Question about bait minnows

[RangerClay]

Howdy all,

Went fishing Sunday and only got a couple small pike. Now I have 20 minnows to keep alive till I can go fishing again in 2 weeks. I have an aeriator but I like change the water every few days to get rid of the waste & nitrogen. I have city water that is chlorinated. Can use this on minnows or do I need something else? Thanks!

Ranger

[fisherguy]

úse the city water, but fill a container and then leave it sot for a day before you use that water on the minnows. The chlorine dissipates that way. Depending on the levels in the water i have found that sometimes you can just put the minnows in water straight from the tap, and other cases you need to let the water sit, so best to be careful.

[Texan_Til_I_Die]

Good advice, but it may take more than a day for the chlorine to percolate out of the tap water. You could buy distilled water or possibly melt some snow or ice? Try adding some Catch and Release to the water.

[billkay]

I like to use snow and ice to keep the bait fresh.

[bulldawg]

I do that snow & ice trick too, but my tap water comes straight out of my well, so either works for me these days.

[LifeNRA]

[ QUOTE ]
I like to use snow and ice to keep the bait fresh.

[/ QUOTE ]

This will slow the matabilism(sp?) down and keep them longer so they dont need to feed! I believe at some tropical fish stores they have something to add to the water to make city water more suitable for fish! Maybe you can try that.

Keeping bait cold will keep them longer, but in summer time you have to make sure you dont kill them by throwing them right into warm water. Add some of the lake or river water slowly to get them used to the temp change.

[fisherguy]

Oh, and as for the cold, i keep them in a jug in the regridgerator and change the water every few days. My mom always loved that one.

[coles]

when i lived in louisiana we used shiners and goldfish for bait and we would always by 50 to 100 at a time. so when we came home with a bunch of them i just put them in a fish tank. if you have room you can get a fairly cheap and holds alot of fish. sometimes we just let them go cuz they didnt cost much. or you could smoke them and have a little snack for the trip.haha

[RangerClay]

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to drop a note of thanks for all the advise. I have always kept the minnows in the garage so they stay plenty cold. The reason for my question was because we just recently got hooked up to public water. I have had a well for years and I plan to hook it back up soon to the outside spickets (not back into the regular waterline). Since I have this new water I wasn't sure how the chlorination would effect the minnows. Now I know thanks to you all. I have already set aside a bucket of water and I will refresh it every few days. Thanks again everyone and if you are ever in the Watertown NY area give me a buzz and we will go fishing.

Thanks again everyone,
Ranger

[billkay]

Another idea might be to keep a rain barrel handy. The cold does seem to drop the metabolism of of fish.