How To Keep Bait Alive
To successfully keep your bait alive, you must regulate oxygen levels, ammonia levels, and water temperature to maintain an ideal environment for continued life.
Keeping bait alive can be a complex topic, but hopefully, after reading this article, you will have the knowledge to easily do so. Let’s take an in-depth look into how to keep your bait alive and the best methods to do it!
Regulating Oxygen Levels:
When it comes to keeping your bait fish alive, the first factor that can go rye is the oxygen levels in the environment they are being held in. The moment baits enter the live well, bait bucket, or any other temporary holding tank, they instantly begin to deplete the available oxygen within the water. If additional oxygen is not added to the water consistently, your baits will quickly die from a lack of oxygen.
Thankfully, there are many ways to regulate oxygen levels for your baitfish, many of which depend on the baitfish’s location and the amount of money you are willing to invest in keeping your baitfish alive.
Here Are Four Ways To Regulate Oxygen Levels To Keep Your Bait Alive
- Invest in an aerator: The best and most obvious solution to regulate oxygen levels in your bait bucket is to invest in a high-quality aerator. Aerators are an accessory that you can attach to the side of your bait bucket that pumps oxygen back into the water at a consistent rate. All aerators are built to regulate a specific amount of water, so it is essential to know the size of the container you will be holding your bait.
I recommend doubling your aerator size for the actual container you are holding your bait. You want to make sure they get plenty of air, and many aerators don’t suffice for their recommended capacity. For example, If you plan to keep your baits in a 5-gallon bucket, I recommend using an aerator rated for up to 10 gallons of water.
Also, one thing that is important to mention is that aerators are either powered by a battery or plugged into central power, so make sure you ask yourself if there will be an adequate power supply nearby. If the answer is no, I would recommend investing in a battery-powered aerator.
- Oxygen Tablets: Oxygen tablets are another easy yet effective method of regulating the oxygen levels in your bait bucket. These tablets are used by dropping them into the water and allowing them to fizz, which slowly adds oxygen back into the water. It is important to mention once the tablets stop fizzing, it’s time to add additional tablets into the water. Most tablets will provide extra oxygen to the water for up to 2 hours.
- Manual aeration: If you do not have the availability of an aerator or oxygen tablets, you can oxygenate the water by scooping cupfuls of water out of the bucket and pouring it back into the water. The more bubbles you can create as the water enters back in the bucket, the better.
- Refresh the water: One of the best ways to keep the water oxygenated is by refreshing your water throughout the day. The best way to refresh the water is to drain a third of the current water in the container then subsequently add additional water using a bucket or large cup. Repeat this process every one to 2 hours for the best results.
The second most important factor when keeping your bait alive is the ammonia levels.
Ammonia levels quickly rise in waters, especially when bait buckets are overpopulated. Every time a fish urinates or defecates, ammonia is added to the water. If the ammonia levels are not regulated, the bait will die within hours from ammonia toxicity.
Here Are Three Ways To Regulate Ammonia Levels To Keep Your Bait Alive.
- Ammonia removing tablets: Adding ammonia tablets to your bait bucket is a great way to regulate ammonia levels in the water. Ammonia removing tablets work by forming a chemical bond that slowly dissipates the ammonia out of the water back into the air.
- Refreshing water: One of the easiest ways to regulate ammonia levels is simply refreshing the water every 1 to 2 hours, depending on the amount of bait within captivity.
- Adding live stone or coral: Another way to regulate ammonia levels in water is to add a live stone or coral to the water—both live creatures process ammonia as food.
Lastly, but certainly not a one to be ignored, is water temperature. When bait is kept in captivity in a regulated system, water temperatures can quickly spike, leading to your bait’s quick death.
Here Are Three Ways To Regulate Water Temperature To Keep Your Bait Alive.
- Adding a frozen water bottle: A simple and easy way to keep water temperatures from quickly rising in a live well or bait bucket is by placing a frozen water bottle into the water. It is essential to mention that the goal isn’t to freeze the bait but rather to regulate their temperature to the same levels as the environment they were harvested from. I recommend sticking your hand into the water to see the current temperature of the environment to set a baseline and periodically reaching in to make certain temperature levels did not increase or decrease too drastically from the baseline.
- Keeping your bait out of the sun: When keeping bait alive, you can help regulate the temperature of the water by keeping your bait out of the sun. Many times when you’re fishing, shade is a scarce commodity; therefore, I always recommend bringing a Sunbrella. A Sunbrella is a great way to keep your bait cool while doubling as a spot you can escape the sun after a long day fishing.
- Use a light-colored container: This should go without saying, but I’ve seen this issue more times than not. When you’re selecting your bait bucket, make sure to choose one that is light in color.
Lighter colored containers keep water temperatures an average of 7 degrees cooler than a darker alternative.
independent research performed by fishinvestigator.com
As long as you can regulate these three water factors, you will dramatically increase your ability to keep your bait alive. For those that are overachievers and want some additional tips to extend your baits life, keep reading.
Three Additional Tips To Keep Your Bait Alive.
Minimize handling: When it comes to keeping bait alive for a long time, you will want to minimize the actual handling of the baits. The more the fish are handled, the higher the possibility of them prematurely dying. The process of bait being caught is stressful, and any additional stress directly correlates with the time bait can survive when kept in captivity.
Don’t overcrowd your bait bucket: One mistake I often see is anglers overcrowding their bait bucket with bait. If a bait bucket is overcrowded, oxygen and ammonia levels can dramatically increase, making it difficult to regulate optimal water conditions. If you can’t see the bottom of your bait bucket, it’s probably overcrowded.
Purging the water: No matter what you do to keep your bait alive, there will always be a couple that doesn’t make it. It is essential to quickly purge the water of any dead bait to keep water conditions clean and free of toxic dead matter.
How Long Do Baitfish Last In A Bait Bucket?
Without any assistance, baitfish last on average between 4-6 hours. However, you can easily extend this period by taking care of them using the methods in this article.
How To Keep Bait Alive In A Bucket?
To successfully keep bait alive in a bucket, you will need an aerator, water conditioner, and a way to regulate water temperature, whether a frozen water bottle or placing your bait bucket out of the elements.
How To Keep Bait Alive Overnight
To keep bait alive overnight, you will need an aerator to add oxygen back into the water, a water conditioner to dissolve ammonia, and a place to hide the bait from extreme temperatures.
How To Keep Bait Alive Without An Aerator
Bait can be kept alive without an aerator by manually refreshing the water or dropping oxygen tablets into the water periodically.
How To Keep Shrimp Alive Overnight
To keep shrimp alive overnight, you must regulate their container’s oxygen, ammonia, and temperature levels. Using a high-quality aerator and conditioning the water with an ammonia remover will yield the best results.
How Long Can You Keep Baitfish Alive?
Baitfish can be kept alive as if they are in the wild if you feed them and continually regulate their oxygen, ammonia, and temperature.
How To Keep Bait Worms Alive
Worms can be kept alive by being placed in a container with moist compost at an ideal temperature ranging from 50 to 85°F
Which Baits Stay Alive The Longest
Different types of baits have various life expectancies when held in captivity. Below is a breakdown of different baits and the length of time they can live without food when given an aerator, a water conditioner for ammonia, and water temperatures are being regulated.
| Bait Type | Days Kept Alive without food |
| Mullet | 3-4 Days |
| Crab | 4-5 Days |
| Shrimp | 4-5 Days |
| Sardines | 2-3 Days |
| Pilchards | 3-4 Days |
| Ballyhoo | 2-3 Days |
| Pinfish | 2-3 Days |