If you’ve fished for any length of time, you’ve probably used live minnows for bait. Live minnows have everything that fishing lures could only dream of – they act, look, smell, sound, and taste just like the real thing, because they are! You’d think that live minnows would be the best fishing bait out there, and on some days you’d be right. However, they also have some significant drawbacks, as the lifespan of minnows leaves much to be desired when they’re in the care of the average angler!
In this article, I will explore everything you could ever think of about minnows. We’ll answer questions such as how long do minnows live, what is the lifespan of a minnow, how to keep minnows alive in a bucket, and much more! I’ll also suggest some products you can buy to make minnows last longer on your boat or how to keep minnows alive in a bucket.
Let’s get started!
How To Keep Minnows Alive in a Bucket
Since this is a fishing blog, let’s get right down to business. You’re going to want to learn how to keep minnows alive in a bucket if you want your baitfish to last. There are some tricks you can do to assist with this. If you find that your minnows are dying too easily and want to figure out a way to keep them alive better, read on.
How Long Do Minnows Live in a Bucket?
A bucket is not an ideal place to keep your minnows for any length of time. Minnows only are going to live in a bucket for about 24 to 72 hours, and that’s only if you take some steps to keep them healthy such as keeping the water cool and oxygenated. If you need to stretch things out, here are the main ways to keep minnows alive longer in a bucket.
Use a Dedicated Minnow Bucket
I get that times are tough and you might want to multitask that old five gallon bucket you have lying around, but that is not the best choice to keep minnows alive. Rather, you should make a small investment in a dedicated minnow bucket that will keep them alive longer. Minnow and live bait buckets are insulated, such as this Insulated Bait Bucket by Frabill. This is going to help you keep temperatures ideal so the water doesn’t over heat and doesn’t stress. If you couple this with a solid portable aerator, you have a winning combo to keep your minnows alive longer.
Keep the Water Temperatures Ideal
Fish stress, and eventually die, when they are placed into water temperatures out of their preferred range, and minnows are no different. You’re going to want to keep the water generally cool and out of the sun. If your bucket has a lid (with air holes, of course), use it as this will create shade to help keep the water cooler. If your bucket doesn’t have a lid, you can use any fabric you have that is breathable, including a shirt or rag. The idea is to create shade. On super hot days, you can also toss a few ice cubes in the water to help control the temperatures, though it’s unlikely you’ll have a steady supply of these out on the lake.
Change out the Water in Your Minnow Bucket
Another solid tip for keeping your minnows alive longer is to change out the water in their bucket throughout the day. Just take about 1/3 at a time to get some fresh water in. This will help keep the water cool, will bring in fresh and oxygenated water for the minnows to breath, and will cut down on ammonia and other waste that can build up in a fish tank (or bucket) over time. Think about it, you’d never throw a bunch of fish into a livewell without recirculating the water. A bucket, while less fancy, is no different. You need to recirculate the water by hand.
Just be careful not to overdo it. Take a cue from the aquarium owners out there. They’d never completely change out the water as this could be too much of a shock to fish due to sudden temperature or pH change. Instead, do partial changes of about a third of the bucket now and then. Give the water a chance to mix together and the minnows to get used to their new surroundings in your bucket to give them the best chance to live longer.
Don’t Overcrowd the Bucket
Too many minnows in a bucket can spell disaster. Avoid overcrowding it as you don’t want the fish to use up all the available oxygen too fast. Most folks who have aquariums suggest trying to avoid having more than 12 to 24 minnow-sized fish in a gallon of water. Granted, you’re going to be using the minnows throughout the day so you can stretch this a bit if the fish are biting, but don’t stretch it too much or you could have issues. Definitely practice water changes or consider using an aeration system if you’re going to keep many minnows at once.
Use an Aerator
If you’re serious about keeping your minnows alive in a bucket, you need to make an investment in an aerator. These machines keep the water in a bucket aerated so your minnows can live longer. While you’re going to have to check Amazon for the best price, these aren’t very expensive at all. You’ll probably spend about as much on the live bait as the aerator! Thus, it’ll be a product that pays for itself after a few trips.
