dannyott1106 Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 any one have any pointers on building a home made bait tank for herring? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cnnashman Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 any one have any pointers on building a home made bait tank for herring? Keep it round with no corners , keep it very well oxygenated with a big pump or two separate pumps (i use two for herring ) and keep the water at a stable temperature ( you can buy rolls of thin foam insulation that you can use to line the inside of a big cooler or big tub. Building one that discharges old seawater and brings in new is the best method for these baits. One last tip is to never crowd baitfish in the herring family ala, Alewife,Threadfin, Menhaden etc... they won't last long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HJS Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Are you talking about a small tank for your boat, or a bigger tank to hold herring at home or marina for longer periods of time? The first casualty of War, Politics, and now Covid is the truth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannyott1106 Posted February 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 i was thinking a 5 gallon bucket. or something close to that. i fish a tributary of the hudson and also ill be getting into kayak fishing this spring. i think the bucket would be a good size for both. thanks cnnashman for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie2 Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 A 5 gallon (white) drywall bucket works for me. I have this lid that I got from somewhere that has a trap door and an attachment for the aerator. It runs off 2 D size dry cell batteries. C2 Pay it Forward- George(Gowge) Pope RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
likestofish Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 5 gallons is really limiting the amount of bait you can hold. For something larger you could try using a rubbermaid water trough. They are relatively cheap for the gallonage, and have round corners. Just set up a large pump that goes into a 5 gallon bucket that has filter floss and holes punched in the bottom. Then set the bucket over the the tub for cheap and simple filtration and aeration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cnnashman Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 i was thinking a 5 gallon bucket. or something close to that. i fish a tributary of the hudson and also ill be getting into kayak fishing this spring. i think the bucket would be a good size for both. thanks cnnashman for the help. ht tp://www.stripersonline.com/t/834401/home-made-bait-tank# Danny, for certain types of baitfish(finger mullet) a five gallon pail with one aerator does the job. Even a two d size battery model works well with mullet but Herring is a totally different ballgame. When i fish Herring it's critical that you have (especially with the size of a five gallon bucket) two aerators, one on each side they can be portable units that run on two d size batteries, just make sure you use two) This is the only method that truly works for these delicate baitfish ( when portability is essential like in a kayak). When i tell you that i have tried everything, i mean i have tried everything and this works well. You still cannot crowd them but i have been successful keeping them frisky for all day trips with this method. You also want to tape the tubes against the side of the bucket and at the very bottom add two quality airstones. The bigger the better. If you get a chance to change out the water during the day do it, after a few hours it's a good practice. One last thing , try not to handle these type of baits because it effects them much more so than it does with other baitfish like Mullet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannyott1106 Posted February 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 thanks for all the help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justinfisch01 Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 If you plan on having these with you while out on the kayak why don't you look into a floating bait pen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
likestofish Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Also i forgot to ask is this for home or to just carry around? cnnashman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cnnashman Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 I think he wanted it for his kayak. I use floating homemade bait pens out on the dock, i have made them out of hardware cloth with a big pool noodle that encircles the top to keep it upright. I also have some nylon mesh ones but the crabs tear it up. I have to heavily reinforce the bottoms because the crabs eventually get through that also. I use the 5 gallon bucket with the two aerators in the kayak though, the two aerators cost about $10.00 each and as long as you have one on each side it works very very well. The problem with many cheap aerators is they seem to stop producing bubbles after a short time but this is an easy fix. If you take it apart( just the plastic housing inside the box) you will notice a black rubber sleeve, leave that part alone. What you want to get is the small round plastic ring that holds the metal rod, ( it is attached to the motor shaft) use pliers and pull the rod off and heat it with a lighter until its hot enough to stick back into the plastic near the edge. Make sure its secure and reassemble. The aerator should work like new now. I have heard guys in the past voice their disappointment with these cheap aerators,( not on this forum but through the years) and it's an easy fix so i thought i would mention it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannyott1106 Posted February 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 all the info is much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbh Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 A bucket in a kayak acts like a sea anchor and if you don't have a rudder to compensate tough to go straight. Depending on size bait I have used PVC capped with drilled holes. cuts through water a little better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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