Keeping Bait Alive at Home Help

[Jonathan Allen]

I would like some input on making a livewell of some sort that i could use at home to keep bait alive for a few days. My family has a shrimp boat and i would like to be able to keep a few hundred shrimp alive from when they go until i can use them to fish with. Anyone that has any input it would be greatly appreciated

[ckinchen]

Originally Posted by Jonathan Allen

I would like some input on making a livewell of some sort that i could use at home to keep bait alive for a few days. My family has a shrimp boat and i would like to be able to keep a few hundred shrimp alive from when they go until i can use them to fish with. Anyone that has any input it would be greatly appreciated

Hopefully you will get some good answers to this, I would like to install a live bait system at my camp to keep a few live shrimp alive when we are there for an extended period.

[FF_T_Warren]

is your home on the water or no? if it is then get a pool pump and suck it straight out the water(have a screen on the intake pipe) and into your big bait tank and on the the tank have an overflow pipe with a screen(to keep bait from escaping) that goes back to the water.

if you dont live on the water just make the pump recirculate the water in the tank. just make sure you have a screen on the intake pipe so you don't suck up your bait. I don't know how long bait will last in a tank without fresh water thought.

[jchief]

If you just recirculate, you will have to add some O2 and cool the water somehow. I used to know a guy that kept shrimp alive for 2 days or so on his boat. Haven't seen him in a few years though. i know he used oxygen to do it. His boat was on teh water.

[CampCanard]

These work
http://www.boydsonestop.com/oxygenresponse.html

[ckinchen]

Originally Posted by CampCanard

These work
http://www.boydsonestop.com/oxygenresponse.html

I would agree, I have Jason Boyd's tank and it does work. Jason always is at the Houston Boat and Fishing shows for those of you that go. The last two years at the fishing show he had an aquarium there full of shrimp that he kept alive for days. My camp is on the water so it sounds like I may be able to keep my shrimp alive longer.

[yak'em-n-stack'em]

you will need to keep the water cooler too.

at least in the shade, if not have a chiller to keep the water below 90ish

[Jonathan Allen]

yes i do live on the water but it is on a bayou off of lake p. and it is brackish water is that ok?

[eman]

Chas keeps his bait alive in his tanks at the dock and was doing so at his house. bothe are in eden isles off lake p. so you should be ok.

[Ray]

Saw them at the Houston Fishing Show.

[Bluechip]

Originally Posted by Jonathan Allen

yes i do live on the water but it is on a bayou off of lake p. and it is brackish water is that ok?

I think it would be fine....get a few shrimp and give it a try.

[Jonathan Allen]

I found our old 55 gallon saltwater aquarium tank and i am going to try to keep that in my garage and fill it with water from lake p. with 5 gallon buckets.

[eman]

not going to work ,Shrimp need moving water . square corners will cause them to bunch up in a corner and die.you need a recirculating pump.

[yak'em-n-stack'em]

the water can be brackish, thats where shrimp spend most of their life

[Jonathan Allen]

i do have a recirculating pump and it infuses outside air as it pumps

[ckinchen]

If I were to use a bait tank like the link below, in order to keep shrimp alive for over 48 hours would I need to have an inflow line from the canal in front of my camp or would a reticulating pump be enough? I have looked on the web today for a decent tank system without a great deal of success.
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]If I did need an inflow pump, to pump water in from the canal, do an of you have a recommendation of where I could purchase a system that would work?[/SIZE]

http://www.piedmontbaittanks.com/1400Series.html

[Ray]

At Calcasieu Point, they have raw river water and oxygen in their tanks.

[tigerhead]

If you are on a canal, have you thought about dropping a live bait cage in the canal? Years ago, the bait camps didn't have pumps, they had cages made of cypress slats that they dropped in the water with a rope and pulley. If anyone is old enough, they might remember the cages at Joe Dugas's Landing on the west side of Big Lake. As long as you have good water flow and the surface water isn't too hot, they will stay alive a long time.

[jchief]

You saying I am old? I remember them when I was but a tot.

[tigerhead]

Hey, if the shoe fits? I don't remember when those old cages went away. Sometime in the 60's, I discovered an artificial called a Specs-a go-go. They were a jig head with a rubber worm shaped body, held on the jig head with a little o-ring. They were soon followed by Boone tout's. Once I discovered soft plastics, I quit buying live shrimp for a while.