Butch, that was my concern...having to move it to net minnows but it is not that big. I got a 3 gallon round insulated bucket with a small lid in the middle of the big lid and I can net minnows without any problem. Have to slide the net around it a bit but it floats out of the way so no problem. As for noise, I have hearing loss so I have to put my hand on it to feel the mist coming out of it. It will run forever on a 6 volt lantern battery, but I got the 12 volt adaptor and run it off a cigarette plug I installed in the front of the boat.
O yeah, as to the wire, I let it run down the side of the bucket under the lid. The wire is small enough that you can snap the lid on over it.

