Live bait longevity?

[bankrat]

the advice given so far has been great, I'd repeat current flow is the enemy of all baits, a strong current will force the baits to swim hard against it, evenually they get tired, get pinned against the side of the cage and die. water temp is also a big factor

also, this is very important when building your own cage:

1. use plastic mesh, not wire. wire is tough on the baits

2. more importantly, use mesh VERY small holes in it. if the holes are too big the pogies will get tgheir noses stuck and die, almost like a gill net that dosent quite reach the gills.

3, if possible, make a lock for your cage. many folks in my marina had baits stolen, including me. I caught a guy 1 morning at like 3:00 am who was just slowly motoring between the slips, he didnt notice me as i had just got to my boat and hadnt even turned the lights on yet and I watched him tie on to a boat a few slips down from mine, board the boat and start to try to get into a bait cage near mine. I confronted him, he gave me some BS excuse- I was trying to get a lure i just casted onto the dock- I told if I ever saw him there again he'd wish he never took up fishing. I gave a description of the boat to the guys on the dock, but no one ever saw him again. baits still disappeared though.

good luck with your cage!

[Col. Kurtz]

the advice given so far has been great, I'd repeat current flow is the enemy of all baits, a strong current will force the baits to swim hard against it, evenually they get tired, get pinned against the side of the cage and die. water temp is also a big factor

also, this is very important when building your own cage:

1. use plastic mesh, not wire. wire is tough on the baits

2. more importantly, use mesh VERY small holes in it. if the holes are too big the pogies will get tgheir noses stuck and die, almost like a gill net that dosent quite reach the gills.

3, if possible, make a lock for your cage. many folks in my marina had baits stolen, including me. I caught a guy 1 morning at like 3:00 am who was just slowly motoring between the slips, he didnt notice me as i had just got to my boat and hadnt even turned the lights on yet and I watched him tie on to a boat a few slips down from mine, board the boat and start to try to get into a bait cage near mine. I confronted him, he gave me some BS excuse- I was trying to get a lure i just casted onto the dock- I told if I ever saw him there again he'd wish he never took up fishing. I gave a description of the boat to the guys on the dock, but no one ever saw him again. baits still disappeared though.

good luck with your cage!

Good advice on the lock. It sucks that we even have to take that precaution, but I can also understand the premium on the bait in August when only a handful of guys have live mackerel...