Why Wild Live Baits Trigger More Bites
Story and Photos By Darl Black

Everything I ever needed to know about gathering live bait I learned from my father. Well, almost everything. At about age 8, I started accompanying my dad whenever he collected live bait for our weekend fishing trips. Although there was a bait shop on the lake we fished, Dad gathered bait because that was what most fishermen did back in the 1950s. He never spent hard-earned money on something he could provide himself. Wild minnows were free for the taking in local creeks.

For a youngster, bait gathering was an adventure unto itself. It was also an activity that father and son actually worked together in order to achieve a goal. Eventually, the spare time devoted to gathering bait became dearer than the cost of three- or four-dozen minnows. Dad started buying live bait, as did I as an adult. Bait gathering almost became a lost art to me until I decided to revive it.

The Gathering Advantage
Why collect your own bait? There are several reasons to consider. First, many anglers believe that wild live preyfish behave differently than commercially raised baitfish whenever predator fish species are near. The speculation is wild bait becomes increasingly nervous in the presence of a predator, sending out a fear pheromone that can trigger a strike.

Regardless of studies on this issue, you'll never convince many hard-core bass and walleye fishermen that commercial bait is as productive at drawing strikes as indigenous chubs and shiners. Therefore, it only seems logical that the same pheromone trigger would be generated by smaller preyfish when crappie are present.

Next, there is the cost to consider. If you fish frequently or have a large number of family members involved in fishing, buying baitfish for every outing can be expensive. Most states allow collecting a certain quantity of live baitfish within the parameters of a regular fishing license. The equipment needed to gather bait is minimal and is a one-time investment. Compare that to buying bait week after week.

On the flip side, each individual will need to figure out if the time to collect bait can be reconciled with your spare time allotment. Many individuals will simply determine that buying bait and spending the extra time fishing is a better course to follow.

However, if you have young children, by all means carefully consider the additional benefits of gathering bait. The educational aspect is exceptional. By showing youngsters how to catch bait, you are teaching them about fishing from the ground level up, as well as instructing them in the concept that hard work yields rewards.

Furthermore, the time spent gathering bait with your children is more memorable for all involved than sitting around the TV or video game. If you structure the activity properly, they will be as entertained catching bait as they would be catching fish. These are adventures they will remember for the rest of their lives.

When it comes to live bait for crappie, preyfish are at the forefront. Worms, crustaceans or insect larvae catch crappie under certain circumstances, but small baitfish are universal crappie-getters.

The availability of particular baitfish species will vary from one area of the country to another, but as long as it's the right size prey, crappie will likely eat it. Fathead minnows (or tuffies) in the 2- to 3-inch range are used by crappie anglers in most sections of the country. In Southern states, young threadfin shad are popular crappie bait.

Seining Minnows
Fathead minnows or similar indigenous minnows are relatively easy to obtain from small brooks and streams with either a seine or minnow trap. These minnows are not found in cold-water mountain streams but rather in warm-water flows like meadow brooks, small tributaries or larger creeks and rivers.

Allowable methods of live-bait collection and sizes of seines will vary from state to state, so be sure to check your state's regulations.

One typical setup is a 4-by-4-foot 1/4-inch mesh seine attached to two wooden poles. Broom handles are typically used, although any round or square rods at least 4 feet long and 1 inch in diameter may be employed.

A minnow seine can be equipped with lead weights on the bottom edge and two foam floats on the top edge. Utilizing the dangling ties at each corner of the seine, some anglers simply tie two corners of the seine to each pole. Other fishermen prefer a more secure attachment, lashing the entire right side length of the seine to one pole and the left side to the other pole.

To gather bait using a seine, select a creek hole or eddy pockets no deeper than about 2 feet. Stand behind the seine, holding one pole in each hand with the weighted edge resting on the bottom of the stream. Walk forward into the current, forcing minnows to retreat. Work the seine into the bank or the shallow riffle at the top of the hole. Lift quickly to capture minnows in the seine.

The use of a 4-by-4-foot, one-man seine is limited to very small creeks. If the width of the stream is much wider than the seine, the minnows will simply escape by swimming around the edges of the net.

