Stayin’ Alive – Best Ways to Keep Your Bait Fresh

The late summer months typically cause water temperatures to soar, leading to fish slowing their feeding habits. While artificial lures still work great in most situations, live bait holds a huge advantage for less aggressive and pressured fish. The main issue anglers run into when using live bait during the summer is keeping it alive. Here are some different ways to keep your bait alive this summer:

Aerators

This is an essential tool for keeping any aquatic bait alive during the summer. There are tons of aerators on the market. The key to choosing the right aerator is making sure you look at the amount of water it can aerate. Also, adding ice to your water will help protect baitfish, however, only a few cubes because adding too much can cause baitfish to go into shock.

Bedding

Making sure your worms have good bedding will give them the strength to withstand harsher conditions. Make sure to always keep worms out of direct sunlight. Frabill Crawler Cabins are great because they absorb water and act like a cooler to keep worms cool and lively.

Ice Coolers

One great way to keep worms alive is to take a small drink cooler and freeze two or three inches of water at the bottom. This will keep your worms fresh for several hours and will not melt as quickly as ice that is chunked and separated. Also, adding an ice pack or two can help. Containers like Frabill’s Universal Bait Can are great for night crawlers. Simply throw ice in one side and crawlers in the other before you go fishing.

Insulated Containers

The Frabill Insulated Bait Bucket with Aerator is a great “one, two punch” for keeping baitfish alive. This container not only aerates the water, but it also insulates the bait, keeping it at a more consistent temperature. StrikeMaster Bait Puck Bait Containers are great for keep grubs and wax worms alive longer as well.

Tablets

Sure-Life Bait Buddies Tablets work well for both short trips and as a backup solution for keeping your baitfish alive. These tablets also remove chlorine from the water so as to not harm the baitfish.

BaitUp!

The BaitUp containers are a great solution for fishing small streams and wading during the summer months. Simply put your baitfish in the container and periodically replace the water as needed. These containers allow you to open them, dump the old water out, and refresh the water in seconds. The Frabill Galvanized Wade Bucket and Quick Minnow work great for this as well.