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Keeping yakkas alive -> Floating Keeper Nets?


Gengar

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Catching yakkas for live bait is becoming my go to method of landing bigger fish. I am generally land based. At the moment I keep them alive in a 20L bucket with an aerator but i find keeping any more than 5 and they die pretty quickly or close to dying when i hook them up. I could keep changing the water but thats a hassle i would like to avoid. I was wondering if these floating keeper nets would work? I have seen both metal and non-metal ones. Any recommendation/comments?

Metal - https://www.hookedonline.com.au/surecatch-collapsible-floating-wire-keeper-net-wit

Non metal - https://www.hookedonline.com.au/seahorse-collapsible-floating-keeper-net-with-draw

Edited by Gengar
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I don't know if you have the space where you fish, but back in my land based game days we used to keep our live bait in an a kids, inflatable swimming pool. 

They're about 1.5m diameter and 30cm deep. You could keep a dozen yakkas in there all day, no problem and the larger surface area helped to keep the oxygen in the water.

Your keeper idea might work, but I'd still try to have a large bucket of water to drop it into when you wanted to remove a bait, as you don't want your baits beating each other up flapping around in an empty net.

Another important factor with live bait is to try not to touch them as you catch them. If you use a long shanked hook, grab the shank and shake them off into the tank, they'll stay heaps livelier as your not rubbing the protective slime off their bodies. 

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2 hours ago, marks1984 said:

they both look good you would think a set up like that would be better than the bait in a bucket. how often do you change the water

The problem is i forget to change the water and by then some of the yakkas are dying or dead......i prob should do every 30 min but tends to be every 60 min......

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17 minutes ago, Green Hornet said:

I don't know if you have the space where you fish, but back in my land based game days we used to keep our live bait in an a kids, inflatable swimming pool. 

They're about 1.5m diameter and 30cm deep. You could keep a dozen yakkas in there all day, no problem and the larger surface area helped to keep the oxygen in the water.

Your keeper idea might work, but I'd still try to have a large bucket of water to drop it into when you wanted to remove a bait, as you don't want your baits beating each other up flapping around in an empty net.

Another important factor with live bait is to try not to touch them as you catch them. If you use a long shanked hook, grab the shank and shake them off into the tank, they'll stay heaps livelier as your not rubbing the protective slime off their bodies. 

I do try not to touch them and most of the time they unhook themselves......but when i use them for live bait i have to grab it hard so i can put the hooks through it and i do notice my hand is all slimy......any tips of minimising touching them when hooking them up?

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54 minutes ago, Gengar said:

I do try not to touch them and most of the time they unhook themselves......but when i use them for live bait i have to grab it hard so i can put the hooks through it and i do notice my hand is all slimy......any tips of minimising touching them when hooking them up?

I used to use an aquarium net and keep the fish in the water. They're easier to restrain without squeezing too hard if you grab them with the netting between your fingers and the fish.

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If you have access to a drill and 6mm ( or there about  ) drill bit just drill a heap of holes around the top third of your bucket ( use a bucket with a sealing lid ) or even better one of the plano bucket top tackle box units as you can cut the bottom out of one storage section to access the contents of the bucket with the unit fitted to the bucket and they have lids on the compartments that clip shut solidly  , tie a rope to it and dangle the whole lot in the  water . The holes in the top third allow some water to drain out when you lift it out of the water making it lighter but doesn’t  let the livies bang around as there is still some water in the bucket and they allow some water flow through the bucket .

One thing  that kills livies is temperature rise  - if you use an aerator it can warm the water up  , i always wrap an old towel around my bait bucket if it is not in the water and keep the towel damp so it keeps the temperature in the bucket down- evaporation does this  . I use a white bucket as it makes the livies light up as they try to match the colour of their surroundings .

The other good thing about the plano unit is the spare compartment can be used to store any dead or dying baits and keep them  fresh without contaminating the water where the live ones are - this kills them real quick !

