How to Make a Bait Tank
With most bait tanks costing anywhere from $400 and up, the budget savvy fishing guru instead opts to learn how to make a bait tank from scratch. While this may not be the easiest thing to do, it is not as hard as it would seem, and it will assure you while you’re fishing that your live bait will stay, well, alive.
First, let’s start with what to use as the actual container/tank. Ideally your tank should be oval or round in shape, otherwise your fish may get stuck in the corners, and while, yes true you are feeding them to larger fish, you don’t really want them to be banging into the walls of the cooler. However, if all you can find is something that is square, no worries. Insulated containers work better, simply because it will prevent the water from getting too hot. Sometimes it’s just a matter of finding whatever is available – as the saying goes Beggars Can’t be Choosers…otherwise we’d spend the $500, right? Most of the homemade bait tank rigs we’ve seen use a container that is about 30-50 gallons in size. Fish supposedly like lighter blue colors better if you have the flexibility to choose.
Next, you’re going to need a few other things. Bait tanks need to have good air flow in order for the bait to stay alive. Fish get their oxygen by swimming, so if they are in a bait tank they can’t swim enough to get the amount of oxygen they need. For this reason, you need something that will pump oxygen into the water. There are a number of nifty little kits that can do this easily for you. They are usually called “Bait Aerators” or “Bait Pumps” and you can find them at a number of fishing supply stores or online. If you are looking to store the bait long term, it is recommended you also use a pump in addition to the aerator (think aquarium supplies) I am not going to recommend any brand over another, as I have not used them all to tell you really which ones are best. Depending on which kind you buy, you are going to want to follow whatever directions are included in the kit. Some of them are as simple as installing batteries and placing it in the water, others you may need to get some pvc pipe to rig to the container.
And that is really about all you need in order to make your own bait tank. Use your imagination, take some time talking with other people you fish with to see what they’ve used and what works for them…and when you build one we’d love to see some pictures and how you did it, we’ll post them up here for everyone to see when you do 
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Category: Bait