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speckled.trout · Full Grown Flour Bluffian Joined: 30 Aug 2012 Posts: 1190

Keeping croaker alive can be a trick. Your not going to do much better than
a couple of days in a bait well "closed system".
Water salinity level is IMO the most important thing. Croaker come from the bay where salinity levels are normally 32 - 36 PPT. They can take more salt but not for long. If your fishing the beach just change the water in your
bait well from time to time and you should be OK with the salinity levels and
ammonia levels. As far as air, I just use a double drop air system, I can keep 8 - 12 dozen baits alive all day with good water and that much air in a 15 gallon closed system in my boat.
Don't forget after a couple of days you'll need to feed them and then change the water after they eat or they will start to eat each other.
After all that.......my recommendation would be a oxygen system and a
152 qt. ice chest for the beach.

ST
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People always tell me to act my age. I tell them I don't know how, I've never been this old before.

speckled.trout · Full Grown Flour Bluffian Joined: 30 Aug 2012 Posts: 1190

Oh yea, you can get a hydrometer to check you salinity levels at your local
tropical fish houses it's around $14.00.

ST
_________________
People always tell me to act my age. I tell them I don't know how, I've never been this old before.

ThomasCarpenter · Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 2:39 pm Post subject:

A yeti Tub or one of the convenience store round stand up display coolers could be insulated options. Ones I have seen online are not too expensive
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nacskins · Horse Mullet Joined: 14 Aug 2015 Posts: 100

For that i agree with what R&R suggested.

ThomasCarpenter · Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 2:44 pm Post subject:

Speckled--- You have confirmed what I have been reading and what my gut told me. Is your bait tank a round system?
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nacskins · Horse Mullet Joined: 14 Aug 2015 Posts: 100

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00AmZCWsthU

speckled.trout · Full Grown Flour Bluffian Joined: 30 Aug 2012 Posts: 1190

I've been fishing croaker as bait for over 25 years. Most of the bait wells I've used are rectangle with rounded corners and a baffle in the middle to keep the sloshing to a minimum. Sloshing back and forth will stress them out real bad. I round the corners myself with fiberglass after I get the boat
and I put in the baffle (a 1/4" thick piece of plastic with holes in it) in the middle of the bait well.

ST
_________________
People always tell me to act my age. I tell them I don't know how, I've never been this old before.

ThomasCarpenter · Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 3:04 pm Post subject:

So I have no clue how to even mess with fiberglass. Would LOVE to learn from someone. I just do not translate hands on stuff very well from a book.

What radius are you putting in the corners. Im thinking a 4" radius should be sufficient.

Project gets started tonight for bait well modification 101. Will Post pictures as modification takes shape.

Any ideas for a certain brand of caulking. Its gonna have a month to dry. I do not think any of them will create and issue at this point.

Speckled. Do you have any circulation/current in your tank or just the aeration?
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If you do not seek a solution you are in the wrong situation.

KingKilla · Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 3:19 pm Post subject: Bait in the Surf...

I don't know what to tell you about transporting the bait to your destination while driving down the beach because I have not done that.

I can tell you how I keep my bait alive all day in the surf though. Never tried it with Croaker but mullet stay alive till you fish with them or let them go.

Take a 5 gallon bucket with a tight fitting lid and drill a bunch of holes in it. All over the outside of the bucket I drill 1/2 inch holes. Put a few in the lid also but not too many. Attach a rope to the bucket handle. Put your bait in the bucket and anchor it down in the wade gut. This can be done with a rod holder, a kayak anchor, or a large surf weight.

It should be anchored in an area that is deep enough that the entire bucket is submerged. If it wants to float add a few weights inside the bucket. The key here is that the bucket lays on the bottom and rolls around slowly so you end up with a flow through system that doesn't beat your bait up. Floating bait buckets get pounded by the surf and it ends up killing your bait. Also, don't overload it. Make multiple buckets if you need to keep more bait. If the surf is extremely rough the sunken bucket method will also beat up your bait in the long run. There is no good way to keep bait in the water if its really rough.

Yes it is more of a pain to get bait out of it because its out in the water but your bait will stay alive for a long time with no maintenance.

I'm going to give this disclaimer again since they are a pain...I have not tried this with croaker.

nacskins · Horse Mullet Joined: 14 Aug 2015 Posts: 100

Good idea, ty for sharing, and ty ThomasCarpenter for starting this conversation.

speckled.trout · Full Grown Flour Bluffian Joined: 30 Aug 2012 Posts: 1190

grasscutter · Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 4:33 pm Post subject:

Not to reinvent the shoe here, but I wonder if you drilled holes in the corner curves if this would act as baffles to slow the bouncing of water?

speckled.trout · Full Grown Flour Bluffian Joined: 30 Aug 2012 Posts: 1190

here is a picture of the baffle in the live bait system

[img]

Keeps the water from sloshing back & forth and can be used to separate bait types. Shrimp, croaker, piggies, mullet etc.

ST
_________________
People always tell me to act my age. I tell them I don't know how, I've never been this old before.

rodandroll · Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 8:02 pm Post subject:

nacskins · Horse Mullet Joined: 14 Aug 2015 Posts: 100

My attempt for a day trip to PINS using Live Shrimp. Water test shows no leaks so GTG there. Now just gotta test it out for real.