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Have you tried using a battery run aerator to supliment water changes?  When fishing comps I often keep 20 poddies and about 10 yakkas overnight in my live bait tank in about 40 litres of water.  

I'm near Sutherland.   If your around here I can give you a 20lt bucket that is a bit squatter and larger diameter.   This is better than standard shape as they have more room to move.  Ron 

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12 hours ago, Gengar said:

Catching yakkas for live bait is becoming my go to method of landing bigger fish. I am generally land based. At the moment I keep them alive in a 20L bucket with an aerator but i find keeping any more than 5 and they die pretty quickly or close to dying when i hook them up. I could keep changing the water but thats a hassle i would like to avoid. I was wondering if these floating keeper nets would work? I have seen both metal and non-metal ones. Any recommendation/comments?

Metal - https://www.hookedonline.com.au/surecatch-collapsible-floating-wire-keeper-net-wit

Non metal - https://www.hookedonline.com.au/seahorse-collapsible-floating-keeper-net-with-draw

This is what I use mate.  I can keep 8-10 alive using a good aerator until I am on the boat. 

Sometimes for about 6 hours if I am heading out early morning and caught the yakkas the night before.

At the wharf where I catch my yakkas I drop the meshed part into the water and tie it off.  I fill the bucket part with water, drive home and then pick the boat up.  On the boat I again drop the mesh part off the back of my boat and tie it off.

Hope what I wrote makes sense to you.

 

Stimulate_Fishing_Live_Bait_keeper_Bucket_Medium_945c3bf7-c4ab-4f06-8549-3533d9031c93_1024x1024.jpg

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15 hours ago, XD351 said:

If you have access to a drill and 6mm ( or there about  ) drill bit just drill a heap of holes around the top third of your bucket ( use a bucket with a sealing lid ) or even better one of the plano bucket top tackle box units as you can cut the bottom out of one storage section to access the contents of the bucket with the unit fitted to the bucket and they have lids on the compartments that clip shut solidly  , tie a rope to it and dangle the whole lot in the  water . The holes in the top third allow some water to drain out when you lift it out of the water making it lighter but doesn’t  let the livies bang around as there is still some water in the bucket and they allow some water flow through the bucket .

One thing  that kills livies is temperature rise  - if you use an aerator it can warm the water up  , i always wrap an old towel around my bait bucket if it is not in the water and keep the towel damp so it keeps the temperature in the bucket down- evaporation does this  . I use a white bucket as it makes the livies light up as they try to match the colour of their surroundings .

The other good thing about the plano unit is the spare compartment can be used to store any dead or dying baits and keep them  fresh without contaminating the water where the live ones are - this kills them real quick !

Thanks mate, all very good ideas. Thanks for sharing! Yeah i do remove the dead ones but should you remove also the ones that looks as if they are dyinig anyway? 

 

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13 hours ago, campr said:

Have you tried using a battery run aerator to supliment water changes?  When fishing comps I often keep 20 poddies and about 10 yakkas overnight in my live bait tank in about 40 litres of water.  

I'm near Sutherland.   If your around here I can give you a 20lt bucket that is a bit squatter and larger diameter.   This is better than standard shape as they have more room to move.  Ron 

Yep i have an aerator running and i find that works best when i have about 5 yakka.....any more and they die pretty quickly. I think its because there aint enough water and also to your point there prob aint much room to move......i think mine is a 20l bucket but i probably only fill it 3/4.

Appreciate the offer but i am way over in Ryde! I may pass by Sutherland in a couple of weeks and if I do will PM you!

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11 hours ago, mii11x said:

This is what I use mate.  I can keep 8-10 alive using a good aerator until I am on the boat. 

Sometimes for about 6 hours if I am heading out early morning and caught the yakkas the night before.

At the wharf where I catch my yakkas I drop the meshed part into the water and tie it off.  I fill the bucket part with water, drive home and then pick the boat up.  On the boat I again drop the mesh part off the back of my boat and tie it off.