Trapping Minnows
The alternative to a seine is a minnow trap. Traps are particularly useful for wider or deeper flows. A variety of different traps are available, including those made from clear plastic bottles. One popular trap is referred to as a torpedo trap, apparently due to the tapered cylindrical shape. This trap is made of vinyl-coated wire mesh with funnel-shaped entrances on each end. It is hinged in the middle for removal of bait. Minnows swim through the inverted small opening but once inside cannot find their way back out.

These traps should be baited with food in order to attract minnows into them. The standby bait is wadded up pieces of bread. However, a small can of fish-flavored cat food can be a far more effective attractant. Pop the lid, stir it around with a stick and put the can into the trap before connecting the two mesh halves. Be sure to use fish flavor for minnows, since using beef flavor attracts crayfish.

The trap typically is attached to a cord and gently tossed into a hole, undercut bank or other site that is holding the size of minnows desired. Position the trap so the openings are parallel to the current flow. It's best to leave the trap in overnight, although sometimes only a couple of hours will be all that is needed to trap enough minnows.

While novice bait collectors may think that seining and trapping minnows are summer-only opportunities, this assumption would be incorrect. Even up north, it's not uncommon to find appropriate-sized minnows in small brooks right up until they freeze up. However, it does take some investigation to locate the right brook or creek that is holding bait because specific streams are season dependent. In other words, one brook may be supporting minnows during summer, while another tributary is more productive in fall.

Cast & Dip Nets For Shad
Threadfin shad are a baitfish native to the Southeast, Gulf Coast and lower Mississippi River drainage. They cannot survive the colder temperatures of Northern waters through winter.

Alabama crappie guide Brad Whitehead occasionally employs threadfin (or yellowtails, as he refers to them).

"I like them in the 3- to 31/2-inch range when I'm looking for really big crappie on main river channel ledges on Pickwick Lake," he says. "You cannot buy them. You must net them yourself. The better places to throw a cast net for threadfin are on shallow gravel bars in the river and in the back ends of bays with inflowing creeks."

In the tailwaters of Wilson Dam and Wheeler Dam, guide Jerry Crook is recognized as an expert in the collection of live bait. While he throws a cast net, he also uses a long-handled dip net when bait-sized shad are alongside solid objects like pillars, retaining walls and lock walls below the dams.

A favorite crappie outing for Crook is night-fishing under bridges. He ties the boat to a pillar, hangs multiple lanterns over the side and waits for schools of shad to appear. Then he simply swishes the dip net along the wall to collect as many threadfin as needed.

"We simply drop a line with a fresh yellowtail straight down to the depth that crappie are showing up on the depthfinder below the shad schools," Crook says. "It's a peaceful, fun and a highly productive way to fish."

Keeping Bait
When you have gone to the extra effort to collect your own baitfish for crappie fishing, you certainly don't want to lose that bait due to improper care.

"Threadfin shad must be kept in a round or oval-shaped baitwell with circular water movement," says Crook. "Otherwise, they bang up their snouts trying to get into the corners. I use a pump with at least 350 GPH rate to keep the water moving. Small bubblers are not sufficient. The water must be changed several times a day. White feed salt or rock salt must be added to the water at the rate of 1 cup of salt to 50 gallons of water. Even with all this attention, threadfin shad can only survive three days in a tank before they run out of gas and start dying."

Minnows require similar care. Round or oval containers should also be used. Oxygen infusion systems are essential. During summer, water temperature must be kept reasonably cool by using an insulated container like an ice chest and storing the container in a basement or under shade. Chemical additives to reduce foam and add electrolytes are useful. With the proper care, you can maintain lively minnows for up to two weeks. This would include changing the water every two days and feeding them goldfish food.

Equal care must be exercised when transporting. Use insulated minnow buckets with portable aerators. In the boat, add ice during the day if needed to keep the water cool.

Several companies offer an array of bait-keeping products that make it much easier to maintain minnows, including Frabill, Keep Alive Inc., Marine Metal Products and Sure-Life.

So whether you use minnows, threadfins or other small baitfish, give bait collection a try. Crappie will devour them all.