Live bait dying in livewell-Supercharge them

[Johnsaul]

Had a large recreational property on a lake many years ago. Had three very large minnow tanks made from cinder blocks which were 3ft deep and 10 feet long and they literally had thousands of minnows in them. I kept the whole room between 50-60 degrees for the minnows but on the other side I kept sodas, crate milk and various cooler backup supplies. I have also been an aquarium hobbyist for many years. Cool trumps oxygen saturation. That said, as one fella already stated, one begets another. Hot water does not hold O2 well. I cool the water with frozen water bottles and currently have the "baitkeeper" brand of air pump/diffuser. I have a floating version and a submersible unit and like the submersible one better but both do a good job. I'm sure that O2 injection systems would help when really hot but I would not spend $$$ on fancy stuff. It seems a small, regulated tank with a quality air-stone would suffice during the hottest time of the year. I almost never change the water during the course of a single days fishing. Ammonia killing bait is the last thing you need to worry about. And my OLD friend HOOP WAS CORRECT! Chems from sunscreen and bug spray will kill your bait. Use those cheap dip nets at Academy .99 to $1.99.