bottom buckets?

[tonka]

Has anyone tried the bottom bucket bait setup? it looks interesting

[reinhard1]

the only bottom bucket setup i ever used was to use the bottom of a bucket to sit on when i had nothing else . what exactly is this set up? good luck.

[tonka]

its some kind of bait bucket that anchors to the lake bottom, it sounds interesting. just search bottom bucket online and you will find it. I would like to find someone that has actually used this setup to see how it really works

[Ice Shack Baby]

I use a bait bucket like the one below. I have a permanent house and the house will shift about 10 ft towards shore every year. Having a bait bucket sitting on the bottom of the lake and not tied to your house would make some interesting retrieves. I just use a coat hanger on a broom handle to grab the bucket line to pull into the house.

[Hawg]

Ice Shack Buddy, I have one of those buckets also and have been tring to find them for a couple friends. The company was by Elk River or Big Lake that made them and they went bankrupt 3 times I was told. Do you know where anymore are? This post is kind of funny because I ordered a Bottom Bucket just yesterday.If the threads that hold the top to the bottom are good I would think they would work just as well. I've also been wondering why a 1 gallon Ba1t Tamer mesh bait bag wouldn't be just as good, they have floatation in them. Making one out of PVC getts pretty spendy, and they seem too heavy and clumsy to me. Take a look at the Bottom bucket and make your yellow one work just like it with a spool of tip up line and some styrofaom, that's the best bucket I've seen for under the ice storage. Ice gets pretty thick later in the year for the outside/inside system.

[RiverFish]

Ice Shack Buddy, I have one of those buckets also and have been tring to find them for a couple friends. The company was by Elk River or Big Lake that made them and they went bankrupt 3 times I was told. Do you know where anymore are?

The bait store in Detroit Lakes has them, I can't think of the name of the store. It is the bait store downtown.

[Ice Shack Baby]

The only issue I see with the BB is that there is some flotation device in the bucket and also the bait tamer. You really need a negative buoyancy rather than a positive if you are tying from above. I could see either container "float" right next to the ice and then would freeze in over time. I use my bucket throughout the year. Once it goes in, it stays in all winter unless I move. I generally get a couple of scoops at the beginning of the year and then some friends drop bait off when they leave...

I have one buddy that made a PVC bucket and you are correct, they are heavy as h3ll. I have also used juice bottles with a handle and then punch some holes to get water flow. The durability may not be as good though.

[tsande00]

Never any problems with that big fish tangling up with the rope on the bait bucket?

[Ice Shack Baby]

Only one. Here's the picture... I generally have 5 holes open in my house when my wife is with me. I have the bucket down the same hole as I have my camera.

[Hawg]

I like the float from the bottom idea FSB, I always get a jig or hook stuck in the rope the way you do it. Also, the guy in the DL bait store asked me to let him know if I found the yellow ones again when I stopped there last spring.

[toughguy]

Are you using these to keep shiners alive? I typically fish with fatheads and I've never had an issue keeping them alive in a bucket on the floor. I guess I don't see the point

[Dave]

I think the point is for long term storage of bait; like from weekend to weekend

[jasont71]

just got mine in the mail yesterday, looks like it will work well. in the past i have used a leech tote with 3 large stainless nut in it to hold it down with tip up line tied to it with a large cork at the top and place 1 ft below the ice, i used it to leave bait when i leave for a few days or even up to a few weeks, every time i get back the bait it lively. the bb looks like the same idea just a little more user frienly. cant wait to try it out.

happy fishing

[Hawg]

Toughguy, it's for when you might not be back for a couple days and don't leave the heat on in the house. When minnows are plentiful or when I see a good batch I can keep them forever. Just drill a hole, reach down with a broom handle with a hook on it, and pull them up. No more frozen buckets full of minnows. I use a bucket when I'm there, this is just for when I leave. It's really slick and I save a bunch of money on bait.