Storing live bait

[Fry Fisher]

Hi guys! About storing live bait - do you get them "fresh" each time, or do you store them (leftovers maybe?). Do they last long?

My understanding is that earthworms will last for a long time in dirt in the fridge and I imagine minnows would be not much different from keeping goldfish, but do you/how do you keep things like crickets, larval things (don't they turn into other bugs?)

[Dan Gwaltney]

A flathead is the larva of a pine bark beetle. That's what has been killing so many pine trees the last few years. In the spring and summer, you can hear them chewing on the wood beneath the bark on infected trees. Flatheads have some powerful jaws! Some folks say that if you fail to hook a fish, the flathead will hang onto him for you. ;-D

You got a picture of me?? No wonder you're scared! Yeah, lake Talquin is between TALlahassee and QUINcy. It is formed by a small hydroelectric dam on the Ochlocknee River.

[Dan Gwaltney]

Boogieman, you're gonna just love this! You know that little blue boat I was bragging about a while back? Well, it has turned out to be jinxed! I took it out once and it did great. Next time, the engine wouldn't start. Then I had this pesky little heart attack and couldn't mess with it for a while, but eventually replaced the powerpack in the motor. She ran great again, but then wouldn't pump water. Sooooo, I pulled the lower unit apart and got a new impeller and put it in, and went fishing. Motor ran good, but still didn't pump water. Investigated further and found that I had failed to line up the tube from the water pump to the engine, so I fixed that. Now the blooming thing won't run again, and I think that new $90 powerpack is toasted. :-(

Anyway, I told ya all of that to tell ya this! I went out there yesterday to test a few things before ordering another new powerpack, and there were bees swarming all around the hind end of my boat. A colony of honey bees has taken up residence in the tiny little bilge space of my boat! Fortunately, they are around the back seat, and I have stick steering, so they won't be MY problem when we check out all those docks on Lake Talquin where the rich people feed the fish. ;-D

[bluegillboogieman]

Hey Dan, this is gettin weird!!! Bees, boats and powerpack heart attacks. Sometime when you get the bees and boat straightened out, we'll have to hook up and check those docks together. I know you've got that ticker problem, but it will be OK. I know CPR! I am a retired firefighter and I've performed CPR a lots of times on real people. All the humans died anyway but that one dog lived. He was real pissed about my mouth on his nose when he came to, but hey, he lived. I ain't lying this time! I think I've got that human problem figured out and have been looking forward to trying my new method. When would be a good time?

Boogieman

[Johnny wilkins]

For live bait storage, nearly all bait has its temperature to keep it fresh. Waxworms are different from red worms are different from spikes/maggots.
There is a bait store I will never go to again that kept its wax worms in the fridge with their crawlers and spikes. I told the guy wax worms prefer a higher temperature and he said it didn't make a difference. Actually - he didn't care. I don't care about them any longer either - won't go into that store ever again.
Spikes need to be stored in a somewhat closed container but at 33 degrees. If they are moving - they are too warm.
While all this is about storing bait - I much, much, much prefer to fish the freshest bait you can buy. If it's moving, it's catching.
Fish all that bait out when you go fishing and store as little as possible! If you ever want to out fish your friend and they make you buy the bait all the time - give them last week's bait and use the fresh stuff. By afternoon, if they haven't figured it out already, you will have one grumpy friend on your hands as you will have out-fished them. If you really like them, both of you should use the new bait!
Old bait is dying bait is poor fish-catching stuff.
Lastly - your bait store (or you) should go through the bait container before you purchase. I have two that I go to and they open every single container and dump it out to check for dead stuff. If they find bad bait, they remove it and replace it with fresh stuff. This is key. A little dead bait can turn a whole container. Minnows, grubs or whatever don't do well with dead pals in the same container.

[Johnny wilkins]

The temperatures and methods above are spot on except the spikes. Keep them closer to freezing. You will get 2 - 3 weeks out of fresh spikes at 40, but should your spikes already be a couple weeks old from distributor to bait store, you may find them turning either brown or into fridge flies. Cutting off the oxygen is also good if you have a container with lid. There should be the smallest hole or two to let some gas escape. This also assists in keeping the spike hydrated.
You can tell a really fresh spike if it has a pulsating black spot in its body. This is it's food module and when you see them on your bait- you are in luck. You have strong, fresh spikes- a deadly bait. As that spot is consumed, your larvae's clock is ticking. Many of you have never seen these because distributors use 2-day air to get the bait to their business. Then they take 5 - 7 days to deliver their spikes to the stores on their route.
Remember, I say don't store the stuff. Keep it fresh and use it. You will be very glad not to remove dead bait on your next trip.
Storing them in your mouth... eh not recommended but here's a record you can go for:
Cheeky Maggot Transport!!
Charlie Bell smashed the one-hour record for transporting maggots in his mouth, but did admit afterwards that “It was disgusting”.
The record-breaker told The Sun: “I’ve been practicing at home with rice for months, but until that day I’d never had a mouth full of maggots. In total Charlie transported a whopping 17kg of maggots in an hour.
“I didn’t realise that they would smell so revolting”, he added. “It was like putting my head down a filthy public toilet. I was gagging and heaving violently but I was determined to do it.”
The record previously stood at 15kg, but Charlie isn’t so sure he’d try again if someone beat his current mark.
“If someone beats the maggot record, they’re welcome to it”, he told a local paper.
Pretty nasty eh? It makes me feel a bit sick thinking about it, I can’t imagine why he’d bother trying to beat that unless he has some sort of maggot craving.
Wasn't that disgusting?!
Yaaak! Time for breakfast and I won't be eating a breakfast buritto for fear of rice...