To be honest, I’ve never had the need to use one because I just keep my minnows in my live well, which has a handy recirculation pump. However, if I wanted to buy an aerator to keep my minnows alive in a bucket longer, I’d go with the Beyond Bubbles Portable Live Bait Aerator. This is a small and compact device that can clip right onto the lid of a bucket, making transportation easy. It runs off of on D battery and boasts 30 hours of continuous bubbling, which should be more than most fishermen will ever need. The company claims this product will lead to longer bait life and I have no reason to doubt them. The price is also very justifiable as mentioned earlier. Head on over to Amazon and pick on up today.
Protect Them!
The number one trip of course keeping them away from raccoons or else you’ll come outside to a mess the next morning! If you’re going to store minnows in a bucket overnight and plan on leaving them outside, make sure you put a pretty solid rock on top of the lid so animals like raccoons can’t get in. These crafty little buggers love nothing more than to open up a bucket and steal your baitfish. Ask me how I know…
The Ultimate Minnow Bait Bucket
If you wanted the Mercedes of minnow bait buckets, the kind of bucket that has all the bells and whistles you need to keep your minnows alive longer, you’d have to go with the Engel 30qt Live Bait Cooler Box offered at Amazon. Every once in awhile when I’m researching an article, I come across a product that I just have to stop and shake my head at because it’s so perfect.
First, there’s four rod holders attached to the bucket. This would make this absolutely perfect for using in a gheenoe or other small watercraft, or for taking down to a pier and doing some fishing along the shore.
Secondly, there’s a net inside the cooler that contains all your bait at all times. This means you can simply lift the net up to grab a baitfish easily without injuring them by chasing them about with a small bait net of your own. This is convenient, efficient, and should help make your minnows and other live bait last longer. After all, your minnows are going to stay alive longer in a bucket if they aren’t all bruised up.
As mentioned, it has a built-in 2 speed, 3 way aerator pump that can operate either with two D Cell batteries or your cigarette car lighter, which means you can run this thing all the way to the water.
Finally, it has watertight stainless steel latches. This means you aren’t going to spill the bait all over the car (which is absolutely horrendous, trust me) and it ALSO keeps your fish safe from raccoons and other crafty buggers.
This thing is a beast. If you fish with minnows often and are trying to keep them alive longer in a bucket, go pick this up at Amazon.
How Long Do Minnows Live For?
Some of you may have visited this blog with a general interest in how long the species lives for. Well, here it is. It seems that the smaller the animal and further down the food chain they are, the shorter they live for. Insects and mice for example don’t have very long lifespans, and it’s the same for minnows. The lifespan of your average minnow is short. While in captivity, some minnows can live for up to five years or so, they generally don’t live past the age of two in the wild, as minnows face severe threats to their lifespan such as predation, environmental facts, and disease.
Minnows are going to have a better chance of living longer in captivity. After all, most of the threats to their lives can be managed very well if you’re storing minnows in an aquarium. Minnows can even live longer in ponds assuming you take good care of them, though they’re still going to be subject to predation even if you don’t introduce gamefish (birds being a primary culprit).
“Minnows,” however, is a broad term and you need to break it down by species. Here’s how long various minnow (and minnow-like) species live for:
Fathead Minnow
The lifespan of a fathead minnow is short. As a major food source, most are going to be picked off by predators and die before they reach two years old. A variation of the fathead minnow, the rosy red minnow, has become a popular aquarium fish which has allowed close observation of its lifespan. Folks have found that these fathead minnows tend to live for about 2 years if they’ve spawned, but can stretch it out a few more if they haven’t.
Bluntnose Minnow
Considered one of the most common freshwater fish in the Eastern United States, Bluntnose minnows live about one or two years in the wild, with specimens in captivity living a bit longer.
Common Shiner
The life span of a common shiner is longer than many other baitfish or minnows as it can live for about 4-6 years. They tend to reach sexual maturity after a year or so and can grow to about 6-8 inches long. If you’ve ever caught a shiner with hook and line there’s a decent chance it is one of these.
Golden Shiner
Native to eastern north America, golden shiners are a popular bait for Florida strain largemouth bass. The lifespan of the golden shiner is a bit longer than some other minnows. They reach sexual maturity at about one to three years of age depending on where they are in their range. Those in warmer, southern climates tend to start breeding faster than those in the north, in common with many other fish species. They tend to lay up to 200,000 eggs per year and can live up to 8 years, though 3-6 is far more common. These are large minnows, which makes them less likely to be picked off by absolutely everything and this contributes to their longer lifespans.
