer.

If you have no bait problems this summer, that's great!

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Originally Posted by Benton B

Live bait is not cheap whether you buy it or catch it. Most fishermen say they never have bait problems in the summer because that have bought a new $200 bait tank, for that price not 1 bait should die or get the red-nose in August.
Some fishermen will admit that they do have summer problems with their live bait, it dies too quick, gets red-nose and gets lethargic in the bait tank and is not very good bait.

Just to be clear, bait tank and livewell are the same thing. Here’s what a functional livewell really is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livewell If that bait tank or livewell is not keeping your bait alive and Healthy all day… it is Not Functional.

Keeping bait alive and healthy all day in the summer, whether you are use a high dollar $200 super bait tank, ice chest or a 5 gallon plastic pickle bucket that Berger Kings gives away just for asking is all about your knowledge and ability to insure great water quality inside the bait box. Summer success is as simple and easy as maintaining excellent water quality.

The problem that kills and compromised live bait quality every summer is your poor water quality, that’s all.

This is all there is to keeping live bait alive and healthy all day every summer regardless of the brand, type, or what you use for a bait tank or livewell.

1. Oxygenated: maintaining minimal safe dissolved oxygen saturation levels is the most important. Low oxygen (hypoxia) kills and causes brain damage in seconds and minutes in livewells.

2. Ventilated: water must be flushed and cleaned of toxins (second most important). Metabolic toxins (dissolved CO2, acid pH, ammonia, nitrites) take hours and days to reach toxic levels that kill in livewells.

If you will and if you really know how to maintain minimal safe dissolved oxygen saturation and refresh your livewell water a couple times daily in the summer you too can have healthy live bait all day, all night or a week… every summer.

You can overstock your bait tank in the summer and keep live bait healthy and alive with the right bait tank equipment. This is the same equipment that hatcheries use to haul live shiners to bait shops in the summer and keep them alive and healthy during hours of overland transport. They never have any problems with excessive fish kills in the summer, but they know how to keep the bait alive and healthy in their haul tanks.

If you won’t or can’t insure minimal safe bait tank water quality, you will fail to keep live bait healthy (red-nose) or alive till noon in the summer.

Try this - Google: “livewells,bait tanks and water quality” Learn how the real professional live bait transporters haul live bait fish and keep their bait healthy in the summer.

Fishery science and fishery facts are all about the vital importance of bait tank water quality. Learn new professional ways to insure excellent water quality and keep your bait alive and healthy in bait tanks every summer… those predictable hot July-August live bait problem are really fixable, but if you can’t manage you bait tank water quality you will certainly have dying and crappy live bait every summer.

If you have no bait problems this summer, that's great!

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Found a real cheap solution to this summer problem --- use live goldfish, the don't die.

shhhhh, dont tell

Benton B - you are spot on.

even better, use jigs - they never die and require zero labor, zero additional costs, and much less time rebaiting :Rofl

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Originally Posted by ibmack

even better, use jigs - they never die and require zero labor, zero additional costs, and much less time rebaiting :Rofl

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Fishermen that might try but cannot keep bait alive in a bait tank have only 1 option left - artificial plastic bait.

Shiner dealers have no problems keeping shiners alive for days. hatcheries transport thousands of excellent live healthy shiners on highways all day long and the hauler sell those live shiners to many bait shops all day on his delivery route week after week. Those shiners do not get red-nose, sick or even die after being hauled all day to bait shops in July or even in the Dog Days of August. The bait dealer sells those same shiners to fishermen daily over the next week or so. The bait dealer bags the shiners up in a plastic bag with a little water and a little oxygen and the bait last for hours in that bag until the fisherman opens the bag and dumps the shiners into his bait bucket... then the shiners take a serious turn for the worst. Things get real bad real quickly, all you live shiner fishermen know the routine from there on.

Meat hunters say good healthy live bait draws more aggressive strikes and catches more fish in the summer when the lake water gets hot.

There is plenty of room on the lake or river for both types of fishermen, fisherwomen and fisher-kids.

It's no big deal if you can't keep shiners alive in a bait tank in the summer, most fishermen can't keep then alive very long as soon as they take them out of the plastic bag and put them in them in their bait tank.

