The Bait Tube - Kayak Fishing's Cheapest Bait System

Bait tubes were originally created and used in Hawaii for keeping bonito, mackerel and skipjack alive while looking for big predators (marlin, wahoo, etc). Traiditionally a PVC pipe that is in a loop of washdown or other source of fresh saltwater where the baits are held captive in a small space with water rushing by, feeding their need for oxygen while limiting their ability to bash into the walls of a bait tank.

This has been adapted for kayaker use, we first saw it on Andy "Iceman" Allen's boat and then on John "Eagle Eye" Pawlak's. These two are great innovators but more importantly, great kayak fishermen. Bait tanks are usually a work in progress, never quite complete - at least not for more than a couple months at a time. Batteries die, connections short, connections corode, switches corode, EVERYTHING CORODES, drains clog, etc. This modification is a cross between the Hawaiian bait tube and a Plano minnow bucket that works really well for our near-shore fishing needs. Mackerel can survive for several hours in this system, Ed Whited had a stack of smelt for over 3 hours that all swam happily away. The reduction in bloody noses is almost 100% and scale loss for a grip of sardines was minimized as well. Packed like...well, packed like sardines in the tube they seemed to be content for a long time.

A two-foot section of PVC tube can be found at Home Depot for $2.89, endcaps for the 2" pipe are about a buck apiece, add the nylon cord and you're done shopping and your total purchase is about $7.

Complicated 2-step Process:

  1. Vice down your end caps and drill half a dozen holes in each for water flow.
  2. Thread the ends onto the tube with your nylon cord and tie the loop. Make sure to leave enough line to secure it to your kayak and be able to easily pull it up into your lap. Too little line and it will constantly bang against the side of the boat and you'll also have a hard time loading and unloading.

Another benefit of this kayak fishing bait tube is that when you're unloading a bait to hook you won't chase and be forced to chase it around the bait tank behind your back and stir up all the others. Just open the cap, plop the first in line out and recap. No problem.