Mosquitofish
The mosquitofish is a small minnow native to the mid-west United States. The lifespan of a mosquitofish minnow averages less than a year, but it’s maximum lifespan in the wild is about 1.5 years. As these fish live fast and die young, they tend to reach sexual maturity within about 43 to 62 days, depending on local conditions.
Threats to a Minnow’s Lifespan
Minnows face significant threats to their lifespan in the wild. Here are some of the more common.
Predation
As minnows are so far down the food chain, they serve as an important source of food to several other animals. Everything from larger fish to turtles and birds loves a good meal of minnows, and picks them off bit by bit throughout the year. Because minnows have soft fin rays rather than spines, they’re even the desired meal as they go down the hatch much easier. If you’ve ever been spiked by a sunfish, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Minnows really have no defense in the wild except for numbers, and predators do a good job of witling down those throughout the year.
Environmental Factors
Minnows aren’t particularly hardy creatures. They tend to be some of the first fish that winterkill and it’s not uncommon to see them floating all around the lake in spring after ice out. They don’t hold up very well to changes in water temperature or such, which also has an impact on their numbers.
The Lifespan of a Minnow
While it’s going to differ slightly between species, minnows, as baitfish, tend to have a similar lifespan. It can be helpful to understand a minnows lifespan to better understand how to care for them and get them to live longer.
How Often Do Minnows Reproduce
It might surprise you to hear that unlike fish like bass, minnows can spawn up to twelve or so times throughout a year. As with most fish, spawning season tends to be driven by water temperature. For example, fathead minnows start to spawn when the water temperature hits about 60°F, which usually means around June in the northern hemisphere. Their spawning season will continue until the water drops below this again, which tends to be mid-August. With females releasing a few hundred eggs on average, you can see that this fish restocks rapidly. This is necessary to keep the lake ecosystem in balance.
How Long Are Minnows Pregnant?
Most minnows don’t actually become pregnant – instead, females lay eggs which males then fertilize during the spawn. Flathead and blutnose minnows as well as the various shiners (such as common and golden) that are often called minnows, all reproduce by spawning. Of the common minnows, only mosquitofish have live births, and these fish are usually only pregnant between 16 to 28 days. Each brood can have as many as sixty young, though this decreases as the year goes on (as Mosquitofish too can produce many spawns of offspring throughout a year).
How Long Does it Take for Minnows to Mature?
Minnows mature at different rates depending on the species. Some, like mosquito fish, can reach sexual maturity in a matter of months. Others, like the golden shiner, can first breed at three years in parts of their range.
Do dead minnows work as bait?
If you were unsuccessful in keeping your minnows alive, don’t fret. Dead minnows work great for bait, especially if you’re after catfish, bowfin, or bullhead. I’ve had much success over the years soaking dead minnows on a drop shot rig off my dock, calling in big cats and bowfin. In fact, some of these species even seem to like them deader than usual. Just think of it this way, consider all the time and effort people expend making “stink bait” for these fish. Folks will tell you to leave the bucket of goo out in the afternoon sun for a few days to get it nice and ripe. A dead minnow is even more natural and several of these rough fish fulfill a function in the lake by cleaning them up to eat.
Many northern pike anglers also use dead minnows as bait, though they tend to recommend freezing them overnight rather than leaving them in the sun. That’s not to mean you should toss them frozen – but you only want to thaw them enough to get a hook through. Once they’re in the water they should soften up soon enough. Because pike are opportunistic feeders who won’t pass up carrion when they have the opportunity, dead minnows can work well as bait for them. This website here has a great explanation of exactly how to rig them up.
Conclusions: Keep your Minnows Alive if You Can, But If Not… Catfish!
If you’re going through all the trouble of buying or catching minnows for fishing, you might as well invest a little time and effort in keeping them alive. Doing so will give your more options for fishing and allow for more productivity on the water. Minnows aren’t the most hardy species out there though, so if (when) they die on you, don’t forget that at least you can always use dead minnows for catfish, bullhead, bowfin, or other rough fish. Where legal, it’s not the worst idea to stick them on a second rod while you’re actively fishing something else and just wait for something to tug the line.
Hopefully this article was helpful to you. If you enjoyed it, consider purchasing my books below as they’re full of even more helpful tips.
Thanks,
John Paxton
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