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Originally Posted by Benton B

The bait dealer bags the shiners up in a plastic bag with a little water and a little oxygen and the bait last for hours in that bag until the fisherman opens the bag and dumps the shiners into his bait bucket... then the shiners take a serious turn for the worst. Things get real bad real quickly, all you live shiner fishermen know the routine from there on.

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If you fish with minnows, I think the best thing you can do is read a basic book on tropical aquarium fish. You will learn how to keep fish alive.

I was surprised that water temperature of the bait tank is not mentioned. I am interested on what your thoughts are on oxygen levels versus temperature change.

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Originally Posted by catchNgrease

I am interested on what your thoughts are on oxygen levels versus temperature change.

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Temperature change kills a lot of fish. It's one of the first things you learn from a basic aquarium book. Oxygen is probably #2.

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Originally Posted by deathb4disco

Temperature change kills a lot of fish. It's one of the first things you learn from a basic aquarium book. Oxygen is probably #2.

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Here’s some interesting reading materials published by experts.

A Fish Farmer's Guide to Understanding Water Quality https://www.extension.purdue.edu/ext...as/as-503.html
LaDon Swann, Department of Animal Sciences
IIlinois-Indiana Sea Grant Program
Purdue University

Oxygen
Dissolved oxygen (DO) is by far the most important chemical parameter in aquaculture. Low-dissolved oxygen levels are responsible for more fish kills, either directly or indirectly, than all other problems combined. Like humans, fish require oxygen for respiration. The amount of oxygen consumed by the fish is a function of its size, feeding rate, activity level, and temperature. Small fish consume more oxygen than do large fish because of their higher metabolic rate. Meade (1974) determined that the oxygen consumption of salmon reared at 57 oF was 0.002 pounds per pound of fish per day. Lewis et al. (1981) determined that striped bass raised at 77 oF consumed 0.012-0.020 pounds per pound of fish per day. The higher oxygen requirement by striped bass may be attributed to the statement that the metabolic rate doubles for each 18o F increase in temperature.

Temperature
After oxygen, water temperature may be the single most important factor affecting the welfare of fish.

The environmental “steady state conditions” live fish live in very day is extremely different than the acute, extreme excitement and abnormal sustained stress the fisherman causes by capture and live transport (in a livewell)… sustained profound fear and adrenaline production is an automatic response resulting from the capture and confinement in a small livewell compares to a lake, pond or river, the mass stocking density, the excitement, the adrenaline production that increases metabolism and oxygen demand 10 fold in livewell captivity which is so different than the tranquil “steady state” lake, pond environment.

STRESS - Traumatic capture, livewell captivity, acute water quality changes is absolutely the worst day in that fish’s live… imagine all the adrenaline that fish produces trying to escape… until the adrenaline supply is exhausted, used up and finished. Then comes the dreaded cortisol production.
Fishermen cause max stress for fish in livewell captivity, let’s a closer look at what we cause and call “fish stress.”

Stress in Fishes: A Diversity of Responses with Particular Reference to Changes in Circulating Corticosteroids1 Stress in Fishes: A Diversity of Responses with Particular Reference to Changes in Circulating Corticosteroids

Don’t forget, the most severe stress for fish being transported in livewells is hypoxia and that stressor is deadly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypoxia

It is absolutely vital that fisherman insure minimal safe dissolved oxygen saturations in livewells for all the fish confined in the livewell for the duration of transport and captivity.

How much oxygen is necessary in livewells? --- 100% DO Saturation whether the livewell contains only 1 fish or 500 fish. This is the DO is the standard required and used by every fish hatchery in the country. And the fish hatchery biologist are the real experts at transporting live fish and livewell water quality.

Benton B - You are spot on. You have to be a fisheries biologist or you raise minnows and have done so for a long time.:ThumbsUp

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Originally Posted by cricket george

Benton B - You are spot on. You have to be a fisheries biologist or you raise minnows and have done so for a long time.:ThumbsUp

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You certainly don’t have to have a college degree in fishery biology to be successful keeping healthy live bait in livewells all day, but you have to maintain excellent livewell water quality or your fish will surely die in your livewell every summer for years.

