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Hey Guys,
My dad was talking to one of his striper fishing buddies down at C-land and they were talking about ordering some type of shiner or shad over the internet and having them delivered by UPS the next day. Anyone heard of this, used it, any good, where do you find it?
Thanks
The Evansville Worm Ranch out on Old Boonville Highway just NW of Evansville, IN ships minnows in plastic bags. They fill the bag with water and then after putting the minnows in the bag they give it a shot of pure oxygen from an oxygen cylinder and then close the bag up tight with rubber bands. I suspect that they may ship it via USP or even Fed X or though one of the other shipping companies. It may work even better if the bag is put inside a cooler and ice is added around the minnow bag to keep the water cold. Cold water will hold more oxygen and also slow down the minnows metabolism. This will prevent the minnows from excreting as much ammonia and keep the water cleaner. Nothing will kill a bunch of minnows in a minnow bucket faster than high ammonia conc in the water.
Regards,
Moose1am
Maybe that is what they were talking about, but these were larger than standard minnows, large shiner size (5-9")and were described as being very aggressive and hard to kill.
I think they were the Shiners which are usually about 2" to maybe 3". These were not gizzard shad or herrings or even thread fin shad. Those shad are very hard to keep alive for long. They tend to die fast.
The place I was talking about gets most of their minnows from Arkansas via big water trucks. I have been there when the truck was unloading minnows. This bait shop has 4,000 gallon tanks and they have about 8 of these in one room of the poll barn. There are several other tanks like these in the next room. This is a Wholesale shop that sells minnows to bait shops within 50 miles of Evansville, IN. They use to sell to the bait shops up around Patoka Lake even.
If you want live shad for bait you may want to get a cast net and try to catch your own bait on the lake you are fishing. It takes a lot to keep these shad alive for very long. Larger water tanks with rounded corners are used by some and they treat the water to keep the shad alive longer. Chilling the water down to around 55 deg F help keep Chubs and Shiners alive but I don't know if that will work with Shad. Shad don't tolerate cold water as well. At least I have heard and read that very cold winters and shallow lakes can creates big shad kills. Gizzard shad survive cold water much better than thread fin shad. Here in IN the only lakes that I know of that have thread fin shad in them are the Power Plant cooling lakes that are kept warm in the winter months by the hot water being discharged into the lake from the boilers. The water is discharged into these large lakes and then once it's cooled down it's discharged out of the lake into the nearby rivers. This is done to prevent thermal pollution of the rivers.
Regards,
Moose1am
I think I read an article about those shiners that are bred down in Arkansas and they are supposed to be stronger and live longer.
BullFrog Creek in Louisville gets Arkansas shinners and puts them in plastic bags and puts pure o2 in the bag. They last a very long time and the shinners are very hardy. I have heard of people keeping them in the bags for a 24 hours or better.
I don't think I'd by shiners via UPS. I mean what Striper wants to each an air-sick bait? What happens if you order them for a Saturday morning departure for a fishing trip? They have to get Friday AM or PM to support a Saturday morning departure, and that means the shiners spent atleast one day in the air/truck getting there, and atlest one more day hanging out in your live well before ya go. what happens if you leave Saturday, AM, and the bait didn't arrive. But after you left home, the FEDEX/UPS guy show up and leaves them on your door step? I'd bet the local Racoons would love it, but your neighbors (or wife if at home) might not be thrilled.
Me thinks me just might call ahead to either Bass-Pro in Jamestown at the BP Station, or to Adams Bait and Tackle in Jamestown, or Lake Cumberland Country Store on Hwy 127 headed toward the dam, check availability, and buy them on arrival. They'd be fresh, you got atleast 3 tries at someone having them, and ya just might be able to talk the seller into a little hand picking to get the size you want. AND-no shipping cost. With shiners usually at $13.00 a pound, you'd be getting atleast 3/4 lb more for the same money by not paying even a modest $8.00 shipping cost. I also like the idea of looking in the tank, to see if they are ALIVE before I buy, versus opening a box and "holding my breathe".
I have a friend that is the bait-man down on Kissimmee and he ups' golden shiners all over the country. He has a succesful business doing so and if you want info on him let me know...