what is the best minnow bucket

[Bobo Greybeard]

Attachment 62282 Hey June Bugg, I just finished this up. Nylon strap/a buckle to tighten it. Then I hot glued it to the cooler, drilled a hole in the top for the air hose, hang the Friable Bubbler on the side, and your ready to go. Put your minnows, leaches,etc. Put a cooler pack or some ice to keep em' cool.

Is there a particular reason that you went with a Friable Bubler? The reason I ask is I am planning on building one of these in a couple of days but was going to use a Power Bubbles aerator instead. I don't know if it will make a difference is the reason I am asking. This will be used both from the bank, in my 12' jon boat, and my buddies 16' v bottom. Thanks, Bobo

[Bobo Greybeard]

Well folks a quick report on my experiment this weekend. I made one of the above Coleman coolers up late Thursday night but equipped it with a Power Bubbles aerator. I used Rayovac batteries to power the unit. A couple of quick notes from playing around with the bucket the last couple of days. I did not hot glue the belt in place yet but used a stretchy dress belt with a military style cinch buckle, such as you would find on your dress uniforms. As far as placement of the pump goes I would place the pump in line with the handles. I originally had the pump 180 degrees off of the drain spout but found that this caused the bucket to tilt towards the back big time when empty. I can only assume that it would do the same full. Anyway I went and bought somewhere between a quarter and a half pound of minnows last night at around 7 pm. Temps outside were in the high 90's and muggy as can be. I ran the pump basically non stop up until around 11:00 pm at which time I head home. I add a little bit of ice while fishing but nothing major. I had zero die off at this time. When I loaded the bucket into the trunk of the car to bring it home I shut the pump off and made the approximately 25 mile drive home. When I got home I unloaded the bucket and gear and turned the pump back on. At this time I drained about 25 percent of the water and added cold tap water and ice. I couldn't sleep so I checked he bucket at about 2:00 am and had 5 dead minnows in it. I removed the dead and made the cat's night. . I left again around 5:00 am this morning to go back out fishing and was out until around 11:00 am. Throughout the time this morning I had zero minnow die off. I ended up giving my remaining minnow to a family that was fishing at the same location I was. In a nutshell. I really like this "bucket" and it does what it is suppose to do. The only draw back is that it is fairly large and can get kind of heavy when full. Keep in mind I have had a neck injury and my hands are weaker than they use to be. Total cost of project is around $16.00 plus tax at Wal-Mart. I paid 8.88 I believe for the cooler, and 7.99 for the aerator with line and air stone included. Batteries are extra. Thanks, Bobo

[Woodworker42]

Bobo- how big is the cooler? I may need to the same thing for myself. Thanks, WW.

[Bobo Greybeard]

Bobo- how big is the cooler? I may need to the same thing for myself. Thanks, WW.

Crappie 1 gave me the idea for the minnow bucket. It is a 2 gallon bucket that both of us bought at Wal Mart back in the sporting goods section. It seems to be doing the job it is suppose to do. Good luck with it. Bobo