Keeping shad alive

Whenever I catch shad, I put them in a bucket. They swim into the corner, where the side meets the bottom and die. Is there a way to keep them from doing this? Is there a bucket without corners?

Also, I'm a newbie to this striper fishing thing, but I have caught the bug. I'm addicted!

Just a 5 gallon bucket like this

I've had success when bank fishing the spring creek runs keeping shad alive following this process.

When you first net the shad, put them in a separate bucket for a few minutes, this lets them release most of their scales and stress toxins. Than using a minnow net take them out and transfer it to your main bucket. This bucket needs to be aerated, I usually use two aerators with bubble stones weighted to sit on the bottom.

Buy yourself a 50lb bag of water softener salt. You can get it for $5 dollars at home depot. Throw in a handful and stir anytime you change the water of the bucket.

Buy yourself a lid for your 5lb bucket, drill a hole for your aerators, keeping the bucket closed helps alot towards calming the shad down and reducing the heat transfer into the water.

I wouldn't put more than 15 3-4 inch shad into a 5 gallon bucket at once.

I've been able to keep shad alive overnight during the spring spawn with this method.

Shad will not live without filter system and plenty of oxygen. 5 gallon bucket will not keep many shad healthy enough to have much success. Keeping shad alive for fishing takes a little work. Need at minimum of 10 gallon round or oval tank. Look at the grayline bait tanks. They are probably the best. You can get some good idea of what it takes to keep shad alive by looking at the design. They can be easily made out of large plastic barrels cut in half. You find a lot of do it yourself tanks on Google and YouTube.

If its cold shad will live pretty good. But if warm 50 degrees or warmer they need a lot of care

This is what I use. Works well.

http://www.amazon.com/Marine-Metal-PBC-2...ords=bait+saver

Shad tanks are your best bet. But if you don't have that option, the above mentioned works. Put them in a bucket to let them slime out, then transfer them to new water. I used to use an igloo cooler. This was Brazos River fishing out of a 14' Jon boat, mind you lol. Could keep about 2 baits (4-7") per gallon alive for most of the trip (4-5hrs) at night, with Aerator. Also, a cap or two full of hydrogen peroxide will help ya too.

Hard to beat a good bait tank like a grayline or keep alive. I built two home made bait tanks before I purchased my grayline. They worked to a point but nothing like the grayline. Once we get temps in the 90's that is when these tanks shine. They don't just keep the bait alive they keep it frisky. Frisky bait will catch fish. I'm a DIY guy. I build a ton of stuff myself. But this is one thing you are WAY better off just buying and moving on to another task.

As far as keeping bait alive. I always use tap water, dechlorinator, and lots of non iodine salt. Technically bringing a tank full of tap water to lake is now illegal with the new zebra muscle laws, but I choose to ignore stupid laws. If I get caught then so be it. I keep the water cool by any means necessary when its really hot. Frozen water bottles or dumping ice in the filter area. If you use ice in the filter area be sure you have a dechlorinator in the water. I don't like dumping any quantity of ice directly into the tank. It tends to shock the bait and I don't think it gives your dechlorinator time to work.

Im sure others have some tricks they use but this is what works for me.

I wonder why that's illegal.I would think tap water would be safe.

i use this exact tank and it'll keep 100+ shad a live all day. Make sure to put two handfulls of ROCK SALT and two squirts of FOAM OFF in it.

You must be using small shad.

yes sir! i usually don't use anything over 3" or 4"

I've been fishing shad without a shad tank for about a year. I've recently ordered a shad tank but still do not have it. here's what I've been doing that works:

1. have two blue lowes buckets
2. have two aerators going in the buckets before you put shad in them
3. throw a handfull of sea salt in both buckets
4. Put no more than 3-4 dozen shad in the first bucket. if you put more in than that sometimes they will die before you get them out.
5. If a shad hits the floor throw it back in the water. It won't make it. Shad must go directly from the net into the bucket.
6. Let them puke and poop and mess up the water for a few minutes then scoop out no more than 3 dozen into the second bucket. Discard all the remaining shad. The bottom of the first bucket will have what looks like mud in the bottom. Nasty stuff.
7. Refill the second bucket with clean water and add salt.
8. If you notice foam on the top of the bucket with the shad or shad getting red nose or dying, move them to the bucket with the clean new water and repeat step 7 with that bucket. You could add foam of or non dairy creamer but it's a waste of time since the shad will need to be moved from bucket to bucket as they mess up the water.

Lots of work and you can probably see why I sprang for a $400 plus shad tank. be interesting to see how often I have to change the filters. Can't catch many stripers now days at PK without live shad but they are a royal pain to use.

Worth the beating to catch big fish. Sounds like I need to buy one.

Yes sir

I have a grey line that I don't use anymore,that I will sell.
$ 225

Ouch! That hurt. I already have a tank

What size?

When I get one, I want it to be portable. Ideally it would fit on the back of a kayak. I have a 13'x3' kayak. The tank well is probably 3'x18"

Dang Bowfin! I just bought one yesterday. You sure could have saved me some dough.

What do you use to fill and dump the water? Mine will be a 17 gal tank so I doubt I'm going to want to pick it up and dump it. I'm thinking I need some sort of siphon.

Hey interested in buying your tank. Pm me and I will call you tomorrow.

I have an atwood thru hull pump that I picked up at walmart. I put the same electrical connection on the pump as the grayline bait take has on it and a short piece of hose. I just drop the pump into the tank and pump it over the side of the boat. Gets 99% of the water out. I use a good bit of salt in my tank so I don't like just dumping it into the boat. As far as filling up I do that at the house with a water hose.

Bowfin just sent you a PM if you are interested in selling your bait tank.

I pull the plug and drain into the boat. Saltwater and all.

Invest in a Grayline...Had mine for years. 30 gallon and have kept em alive for days. Salt and cooler water temps will keep them longer. I always freeze purified water in pints and use during warmer water times. Keep them all day without any problems. Caught many fish and can honestly say the tank pays for itself within a year of hard fishing. Probably less time than that actually. Filters, salt, water conditioner for ph only if you can't find or make time to freeze your filtered water and you'll be in business wherever you go. Grayline is the best out there. Know the inventor personally.