Fall Smallmouth Fishing: How to Effectively Catch and Store Live Minnows
As the air cools and smallmouth bass move to deeper waters in the fall, it’s the perfect time to take advantage of live minnows as bait. But the hassle of keeping minnows alive in the summer heat can make the process frustrating. Fortunately, fall offers a more manageable window to use minnows without the usual headaches. In this post, I'll share some tips for catching and keeping minnows lively for your fall smallmouth fishing trips.
1. Preparing Your Minnow Tanks
The first step is setting up your storage tanks. I recommend using 100L plastic storage totes which you can get from places like home depot, which are affordable and effective. You’ll need at least two tanks: one for transporting minnows and one for storing them. If you plan on storing more than 60 minnows longer term, you’ll need a third - keeping in mind the 120 baitfish possession limit in Ontario. If you’re using chlorinated water, make sure to let it set for a few days before adding any minnows. Keep the tank water as cool as possible, adding sealed bags of ice when necessary.
To prepare the tank you’ll be using in your vehicle for transporting minnows, modify the lid by adding adhesive weather stripping around the edges to ensure it’s watertight and use muslin spring clamps on the corners. This will help cut down on spills during travel. I use a ratchet strap to secure the tote in the truck bed and keep it stable while driving.
Next, drill two holes in the lid just big enough to fit air tubing for your aerator. For short-term storage, a basic aerator with an air stone works well, but for longer periods, swapping to a sponge filter will help keep the minnows in better condition.
Tip: To avoid overcrowding, I recommend keeping no more than 60 minnows (averaging 5 inches long) per tote. Overcrowding can deplete oxygen levels quickly, which can lead to higher mortality rates. A siphon pump is also handy for doing water changes when necessary.
2. Catching Minnows and Transport
When it comes to finding potential creeks, I primarily use satellite imagery on Google Maps. The Ontario GeoHub base layer and datasets like the Ontario Hydro Network also help me narrow down potential areas. You can check if the river access point your interested in is public by checking your county’s G.I.S. with ownership parcels overlaid. Look for creeks that are about 20-30 feet across and avoid headwaters as they’re often home primarily to resident trout, which prefer lower-turbidity water than minnows do. Alos be sure to double check the regs to make sure your creek in question isn’t a fish sanctuary.
Once you’ve found a promising spot, there are a couple of ways to catch minnows. If you’re using a wire minnow trap, I suggest bringing along a rod and a 1/16 to 1/32 ounce jighead tipped with a small piece of live worm. This method is a great way to quickly catch minnows if the trap isn’t producing as fast as you’d like. In some cases, using a jig and worm can be quicker than waiting for the trap to fill up.
My go-to bait for wire traps is a mixture of dry cat food and bread.
After you’ve caught your minnows, the next step is getting them back to your truck and home in the best condition possible. To keep them alive, I use trolling bait buckets that allow me to keep the minnows in flowing creek water for as long as possible.
Make sure to have a large minnow net on hand, along with a few 5-gallon (19-liter) buckets. I use the buckets to transport minnows between my truck and garage tanks (the basement is another good option for storage tanks), and they also come in handy for transporting the minnows for fishing once you've winterized your livewells for the season
I hope these tips help with your baitfish catch for fall smallmouth fishing. A comment and share are always appreciated. If you’re interested in my guided smallmouth trips on Lake Simcoe, give me a call or text at 647-857-7085. I guarantee you’ll catch fish or your next trip is free!
