Bait Tank Tips

Here are some tips to help maintain and keep your bait tank and livewells in great condition.

Whether you use a striper fishing boat or some other type of fishing boat, if you use live bait keeping your bait well in good condition is very important. Any good fisherman worth his salt knows that healthy, active live bait is a must if you want to catch fish. If your bait tank isn't in good condition neither will your bait be.

One very important factor is keeping your bait tank clean and free of slim and other oxogen consuming elements.

How to clean your bait tank

As you would expect chemicals in commercial cleaners can be very toxic to fish. So you dont want to use any type of household cleaners on your bait tank. There are cleaners that can be bought commercially which are safe to use. However instead of spending money on fancy cleaning products, it has been my personal experience that nothing you can buy works as well as a $0.25 box of plain baking soda. Simply mix 1/2 box of baking soda with 1 gallon warm water. a sponge or soft brush works well to clean with.

If you have a re-circulating aerator system which recirculates the water that is in your bait tank: after you've cleaned the inside of the tank thourghly, drain it and then insert the plug and pour another gallon of the baking soda solution into the well, turn on your recirculator and let it run for about 30 minutes. This will help clean the slim and gunk out of the hoses and the aerator it's self. Once you've finished this process, repeat the process with clean, plain water to rinse.

I recommend cleaning after every 2 uses however the more you clean your well the healthier you will be able to keep your bait; and you will get much longer life out of your aerators.

Winterizing your bait tank

For those of you who store your boats through the winter. Winterizing your bait tank and livewells should be part of your boat winterizing process. Winterizing a bait well or livewell basically means preventing water that's left contained inside the hoses or pumps from freezing and causing damage to the pumps. There are chemicals such as rv tank antifreeze which can be used for this. And this method is commonly recommended. This method is fine for your bilge. However I do not recommend using any type of chemical in bait tanks other than those such as used to keep bait alive. It's much safer and just as easy to disconnect the hoses and be sure the tank, hoses and pumps are thoroughly drained before storing your boat.

Follow these tips and it should help you get more and longer use from your baittank and more enjoyment from your fishing boat.