Live Bait for use at Round Valley & Spruce Run

[Mikey topaz]

Originally Posted by Flygaff

Is there anywhere to buy live herring or shiners for use at the listed lakes? I can get herring at Lake Hopatcong but keeping them alive overnight would be a challenge.

Call before ya go, tommy is there on and off or get in touch with me I may be able to help you out I got the key to the shop if toms not around.

[Flygaff]

I know sporting Life and wish them well. However, I always joked about opening a bait shop and have my hours 10:00 till 2:00. Not too far off here. Opening at 10:00 in the morning??? I'm almost done fishing for the day by then. Now I have to drive to the Cong for bait. The plus side of this is, Herring for $9.00 a dozen. I require reliability. I just ordered a 150 gallon tank I am converting to a live well pen to keep herring and shiners at home.

[Jigman13]

Herring are TOUGH to keep alive. Very sensitive to water temp changes, hard vs soft water, aeration, etc. Look at them funny and they go belly up. A number of places around me gave up on trying to sell them bc they died too quickly before they were able to sell them.

You can jig em on Spruce with sabikis. Problem is finding them 1st...

[acabtp]

back when i was fishing the sheds more, i rigged up a 500 gph livewell pump to a spraybar and put that inside a ~50-60 quart cooler. kept herring alive for days no problem. they take a LOT more aeration than people think. would toss some ice in there in the afternoons to keep it from getting too warm. they do better with rounded corners like a cooler or agricultural water tub than the sharp corners of a glass aquarium.

[Flygaff]

Yea, they are tough to keep alive. I'm going to get a couple dozen late tomorrow and try to keep them alive until the next morning. I have a 38 gallon tank I will keep them in with aeration. I just need to keep them overnight. I was always able to keep 5-6 dozen in my live well while camping for 3 days at the valley. I'm a little rusty on the freshwater circuit. Dows will pack them in plastic bags with an O2 topper. He says they should stay alive for 20+ hours. I don't have to wait long to find out. Anyway, dead fresh herring are still better than live shinners

[bigfishy]

Originally Posted by Flygaff

I know sporting Life and wish them well. However, I always joked about opening a bait shop and have my hours 10:00 till 2:00. Not too far off here. Opening at 10:00 in the morning??? I'm almost done fishing for the day by then. Now I have to drive to the Cong for bait. The plus side of this is, Herring for $9.00 a dozen. I require reliability. I just ordered a 150 gallon tank I am converting to a live well pen to keep herring and shiners at home.

Sporting life isn't a bait shop! They are a tackle shop that sells bait....Tom's my guy for most things!!!love em , hope he hangs in there....support em when ya can,he fills a niche in an area with almost zero other options....

[Flygaff]

I will always try to support the local guys. However, I need a reliable source For bait (Herring & Shiners). I know Tom does not have the proper tanks to store herring. I am in the process of getting a 100 gallon tank and a couple of pumps to store these at home.

[Jhunter1]

I keep a lot of bait. I use a 50 gallon barrel with the top cut off. A good aerator and a good filter with a spray bar. Clean water and some current keeps them swimming in one direction instead of bouncing around. I also have well water coming in from the top and an over flow piped to my slop sink to keep a constant level. It doesn't cost much to get setup but it is some up keep. So convenient though since most bait shops don't open at 5 when most people are on there way to fish.