Hobie live well
 

How long will your WILD uncured unpurchased sardines last in your Hobie live well??? How many will last say over 4 hours??

They should all live for 4 hours, the warm water sometimes creates more die off in the Summer. Good flow in the Hobie tank as there is no restricting flow head on it.

My opinion is...
 

That there are alot of varibles on how long they will live such as how they are hooked and how they are unhooked and handled, water temp, size of bait tank, amount of bait in your bait tank, types of bait you have in your tank...There really isn't a solid answer to the amount of time sardines should last...With that said it also wouldn't be unusual to have your bait last all day.

One thing is for sure...if you catch herring which closely resemble sardines...they will not last more than a few minutes and die right away in your tank. If your having problems with losing a good chunk of your bait, next time take a look at the dead ones...they might be those pesky herring. I usually throw those back as soon as I catch them.

Hate those things, bigger eye, more forky tail, blue stripe..........dead in minutes.

https://www.eopugetsound.org/sites/d...a_1024x768.jpg

Ive got a homemade Rubbermaid live well. I think it holds 4 -5 gallons? Bilge pump over the side really good flow. Was careful today and caught 4 sardines, not herring. Got on the spot, put one down, within 2 hours 2 were dead. Water temp was 70 degrees. the cured sardines will last well over 4 hours in same live well. just wondering if the Hobie live well is worth $315???

http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwevb/s...ad.php?t=31820

There was a thread on that recently.

Ah-HA!

Thank you. I thought they were sardines.

Those things are depressing.

My experience from catching a few in La Jolla or use on 1-2 day boats is that Sardines, suck. They don't stay alive very long after catching in a live well, even with great water flow. More importantly is I don't thing they are as strong a swimmer as Pacific or Spanish macs. The extra care in handling them, so they don't loose a ton of scales or trying to nose hook them, just doesn't make them worth it. I'll take 6-10 macs over a scoop of sardines, unless you are chumming with all the dead ones.