We have a rule in my house. You are not allowed to bring minnows into the basement.

I have left them down there and forgot about them. That smelled great.

I have broken the rule no less than three times since that.

Oh yeah, did that and the wife was less than thrilled!

If I dont finish using them after about a week, I let them go back to their home down the hole. All in hope that they will get eatin and make the the next Walleye I catch even bigger.

-keep them in as big of container as you can.
-keep the water as consistently cold as you can.
-change the water every three days
-treat water with a dechlorinator after change
-use an ammonia neutralizing product like Amquel frequently to reduce ammonia and nitrates (toxic to fish)
-get a cheap hang on the back filter with lots of floss and carbon chips
-aerate the snot out of them
-dont worry about feeding

whoa dude! I hope you are not serious.... This is highly unlawful. Please consult your MNDNR regs. Minnows are known carriers of all types of INVASIVE diseases, fungi, parasites. This IMO is a far worse offense than an overlimit or multiple lines violation....

If you do this, stop it.

I try to limit the amout of time my hands are in the water with my minnows. I use my minnow net (until it freezes lol and after that I really try to rinse the sweat and other junk from my hands prior to putting them in the bucket. Other than that I keep my minnows pretty cold and they stay lively for long periods of time.

I have been able to keep minnows for three weeks to a month even shiners which I have had troubele keeping in the past. I use a bucket and put it in the refrigerator with a battery operated bubbler. I also use a product I bought which is in a white bottle with an orange label- not sure if I can say what it is but I have some for regular minnows and some different stuff for shiners. It works awesome and conditions the water and removes chlorine, stimulates a natural slime coat, removes heavy metals,reduces funguses and bacterias, and adds electrolytes. As long as I change the water every four or five days and add a little of the powder they seem to do well. It is a Sure life product called better bait for the regular minnows and finer shiner obviously for the shiners. If I am unable to tell them on here shoot me an email if your interested and I can let you know through that. bstoltz1620@yahoo.com

MN Angler

I bought a 20 gallon tank with hood and filter for $15 off of Craig's List a couple of years ago. I can keep minnows alive for a while. I use them over a week to a month so haven't kept them past a month cause of use, but I'm sure they would las. I do a 20% water change every week.

So, as long as you don't put in any new water from the lake you should be fine.

I can't believe you guys are dumping unused bait in the lake. Please read the regs.

Yeah I was just kidding. I guess I should of added a couple to make myself clear. Sorry to those who got worked up about it.

You can help keep them going if you give them some food every couple of days. It takes a while for them to learn that they have to eat it but a few pinches and they get the idea. Just regular fish food from the store works.

I start collecting my minnows in July for ice fishing season I have an old hand dug cistern that is about 2'wide by 7 feet deep The water flows out of it at about 5 gal per hr minimum it doesnt freeze I put a outhouse type building around it and run a bubbler in the bottom of the tank as ground water has low disolved oxygen Ive added a flood light inside as the temp has been about 30 outside the inside stays 42 degrees actually the same temp as the water