Do you remember in high school; you would be playing a sport and the coach would yell out to the field, “Let’s look alive out there!” That was usually because he saw us all standing around with a finger up our nose and our head in the clouds. The coach figured if we weren’t moving then we weren’t playing the game. I treat my live bait in much the same way.
I figure if my bait isn’t moving then it’s not in the game. I only wish after I tipped a number-two hook with a minnow I could tell that bait to look alive and have it swim hard until it was eaten. The problem is I don’t speak minnow.
I recall when it was recommended by some of the pro-walleye anglers to smear some Preparation-H on your leeches before you sent them down. The theory was that the ointment made the leeches squirm more than usual and this triggered walleyes to bite. I didn’t notice enough difference in movement between the leeches that got dosed and the ones that didn’t and having a tube of Preperation-H in your boat elicits so many home remedies for the ailment I finally got rid of it.
There are all kinds of recipes for enhancing the action of live bait. Soaking nightcrawlers in a bucket of cool water the night before you hit the water will plump them up and get them wiggling hard when they hit the water.
Some bait anglers like to keep a small scissors in the boat and trim the fins on their minnows so when that bait is suspended under a bobber it swims erratically and triggers bites.
I find that the best way to ensure that my bait is working at peak performance levels is to provide it with a quality environment and change it often. Like anything in life, there are few gimmicks that will actually make your bait more lively and live longer. The bottom line; treat your bait properly and it will perform.
Let’s start with nightcrawlers. There are many containers designed just for nightcrawlers. One of my favorites is that rectangular foam unit with two lids that flips so you never have to dig. Fill that up with worm bedding and you have a nice place to store your “crawlers” as long as you keep them cool.
Where anglers go wrong on nightcrawlers is they keep them for too long in this container and they get limp and weak.
I buy my nightcrawlers a few days before I’m heading out to the water. I transfer them to the cool, moist worm bedding and if I haven’t used them up in a couple of weeks, out they go. Since I fish a lot I seldom waste a worm, but there have been times I’ve forgot I had some in my refrigerator and they got pretty gooey.
Leeches are almost too easy. I put them in a Leech Tamer bag and toss them in the livewell. The key to a lively leech is to replace them often. It seems that after you hook a leech and let it swim for about 15 minutes it looses all its spunk and then it just stretches out behind the hook. Do the math. If you’re planning on being out for six to eight hours you need two to three dozen leeches. Change that leech every quarter hour and you’ll always be fishing with a lively one.
When it comes to minnows, people worry more about just keeping them alive then keeping them lively. I want both, so I use my livewell to create the perfect environment for my suckers, shiners and fatheads.
I have an Oxygenator in my livewell so I know the bait is getting plenty of Oxygen. I store the minnows in a Tamer bag so I know they have plenty of room to move. There is one more trick I use. I treat my water.
Minnows produce a lot of waste like carbon dioxide and ammonia and when this builds up too much it kills them. For this I use a livewell additive called U2. U2 is a livewell additive that is not salt based, which I could never recommend that you use. With the Oxygentor, the Tamer bag and U2 the minnows stay alive, they stay lively and when I send them down they perform just like the coach would like. They look alive.
Editor’s Note: Adam Johnson is an Aquatic Biologist who travels the United States in search of quality fishing holes.By: Adam Johnson