Forget the salesman’s line, all the facts and information how to be successful is only 1 mouse click away for anyone with the desire to fix the summer livewell mortality problems. If you are a live bait fisherman you know that sloppy dying bait not fit to fish with. All you have to do is read it, learn it and practice it… it is as simple as that.
If you plan or by accident overstock your livewell in the summer it dies.

This is all that is necessary to keep your bait alive and healthy all day in any overstocked livewell in the summer:

1. Oxygenate livewell water with pure oxygen – 100% DO Saturation or greater guarantees and insures safe oxygenation in overcrowded livewells and bait tanks in the summer. More bait requires more oxygen – maintain 100% DO Saturation is how professional live bait transporters (fish hatcheries and shiner dealers) transport all live fish, they use 100% compressed oxygen.

2. Ventilate livewell water – Total or partial water exchange several time daily guarantees elimination ammonia, acid pH, dissolved CO2, nitrites, nitrates and metabolic waste.

Google: “keeping live bait in livewells in the summer”

Plenty of great info here. “Thinking out of the box,” be successful every summer and you can learn how to really manage your livewell water quality and bring all the live bait you want bring if you really want to learn to learn about maintaining great livewell water quality.

Ok my here's my :twocents. I fish with minnows, not shiners but tuffies, year round. I use a float and troll minnow bucket. First thing I do when I get to the lake is dump some of the water from the minnow bucket into a plain bucket. Then I ad some lake water to both buckets and dip a nets worth out of the minnow bucket and put them in the bucket I have just filled. This offsets the shock that the minnows will get from the water temp change. Sometimes you will put them on the hook right out of the minnow bucket and they die as soon as they hit the water. The water from the bait store is normally colder then the lake water during the summer and shock will kill them. Acclimate the minnows to the conditions and temp of the lake water and they will live longer. The more minnows in the bucket the more often you will have to change out the water to lake water. After a few minutes the minnows in the minnow bucket will go in the lake water and survive well. Plenty of oxygen and minnows at lake temp equals minnows that survive on the hook. Just don't forget and bring the minnows in from the lake when you get ready to take off or you will get wet. :) Good fishing everyone.
Putting the minnows in the live well also works but you must maintain water changes in the live well.

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Originally Posted by Dave and Lynn

Ok my here's my :twocents. . Plenty of oxygen and minnows at lake temp equals minnows that survive on the hook... you must maintain water changes in the live well.

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You are right on the money. That's really all there is to transporting live bait all day or keeping it overnight.

You must simply insure minimal safe dissolved oxygen saturation for all the bait and ventilate (flush) the livewell/bait tank water every now and then to eliminate the ammonia, CO2 and carbonic acid and acid pH.

Two or three caps of Hydrogen Peroxide will do the trick...

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Originally Posted by Mt Nebo

Two or three caps of Hydrogen Peroxide will do the trick...

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Although your recommendation are always touted in fishing forums as great, harmless, cheap method to oxygenate livewell water… there is much more to it.

I certainly do not mean to insult you or belittle your opinion, but many fishermen have probably never seen the scientific facts, published research and expert fishery biologist opinions about using hydrogen peroxide as you described.

Please know and understand the information cited below is not my personal opinion, but the opinions of a couple bass fishermen promoting the use of H2O2, expert fishery biologist, B.A.S.S. and the FDA that have published their research and regulations regarding the use of H2O2.

Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) –

Why don’t we take a moment and review a few opinions from these expert fishery biologist, published scientific research, FDA regulations and FDA prohibitions that apply to “food fish.” Then let’s compare the fishery experts research and go beyond the popular fisherman’s opinions, i.e. Doug Hannon’s H2O2 infomercial “Hydrogen Peroxide in Livewells | Bass Fishing” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8K0AjcFqK0 and Jay Kumar's BassBlaster | Science: Livewells and Peroxide Jay Kumar's BassBlaster | Science: Livewells and Peroxide and many more similar opinions about using H2O2 on the net.

Let’s look closer at what’s really right and what’s really not right for the captive tournament “food fish” and about soaking the fish in H2O2 chemical all day for livewell oxygenation on food fish. Let’s not forget about nor discount all the families that may eat these food fish you have chemically treated and then released alive back into the lakes.

