Bait Tank Size?

[Salty Tricks]

Trying to save space and weight. What is the smallest size bait tank you would consider to hold a dozen to a doz and 1/2 bunker. Is 15 gal just too small?

Michael

[Kyle]

peanuts or adult bunkers?

[Salty Tricks]

Let's start with peanuts and then your opinion on whether some adult bunker can survive such a small tank.

[Steve08753]

I wouldn't put more than 6 adult bunker in a 15gal. tank and at that you need good water flow or the water will become contaminated quickly and the bait will die. With a lot of tanks the footprint can remain the same as the size increases. A 24 gal. Todd tank is the same diameter as a 36. Remember if space is the issue and not weight you might want to consider an oval tank, I have an oval 40 gal. under a leaning post in my 18' Parker so I loose no floor space and can keep a lot of bait.

[Kyle]

i've kept about 50 peanuts alive for several hour in a 6 gallon bucket so you could keep plenty alive in a 15 gallon with a decent airator. Anything larger like herring or adult bunkers go in my 55 gallon drum.

[Steve08753]

peanuts and adult bunker are night and day,adult bunker need far more water

[Salty Tricks]

Thanks

This is not an issue with my 23 Trophy....the problem is when I go to use my 17' Whaler. No room under the seat because of the fuel tank. Pain to plumb forward the console. Montauks are tiny when you start putting people and gear in them:( . But they certainly allow for more trips per fuel costs:) . I thought maybe I could use the swim platform to set up a tank but it needs to have a smaller diameter.

Appreciate your input
Michael

[Seaclusion]

I am not saying this is best practice!!! Last year we caught 24 lg bunker and had them in our bait well for about 5 hours till they were gone. My bait well is about 15 gallons and we just kept the pump running.

[outdoorsaddiction]

i talked to a marine biologist about this before and he recommended that you use a 1 gallon per fish ratio for larger baits such as bunker and herring.

[NIGHTIDES]

Adult bunker=1per gal
Blue back Herring=2per gal
Peanut Bunker=4per gal

That is just about how I have been doing it for the past 10 yrs. Water temp & quality plays a big roll as well. Rule 1,100gal/hr pump into a 20 gal tank is the rest of the story.

[channel runner]

There is an oxogen infuser from Keepalive that you can put into your well that will help allot. I have mine hooked up with a bilge pump that I hang over the side to recirculate the water. When I,m running I will hook up the infusser. You can order one from there web site. They have three different sizes.

[barrell]

A lot of good info ar www.livebaitlarry.com (http://www.livebaitlarry.com)

[Foureel]

I agree with the info that nightides gave you. We fish a 17 Whaler and use a home made 20 gal tank. Never had any problems holding 30+ peanuts. Only tried adults once and we only had a few in the tank with no problem.

[Blynch]

Trying to save space and weight. What is the smallest size bait tank you would consider to hold a dozen to a doz and 1/2 bunker. Is 15 gal just too small?

Michael

eish, i'd go significantly bigger. I've seen much bigger livewells that can hold buch less bait

[maine_sport]

I have no problems keeping 3 dozen spot or mullet in a 10 galleon KeepAlive bait tank for surf fishing all day at the beach. The Absecon Bay Sportsmen Center (Barn advertiser) are experts in the use of bait tanks. See their featured product section for the KeepAlive tank specifications.