Camping on the TFF

[nate6784]

Hey everyone,

making our annual trip camping and fishing the flowage starting on the 17th of May. This is our 3rd summer up here, and we are beginning to learn the area and have some success, thanks in part to your posts! However we have still struggled with keeping minnows alive all week. we camp down by rat lake and would like to avoid a run back to the bait shop, but havent figured out how to do that yet. any tips?

thanks!

[Mark Benson]

nate:

How do you store them???

Mark

[nate6784]

nate:

How do you store them???

Mark

In previous years we have used buckets and lots of ice, but it seems by about the 3-4 day mark they usually go belly up. We change the water every few hours to try and reset the oxygen levels. Pretty sure their death has something to do with temperature changes, but that is hard to avoid.

[Slow Burn]

In previous years we have used buckets and lots of ice, but it seems by about the 3-4 day mark they usually go belly up. We change the water every few hours to try and reset the oxygen levels. Pretty sure their death has something to do with temperature changes, but that is hard to avoid.


Floating minnow buckets/nets work pretty well.

I like to anchor ours a bit off shore when camping to make sure its staying in cool water with some flow/current.

Doesn't seem good to overpack it with minnows, so having two floaters would be a good idea, and then just take what you need in a seperate bucket out fishing each time.


We still lose some minnows to death, but they last pretty well with this method.

[Flambeau Vista Retreat LLC]

Secure the lids of minnow buckets with some wire. The otters love to poke their heads in the flip lids and have a meal.

[Slow Burn]

Secure the lids of minnow buckets with some wire. The otters love to poke their heads in the flip lids and have a meal.

Absolutely, thanks for that addition

[Mark Benson]

Yep otters and raccoons... Every one has excellent ideas... My friends use 5 gallon pails with screw on lids... drilled a bunch of holes in them and split the minnows, put a sizey rock in the bottom to keep it on the bottom and wire the lids for the critters and you should be good... always going to lose some, even the bait shops do. If you are bringing more to stay out bring another bucket... oh and make sure you tied the bucket off...

Mark

[The Fox]

Yep otters and raccoons... Every one has excellent ideas... My friends use 5 gallon pails with screw on lids... drilled a bunch of holes in them and split the minnows, put a sizey rock in the bottom to keep it on the bottom and wire the lids for the critters and you should be good... always going to lose some, even the bait shops do. If you are bringing more to stay out bring another bucket... oh and make sure you tied the bucket off...

Mark

We use the floating buckets and put a rock in them just big enough to sink them. With a six foot rope, that gets them deep enough to keep most of them alive this time of year. Another choice would be to use mud minnows. They seem to be able to tolerate warmer and less oxygenated water.

[sureshot612]

more buckets and less minnows per bucket