how to preserve minnows?

Answer 1

Minnows most often die from one of two causes. First, many people fail to aerate the water, and the minnows eventually deplete all the available oxygen. This can be overcome by use of an electric aerator, or more easily by placing the inner part of the minnow bucket (the container with all the holes in it) directly in the lake or stream water.

This can lead to the second cause of minnow death, which is thermal shock. Any quick temperature change of ten degrees or more is sufficient to kill minnows. To solve this problem, when you buy minnows from a store, keep them in the baggie of water that they come in. Place the sealed baggie of minnows in the lake/stream water and allow it to sit undisturbed for ten to fifteen minutes. This will gradually change the temperature of the water inside the bag, so that your minnows will not die right away. After the time has elapsed, you can open the baggie and put the minnows directly into the bucket (again, the inside part with the holes), and then place the bucket into the water.

Answer 2

The best way to preserve minnows is to take the dead minnows and lay them on a "cookie sheet" and salt them completely. Let them sit in the salt for a couple days or at least overnight. Then shake off the excess salt and put them in a freezer. If you just freeze them they will be VERY mushy and unuseable when they thaw.

Answer 3

are you talking about live minnows? keep the water cool, not freezing cold on the first day of trout this year we left the minnow buckets outside and the next morning we had to throw out about 2 dozen frozen minnows. change the water often, and use an aerator with a very porous stone on the end.

live in western PA, and damn proud of it <((((><

Answer 4

the best way is to keep them in the stream or lake you are fishing by far you could also try keeping them cool I secure a ice pack to the bottom of the bucket and aerate them if the temps in your bucket climb to high your minnow are toast and salted minnows totally do suck

Answer 5

if you are talking about dead minnow, get them out of water, and salt them down heavy. salted minnows are a joke and they dont work anyways. now if yer talking about keeping minnows alive, change the water often. keep cool. dont overload a minnow bucket or can, that easily depletes oxygen. use an aerator.

Answer 6

Salted minnows do work. Caught many limits of lake erie perch

Answer 7

put an aerator in your bait bucket. ask for one at a local tackle store, they'll show you how to put it in and everything

Answer 8

yeah use an aerator or you can just put it in the lake water. i believe that should work.