Acclimate your Bait!

I like my minnows to be active and flashy when I'm fishing tip ups and dead sticks. Some people like to fish dead bait, and I've seen it work, but that's not my preference most of the time. A few years ago I watched some of my tip up baits with an under water camera and I was reminded of the rookie mistake I was making. As I watched, I could see my sucker minnows were barely moving. I would jig the line up and down slightly and they'd come to life, but only for a brief moment. I proceeded to check all of my groups tip ups and it was the same thing; suckers, large shiners, and fat head minnows, all acting the same way.

We switched out all the minnows and were happy to see more life and flash on all the lines, but within 10-15 minutes it was back to the same thing with little to no movement. It took me a minute, but I was able to remind myself pretty quickly what was going on. They were experiencing shock. The water in our minnow cooler was much warmer than the water we were putting them in. They weren't dying, but they had no energy and their system was telling them to sit still. That was not the presentation we wanted on that particular day. You need to keep a few things in mind if you're wanting good active bait on your lines.

First, consider where you're getting your bait. If you catch your own, and it's coming out of a lake or river that's already the same temperature as the area you'll be fishing, just make sure you maintain that temperature and you'll be fine. If you're buying your minnows from the local bait shop, pay attention to how they're keeping their bait. Do they have chilled tanks, or are their tanks open to the room temperature of the rest of the shop? If they have chilled tanks, again, just keep it cold. Most new bait containers are really well insulated and do a great job of this already. If the bait you're buying is in warm water, you'll need to acclimate them slowly to colder water.

I don't recommend just throwing a bunch of ice in the water. A drastic temperature swing too quickly can kill them. You'll want to bring the temperature down gradually. The way I like to do this is by placing snow in the bait bucket. I place a decent amount of snow, depending on the size of the cooler I'm using, directly in with the minnows. Obviously, the warmer the water, the faster the snow will melt. Even when you feel you're placing quite a bit of snow in the bucket, it's actually less "cold material" than you think. Compared to solid ice cubes/chunks, snow has a lot less mass and seems like it's a lot harder to overdue it compared to ice. I like to gradually add snow over time and slowly bring the temperature down. Short of using a thermometer, you'll be able to see that it's working judging by how quickly the snow is melting. Once it starts taking longer to melt, you know the temperature of the water is colder.

Pay attention to where you're storing your minnows as well. For me, I have to store mine inside my entry way overnight where they won't freeze. That means that in the morning, the water is pretty warm because it's been inside my house all night. Depending on how far away from home you fish, you'll likely have them in the truck for a while as well. Don't place your minnow buckets directly under your heater in the truck. As you're loading up, remember to throw some snow in there. Do it again when you get to the launch and again when you get to the location you'll be fishing on the lake. The lower you can get the temperature, and the slower you can do it, the better.

With all the equipment that most people bring on the ice these days, it's hard enough just to remember the bait itself sometimes. But the more you can keep in mind the small details like acclimating your bait, the better off you'll be. For those of you that don't get a lot of time on the ice, make sure you're maximizing your chances, the small details can be the difference maker. There are many great products on the market, but for me, I prefer my #Engelcoolers Live Bait Cooler. Once you get the water temperature where you want it, it does a great job maintaining it for long periods of time. It also has one of the best air pumps I've found that will continue to work all day in the harshest conditions.

I prefer my minnows to be active and flashy!