Building A Live Bait Pen

For many anglers that live on the water or that have friends with water access, having a bait holding pen at the dock is a luxury.

With a nicely constructed bait pen at the dock, you can fish in advance for bait, and then store them at the dock for several days.  There are many factors that come into play with the length of time certain baits can take in your pen.

For example, hardy baits such as blue runners can live in your pen for weeks as long as you feed them.  If you don’t feed the baits in the pen, they will start and become very week and thin making them poor live bait. 

By feeding your baits in the pen with oatmeal, cut up squid, chum, etc you will prolong the life and health of your baits.

Warm water canals in the summer also have an effect on your ocean caught baits.  Especially baits that are caught near the bottom where the water is cooler.  Throwing them in the pen in warm summer waters will not make their mortality rate too long.

When constructing a bait pen we recommend round pens, although square pens are shown to be just as effective.  Using PVC, chicken wire, and wire straps, you can construct any size bait pen you needed.

We also recommend you bring your bait pen completely out of the water when not using it.  By leaving it in the water, growth will soon accumulate and eventually your cage or net will become torn and useless.