Bait bucket/ Livewell

[Moon Lake Refuge]

Hi all,

We fish up at the cabin each weekend and always tend to have minnows left over that get thrown.  Does anyone use a good store bought or homemade bait bucket or cooler that is good for traveling with where we might be able to keep them alive a little longer.  Also would be nice to get bait in the cities and bring it up there.  Local gas stations get shiners Friday mornings and they are always sold out by the time we make it up!

[Juneau4]

I just use a cheap Styrofoam cooler, seems to work ok.

[Hawg]

I can carry 6-8 dozen in a 5 gal pail with a cheap air bubbler.  

[leechlake]

19 minutes ago, Moon Lake Refuge said:

Hi all,

We fish up at the cabin each weekend and always tend to have minnows left over that get thrown.  Does anyone use a good store bought or homemade bait bucket or cooler that is good for traveling with where we might be able to keep them alive a little longer.  Also would be nice to get bait in the cities and bring it up there.  Local gas stations get shiners Friday mornings and they are always sold out by the time we make it up!

my bro in law bought a frabil aerator cooler.  It runs on batteries or you can plug it in in your house.  Funny, he doesn't fish that much.  This fall he had a couple dozen plus fatheads in it at cabin and they lived for about three weeks.  I was amazed every time I went up there they were still alive.  One day he looked in and they were dead and smelly.  

I think without changing water more than once or twice and just running the aerator they lived three weeks.  

 

Edited January 6, 2016 by leechlake

[Moon Lake Refuge]

Just now, leechlake said:

my bro in law bought a frabil aerator cooler.  It runs on batteries or you can plug it in in your house.  Funny, he doesn't fish that much.  This fall he had a couple dozen plus fatheads in it at cabin and they lived for about three weeks.  I was amazed every time I went up there they were still alive.  One day he looked in and they were dead and smelly.  

I think without changing water more than once or twice and just running the aerator they lived three weeks.  

Thanks I'll take a look at them!

[rustysetter]

1 hour ago, Moon Lake Refuge said:

Hi all,

We fish up at the cabin each weekend and always tend to have minnows left over that get thrown.  Does anyone use a good store bought or homemade bait bucket or cooler that is good for traveling with where we might be able to keep them alive a little longer.  Also would be nice to get bait in the cities and bring it up there.  Local gas stations get shiners Friday mornings and they are always sold out by the time we make it up!

MLR, I use the 19 quart engel bait cooler aerator, it seals up pretty well. They are very well made but not cheap.

[Moon Lake Refuge]

24 minutes ago, rustysetter said:

MLR, I use the 19 quart engel bait cooler aerator, it seals up pretty well. They are very well made but not cheap.

Great i'll take a look.  Not terribly concerned with the price, keep throwing out good bait anyhow, and a good seal would help keep from spilling on the 3 hour drive up.

[RebelSS]

I used to make and sell an aerated cooler long before another company came out with theirs...The Minnow Magic.  I quit a few years back, as my suppliers couldn't supply some of the components anymore, so I'll share it here how to whip one up. Get yourself an insulated lunch bucket, a quiet aerator, (there is a certain brand out there that is really quiet) and attach it to the cooler. Run air hose thru proper sized drilled hole. Route tubing using adhesive wire holder clips; putting air stone in middle on bottom. You're done. Keep it in the garage, occasionally turning it on. I've kept minnow for two weeks that way. Batteries last for weeks, easy. In the summer, I've run mine all year on one set. The lid stays down tight, water doesn't slop out, and it's easy to scoop up the minnows. 

[

Edited January 6, 2016 by RebelSS

[Hawg]

There's no need to spend a lot on a cooler and an aerator, build one like Rebels out of a cooler you already have. 

[RebelSS]

11 minutes ago, Hawg said:

There's no need to spend a lot on a cooler and an aerator, build one like Rebels out of a cooler you already have. 

That's how mine started....buy an aerator and you're set. You can use any size cooler you want; that's what's nice. I screw a small metal plate to front of cooler (called a mending strip) they're .25 cents, and that's what the aerator clip slides thru. Five minute build and you're set. Enjoy! 

 

The plate...2" x 3/4"......

 

 

Edited January 6, 2016 by RebelSS

[MN BassFisher]

I would get a small-ish bucket or cooler. Go to the Pet Store and grab an air stone, tubing and a battery operated pump to fix to the side. That'll keep the oxygen circulating and the minnows fresh.

[Moon Lake Refuge]

1 hour ago, RebelSS said:

That's how mine started....buy an aerator and you're set. You can use any size cooler you want; that's what's nice. I screw a small metal plate to front of cooler (called a mending strip) they're .25 cents, and that's what the aerator clip slides thru. Five minute build and you're set. Enjoy! 

 

The plate...2" x 3/4"......

 

 

I like it, I've already even got an aerator around somewhere so I'll give it a shot.  Thanks!

[RebelSS]

Glad I could help. Go for it!  

[blue_healer_guy]

exactly what i did. everybodys got that pilety cooler you cant use except for this.

[h8go4s]

13 hours ago, blue_healer_guy said:

exactly what i did. everybodys got that pilety cooler you cant use except for this.

What is "pilety"?

[RebelSS]

19 minutes ago, h8go4s said:

What is "pilety"?

 

I think the forum changed the word c-r-a-p with a "Y", or the "sh" word to that....

Edited January 7, 2016 by RebelSS

[h8go4s]

Thanks, Reb. Autocorrect gone mad,

Hopefully everyone's aware of the AIS regulations about transporting minnows after they have been in a lake or river. The fines for violations can be far more expensive than buying fresh minnows.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/preventspread_watercraft.html

"3. DISPOSE of unwanted bait, including minnows, leeches, and worms, in the trash. It is illegal to release bait into a waterbody or release aquatic animals from one waterbody to another. If you want to keep your bait, you must refill the bait container with bottled or tap water."

Edited January 7, 2016 by h8go4s

[RebelSS]

Good point, h8go4s. Mine start in bait store water, and stay in it. I always have a jug on hand with me though, to satisfy any CO that may get nitpicky. They always seem to think you pulled the water OUT of wherever you're fishing, which isn't necessary with my cooler. I read in my Big River magazine last nite that on quite a few lakes in the metro area, they gave up on treating the waterways for invasive's/Zm's, as they have come right back after treatment and are now proliferating. I think it's a losing battle, but still worth fighting.

Edited January 7, 2016 by RebelSS

[Moon Lake Refuge]

27 minutes ago, h8go4s said:

Thanks, Reb. Autocorrect gone mad,

Hopefully everyone's aware of the AIS regulations about transporting minnows after they have been in a lake or river. The fines for violations can be far more expensive than buying fresh minnows.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/preventspread_watercraft.html

"3. DISPOSE of unwanted bait, including minnows, leeches, and worms, in the trash. It is illegal to release bait into a waterbody or release aquatic animals from one waterbody to another. If you want to keep your bait, you must refill the bait container with bottled or tap water."

Yeah our minnows wont even make it to the car, after I get to the lake with them.  Just need to get from the bait store in the cities up to the cabin, then they can sit there if I can keep them alive.  Good info though, I'll bring my time stamped receipt in the truck with me to be safe!