Fishing with live bait is sometimes a must. When it comes to tempting big fish with live shrimp many anglers struggle to keep their bait shrimp alive. Inside, we discuss how to keep bait shrimp alive and some of the tricks we use to use live bait successfully.
How To Keep Shrimp Alive Longer
Like all living organisms, there are parameters that must be met to keep shrimp alive. Those are:
- Plenty of air
- The right water temperature
When you take shrimp out of the water and put them in a bucket or a Livewell, you are putting them into an artificial environment. That means you have to manage the environment to create one that sustains life, even if it is for a short while as you fish. Here’s some more on how to do that.
- Limit How Many Shrimp You Put in Your Bucket or Livewell – For three gallons of water Keep no more than about 18-shrimp. For five gallons of water keep no more than 24 shrimp. Too many shrimp deplete oxygen and foul the water. When the water is dirty it kills the shrimp. Live shrimp is a better bait option over dead shrimp – though both will catch fish.
- Add Oxygen – Warm water holds less oxygen than cold water. Because the shrimp are in a bucket, the water will warm quickly. To counter the loss of oxygen, use a bubbler. There are battery-operated bubblers that will aerate the water for you. As an alternative, there are flow-through shrimp buckets that you drop into the ocean where you are fishing. The tidal pressure forces water through the bucket so you don’t have to worry about an aerator.
- Use a Shrimp bucket – Unless your Livewell is small you probably want to go with a special bucket for live shrimp. They make them. They are set up to hold an aerator. Plus, they are small enough that you don’t have to hunt for shrimp.
- Use small ice packs to regulate the water temperature. If the water is too cold or too warm the shrimp will die. By using small ice packs or even small amounts of frozen water in a bottle or container, you can keep the water in the bucket just right. Do not add ice directly to the water. It will shock the shrimp and cause them to die. It also will melt and dilute the water in the bucket. Saltwater shrimp need salt water and if you add ice to the bucket, it will drop the ratio of salt to the water.
- Limit the time you have the shrimp in the bucket – On the way to go fishing, pick up your live shrimp from the bait store. Trying to keep them overnight is a hassle. By limiting the amount of time you have the shrimp, you stand better odds of getting to the fishing spot with live shrimp.
- Keep it Shrimp Only – The shrimp bucket is for shrimp. Don’t put anything else in there. Not only do you risk your shrimp becoming a meal for other things in the bucket, but those other things will use up oxygen and pollute the water, both of which put your live shrimp at risk of dying.
What Are You Using To Keep Shrimp Alive?
One big mistake that anglers make when trying to keep shrimp alive is to use a regular bucket. You can certainly take a regular bucket and modify it to work. It is much easier to just buy a shrimp aerator or filter bucket. It is also important that your shrimp bucket be clean before you use it – every time you use it. When you have a designated shrimp bucket, you tend to use it only for shrimp which cuts down on many pathogens that may kill the shrimp.
Common Mistakes
- Adding ice directly to the bucket is a common mistake.
- Not cleaning the bucket well enough before you add the water and the shrimp
- Not keeping the bucket out of the sun while you fish
- Adding too many shrimp to the bucket, especially with an aerator.
Advice For Longer Lifespan
- Keep the water temperature fairly consistent. Not hot, not cold, but something close to the surface temperature of the waters where you fish.
- Don’t put other fish in with your bait shrimp. Fish like shrimp as snacks.
- Use a bait shrimp bucket that you float in the ocean. It will help keep the temperature in the bucket consistent and add aerated water to the bucket.
- Don’t buy your shrimp the day before you go fishing, instead, buy them on the way to go fishing so that you keep them in a bucket for the least amount of time possible.
How To Keep Shrimp Alive Without a Livewell
Unless your Livewell is small, do not use it for keeping bait shrimp alive. You will spend a lot of time hunting for the shrimp and if you catch other bait fish you will have nowhere to store them. Keep the Livewell for fish and use a bait shrimp bucket for shrimp.
It may seem like a hassle to fish with live shrimp. There is a reward of sorts though. Live shrimp are very keen on avoiding predation. They will hide from the smaller fish that steal bait and live shrimp. That means that your bait is going to stay on the hook longer and your odds of hooking bigger fish are better.