LIVELIER LIVE BAIT
By Bob Jensen

During certain times of the year, it's tough to beat a Roach Rig with a minnow, leech, or nightcrawler for fishing success. In fact, live bait can be especially productive right now if fishing conditions get difficult. It is very important though, to have fresh and lively bait. Fresh and lively bait will do an excellent job, but the dried out, shriveled up stuff will be useless. If you want to catch some fish this time of year, lively live bait will help you do so.

If you want to keep your live bait lively this time of year, it is necessary to give it a little attention. Nothing difficult or time-consuming, just a little care. Crawlers and leeches for example. You can't leave them sitting out in the sun. The water on the leeches will get hot and the crawlers will dry up. Neither of these things is good if you want leeches or crawlers that appeal to fish.

Keep your crawlers in a Frabill Lil Fisherman container with fresh bedding, and keep the Lil Fisherman in a cooler with ice. Keep the leeches in the same cooler. The cooler that you keep your snacks and drinks in will work well. For a day on the water, that's pretty much all you need to do to keep the crawlers and leeches lively.

Minnows can be a little more challenging this time of year. Minnows that are kept in a bucket with warm water aren't going to last very long. It works best to keep a fresh supply of oxygenated water going through the bucket. The livewells on many modern boats have special inserts for minnow buckets. If you have this option, make sure fresh water is constantly being pumped onto the minnows.

Frabill's Flow-Troll is perfect if you prefer to pull your bucket behind the boat or if you're fishing from the shores of a river. This style bucket provides automatic aeration as water flows through it, and the door always rides up.

If your going to be sitting on the shore and water flow is minimal, or if you don't want to pull a bait bucket behind the boat, drop an Aqua-Lung into the minnow bucket. These little tablets dissolve slowly and release oxygen as they dissolve. They also remove any contaminants that could be harmful to the minnows. 

Keeping your live bait lively isn't difficult or time-consuming, but it can pay big dividends. Live bait that isn't alive when you want it to be is no good. Keep the crawlers and leeches cool, and keep a constant supply of fresh, oxygenated water going over your minnows, and you'll have live bait when you need it, and that will help with you catch more fish in the summer as well as any other season.