Hope what I wrote makes sense to you.

 

Stimulate_Fishing_Live_Bait_keeper_Bucket_Medium_945c3bf7-c4ab-4f06-8549-3533d9031c93_1024x1024.jpg

This looks interesting and similar to what I was originally looking for. Does this one float? Thinking it might be easier if it floats

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If your off rocks, as suggested above, the kids pool or a large enough rock pool. easier to grab the fish again with aquarium net.

If you're off a wharf, and close to the water you can get a laundry basket, and zip tie a pool noodle around it to keep it afloat and just put the yakkas in there (easy to get yakkas in and out). Just be wary of the size of the holes. You wont have a need to change water. Also you keeper net isnt too bad as well, so all depends on what your willing to lug.

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19 hours ago, XD351 said:

If you have access to a drill and 6mm ( or there about  ) drill bit just drill a heap of holes around the top third of your bucket ( use a bucket with a sealing lid ) or even better one of the plano bucket top tackle box units as you can cut the bottom out of one storage section to access the contents of the bucket with the unit fitted to the bucket and they have lids on the compartments that clip shut solidly  , tie a rope to it and dangle the whole lot in the  water . The holes in the top third allow some water to drain out when you lift it out of the water making it lighter but doesn’t  let the livies bang around as there is still some water in the bucket and they allow some water flow through the bucket .

One thing  that kills livies is temperature rise  - if you use an aerator it can warm the water up  , i always wrap an old towel around my bait bucket if it is not in the water and keep the towel damp so it keeps the temperature in the bucket down- evaporation does this  . I use a white bucket as it makes the livies light up as they try to match the colour of their surroundings .

The other good thing about the plano unit is the spare compartment can be used to store any dead or dying baits and keep them  fresh without contaminating the water where the live ones are - this kills them real quick !

Mate quick question re drilling holes into my bucket. If I put a sealing lid on the bucket and drill some holes into it will the bucket float or will it sink into the water? If it floats i may do that rather than buying another piece of equipment. Thanks!

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3 hours ago, Rob81 said:

If your off rocks, as suggested above, the kids pool or a large enough rock pool. easier to grab the fish again with aquarium net.

If you're off a wharf, and close to the water you can get a laundry basket, and zip tie a pool noodle around it to keep it afloat and just put the yakkas in there (easy to get yakkas in and out). Just be wary of the size of the holes. You wont have a need to change water. Also you keeper net isnt too bad as well, so all depends on what your willing to lug.

Just at a wharf mate. Prefer to bring as little as possible so thinking either the floating keeper net or drilling holes into a bucket with a covered top but not sure if that floats...

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It will sink mate .

If you are fishing off a wharf you will need to tie a rope onto it anyway so just tie it off so the bucket sits near the surface .

You could try drilling the holes in the middle third  or even 3/4 of the way up from the bottom of the bucket and that way when you put it into the water the top section will trap air and make it float ( provided your lid is airtight ) and when you lift it out of the water it will drian down to the bottom section leaving some water in there for your bait to swim in .

There are other ways to make it float like an inner tube that fits around the bucket  ( something off a wheelbarrow would be close to the right size ) or you could hack up a kids pool paddle board ( cut a hole in it that the bucket fits into and trim the outside so you end up with a donut shape ) we used to do these things to out nipper sieve so it floated .

One tip is if you catch a slimy mackerel never put it in the same bait tank as a yakka or poddy mullet , the slime on them gets into the water and chokes the other bait . 

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11 hours ago, Gengar said:

This looks interesting and similar to what I was originally looking for. Does this one float? Thinking it might be easier if it floats

yeah the mesh part floats fine both off a wharf and off the back of my boat mate

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3 hours ago, jordy said:

Give the wire keeper a net a go used them all the time of Jetties they will do the job with no fuss, Yakkas stay in prime condition.

Mate u mean the metal wire one or the non metal one? Thinking the metal wire one might be more sturdy

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