Air Pump?!

[taggermike]

An air pump will keep minnows, smelt, or shrimp alive but the bait fish we use here need a steady flow of water to live more than a few minutes. Skip the air pump and set up a flow through water pump system. Round tanks work better then corners and wide low tanks tend to work better than taller narrower tanks. Avoid over crowding and your bait should live all day. Mike

[steveooo]

Originally Posted by taggermike

Avoid over crowding and your bait should live all day. Mike

^ This. Plus the other good stuff he mentioned, but IMO, over crowding is the most common cause of the bait dying on a yak.

Our tanks are relatively small, and will always be overcrowded once you get more than a few pieces of bait in there. If you are fishing in the harbor, near the receiver, see if you can slip the guy a few extra bucks and work out a deal where you can take a few baits at a time, and come back for a refill.

The less things the bait can bump into in the tank (plumbing fittings, hoses, corners, screw heads, airstones), the better.

[alanw]

Avoiding overcrowding is a huge factor in how long they live.

Having a round tank and minimal obstructions helps alot.

Slowing down the water supply so they aren't dying of exhaustion from swimming hard all day is another big factor.