So much for the food fish’s health and well-being, but does it matter at all the families who may eat the chemically treated fish or no? That’s a fisherman’s personal choice and decision. ”No other forms of hydrogen peroxide, including those sold for human use, are approved for use [by the FDA] with fish.”


If insuring safe livewell oxygenation is the point of using H2O2, you can be absolutely sure that there are far safer, much better and more effective ways to oxygenate livewells than using hydrogen peroxide any day.
So let’s learn some new stuff about hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).

*Keeping Bass Alive A Guidebook for Anglers and Tournament Organizers
[PDF]Keeping Bass Alive – ESPN http://assets.espn.go.com/winnercomm...Bass_Alive.pdf
http://assets.espn.go.com/winnercomm...Bass_Alive.pdf

By: Gene Gilliland [Gene Gilliland is currently the B.A.S.S. National Conservation Director effective January 1, 2014.]
Oklahoma Fisheries Research Lab
Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
Norman, OK 73072

By: Hal Schramm
US Geological Survey
Mississippi Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Center
Mississippi State University
Mississippi State, Mississippi 39762

By: Bruce Schupp
National Conservation Director B.A.S.S.*
Montgomery, AL 36117

Published by: ESPN Productions, Inc./B.A.S.S.
5854 Carmichael Rd.
Montgomery, AL 36117
Copyright 2002 B.A.S.S.* Montgomery, AL

Pg 21 – NO HYDROGEN PEROXIDE - Another chemical that has sometimes been used to treat livewell or holding tank water is Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2). Hydrogen Peroxide breaks down into oxygen and water in the presence of organic matter. However, this chemical can injure fish and should not be used. Most people have used this colorless, odorless, tasteless liquid to disinfect a cut or scratch. You can see it fizzing and bubbling on the skin as it oxidizes. Now imagine what it does in a livewell full of bass. The bass’ mucus coating protects its skin from the oxidation reaction, but there is no such protective coating on the delicate gill filaments. Unfortunately, anglers that use Hydrogen Peroxide think that is a little is good, a little more should be better. Wrong! Damage to gill filaments, suffocation, and death may result.
DO NOT USE HYDROGEN PEROXIDE IN THE LIVEWELL

Hydrogen Peroxide for Bass Boat livewells - by Fishery Biologist Randy Myers TPWD, Inland Fisheries Division, San Antonio, TX Publication 2-14-2012 - A total of 12 one-hour experiments were conducted with oxygen levels measured every 10 minutes.
Hydrogen peroxide for bass boat livewells

The Use of Hydrogen Peroxide in Fin Fish Aquaculture by Roy P.E. Yanong
Hydrogen peroxide is commonly used as a disinfectant for cleaning wounds in people. Hydrogen peroxide has also been used in aquaculture as an immersion (bath) treatment against many different disease-causing organisms, including external parasites, bacteria, and fungi, on different species and life-stages of fish. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved a hydrogen-peroxide-based aquaculture product, which has spurred greater interest in its use.

Is hydrogen peroxide legal for use in aquaculture? In 2007, 35% PEROX-AID® (Eka Chemicals, Marietta, Georgia) was approved by the FDA for control of mortality in (1) freshwater-reared finfish eggs due to saprolegniasis (a common water mold), (2) freshwater-reared salmonids due to bacterial gill disease (Flavobacterium branchiophilum), and (3) freshwater-reared coolwater finfish and channel catfish due to external columnaris (Flavobacterium columnare) disease. No other forms of hydrogen peroxide, including those sold for human use, are approved for use with fish.


Can hydrogen peroxide be used on other warmwater finfish species intended for human consumption and for other indications not on the label? A veterinarian can prescribe 35% PEROX-AID® for an extralabel use provided that all the provisions in Title 21 Code of Federal Regulations Part 530 (21 CFR 530) (http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/script...fm?CFRPart=530) are followed. In brief, the client must be working with a veterinarian within the context of a valid veterinarian-client-patient relationship (see description below), and there must be no residues that pose a public health risk. Research using food fish species is much more common in the literature, and biotests will most likely be required to determine the best dose and treatment time for specific disease problems. A summary of unapproved doses and indications used by researchers in foodfish species is outlined in Table 2. As for approved uses and species, follow label instructions and contact the appropriate regulatory authorities regarding discharge of treated water.

:ThumbsUp:ThumbsUp