Fish-Hawk.Net

Men - since my favourite bait shop Bits and Baits closed in Stittsville, I need to find a new source for bait. I believe there is a shop in Carleton Place, but does anyone have any other suggestions? I'm in Stittsville, and usually fish Shirley's Bay when I can get out, so I'd rather not drive to and from Carleton Place whenever I need bait. Also, if anyone has any suggestions for frozen/supermarket fish that works in the hardwater season I'd appreciate that also. Thx for any info/tips you can provide.

Houner

Baitcasters in CP sells minnows. But they open at 9 and that is kinda late if you hope to hit the water early.
Bennetts in Smiths Falls has minnows also. But a bit of a drive from Stittsville.

Have you tried Lapointe's in Bell's Corners? I buy my dead minnows from them. They flash freeze them so they don't turn to goop once they thaw.

Good luck!

The closing of Bits and Baits has certainly caused issues for the west enders. Not sure what the answer is, other than buying 5 or 6 dozen from either Bennetts or Baitcasters and set something up in your garage to keep em alive....

RJ

I wonder if a local tropical fish store would be interested in setting up a bait tank. It would require them to open a bit early, and to set aside a large dedicated tank or receptacle, but otherwise the skills and technical capacity would already exist. Might be something they could consider to expand their product line and make a few more bucks.

I doubt Big Al's in Kanata would do this.

Selling bait is monitored by the MNR and I know a retailer who was fined a few times for minnows they received in their shipments etc
The fine isn't cheap either.

Its a risk vs reward scenario.

Kijiji has a ton of cheap tanks and filters. Heck sometimes FREE.
Buy ahead and keep at home.

Wish I could be been told NO WAY by the "Boss"

I've always used coolers and 2 aerators per cooler. Works pretty well if you keep the water cooler, don't let it get too dirty, and change the water at least once a week. I'm on a well so chlorine isn't a prob here. I use the 2l pop bottles as ice packs. Some folks use fish food a bit but if you can get some dried soybeans just grind them up fine and they make an excellent protein source.
If any minnows die just use enough coarse salt to keep them from freezing hard. They work fine on a jig and I also will use one live and one salted on a spreader.

Jimmy_1 wrote:Wish I could be been told NO WAY by the "Boss"

Jimmy that's kind of sad. There's not a chance in hell that my old lady would even consider telling me I can't keep live minnows in the basement. You need to stand up for yourself there lad. Are you even allowed to keep worms in the fridge?

Cheers

There is also Als corner store just outside Arnprior

Smitty

I can certainly keep worms
Frozen minnows etc

The problem is live minnows smell.
I don't need my or her place stinking

I bought three 5 gallon pails at Canadian tire and a big jug of dechlorinator at a pet shop and a cheap aerator with a t junction. Ran an extension cord to power it in my cold storage which stays about 5 degrees in the winter which is perfect to keep the minnows alive but pretty dormant. Also they won't get shocked when I take them out on the ice. My goal is to have two buckets running and a third for water changes and feeding my minnow pail before a trip.

I will probably make runs to Petrie or Manotick and buy a 4 to 5 dozen at a time, acclimatize them in the cold storage and then move them into the two aerated buckets.

That is the plan anyways.... I had pretty good luck keeping a couple dozen alive in a minnow pail last year. I used melted snow to change the water but I think the dechlorinator should be fine.

Fingers crossed.

Rod

These are some great suggestions. I'm definitely going to try the frozen fish from Lapointes, as I often use just the head on a spoon. I may also try keeping my own minnows, if I can keep my kids from turning them into pets. When I was a kid, I used to keep central mud minnows in my aquarium, and as they originated from the relatively stagnant water in the ditch in front of the family farm, they were virtually impossible to kill.

Jimmy_1 wrote:Smitty

I can certainly keep worms
Frozen minnows etc

The problem is live minnows smell.
I don't need my or her place stinking

Lol I was just razzing you Jimmy. Actually if you keep the water changed enough the smell isn't that bad at all.

Cheers

If you keep the water cool, don't even need to feed them, no smell and they'll last a few weeks. Just watch for the color of what ever you put them in. I used a cooler with a white inside and I found that the minnows would turn too pale for my licking so I started to use a huge dark blue storage container, a small pump and left it in my cold room and the shiners would keep their natural color. Now I just leave them in the unheated insulated garage. The worst thing to do to minnows is to make them go through a sudden temperature change. That'll kill them very quick. Check them daily and take out any dead ones.