Keeping bait alive

By Nate Skinner

For Lone Star outdoor newS

Have you ever spent your hardearned money on live bait only to have it die before your fishing trip came to an end? It’s no secret shrimp and croaker are prime live bait options for catching a spectrum of gamefish and other species along our Texas coastal waters. However, keeping these crustaceans and baitfish alive involves a whole lot more than just throwing them in a livewell or an aerated cooler until you attach them to a hook.

Jenna Alexander, the general manager of Marker 37 Marina in Corpus Christi, said her crew regularly encounters anglers who purchase both live shrimp and live croaker before hitting the water in pursuit of speckled trout, redfish, flounder and black drum. Her suggestion for anglers who would like to carry both along for a fishing trip is to store the two types of bait in different livewells or containers. According to Alexander, the croaker will eventually try to eat the shrimp as they become hungry, and it could happen rather quickly if they haven’t recently eaten.

As for shrimp, she urges anglers to keep an eye out for individuals that perish in the livewell or container.

“Shrimp emit ammonia into the water after they die,” Alexander explained. “Once they start to turn pink, they really become a danger to the other live baitfish that are sharing the same water with them, as that is really when they start to release toxic levels of ammonia into the water. The best practice is to remove any dead shrimp from the water as soon as possible. If you catch them before they turn pink, they usually still work well as fresh dead bait.”

When it comes to best practices for keeping shrimp and croaker alive while on the water, Alexander suggests anglers fill their livewells or bait storage containers with water from her marina, or whatever bait stand they purchase live bait from.

“Our water is cooler than what is in the bay this time of year, plus it contains some chemical additives that promote higher oxygen levels to keep the shrimp and croaker in good shape,” she said. “After filling their livewell with water and live bait from our marina, I encourage folks to use a bubbler-type aerator system, or one that only recirculates the water that is already inside the well or container where they are storing their bait.”

Alexander said pumping in new water from bay will certainly increase the temperature inside the livewell, and change the