I thought I had to have a fancy bait tank too, until my brother told me the secret. Don't touch the shad with your bare hand! I can keep a couple dozen alive for several hours in my front live well as long as I don't touch them when I net them and put them in. Dump them from the net straight into the tank, or into a five gallon bucket full of water and then use a dip net to transfer them into the tank. Once you touch them they start to expire very rapidly.