aeration on ice

[GregM]

Having trouble keeping shiners alive while ice fishing all day, they do fine at home at night in a big cooler with the bubbler going. Before spending the $69 I might have to on the aeration bucket (Frabill??) I was wondering if there is one made or can be made to plug into the adapter on my ATV ?? Thx much.


"I fish cuz the voices in my head tell me to"

[REW]

A much cheaper solution -

Make a weighted minnow bucket - that will fit down a hole.

Have a small container, that you use to keep a few minnows, close when you are fishing.

Leave the bulk of your minnows in the weighted minnow bucket.
Have about a 2 or 3 foot rope on the end of the bucket - with a X stick or similar on the top - to keep the rope from dropping through the hole.

when you get set up - put a few minnows in the small container - and leave the other minnows in the large container - unser the ice.

Days, without a single minnow dying.

Many folks who have permenant houses use a similar arrangement.

They simply use a greased wire to hold the minnow bucket under the ice. That way, they can chip out the wire - and pull up the minnows, even after being away from the house for a couple of weeks, and the minnows are fine.

Take care and be safe on the ice.

REW

[Sparky]

You might want to check into a product called Aerobait 5 by Magic Products. It's a 5 gal. insulated round bucket with a "D" cell airator pump in the bottom. The interior is round without any tubes for the bait to run into. I've kept minnows alive for days in it. I bought in years ago and don't know if the company is still in business. Maybe someone else on this board knows about the company. I'll search for some current information.
They are still in business. Their Web site address is www.magicproducts.com .

[Stump]

Another solution which I have in use is a small power inverter and a small aquarium pump.I have wired these togather and connected an accessory plug,this makes it completely portable.Hook a small clip to it and it can be used in a bucket,a cooler,a livewell or where ever.It really works great.You can even run it on a Vex. battery.If you have any Questions E-mail me at fishinjas1@aol.com

[bulletny]

Sparky has the answer. I have both 5gal. and 7qt. Aerobait buckets. The 7qt. bucket is the one I take ice fishing, it last 2 - 3 days on 1D battery and has always kept minnows very lively all day. The 5 gal. bucket uses 2 D batteries and is quite large for carrying around and works better for going long distances & keeping large amounts of minnows for a long period. Both buckets can be ordered through Bass Pro Shops.
5 gal.-- $49.99 7qt.-- $29.99
Hope this helps and good fishing.. bulletny

[Lucky Eddy]

When I fish in my trap or clam,after drilling my hole I drill a second hole,but not completly through. I punch a hole in bottom with a screwdrive. I use this as a live well. My fish are always fresh and I can let the smaller ones go later. You could do this for bait also.If fishing out side, put 5 Gallon pail lid on top of hole. Or buy bait pail lid with door on top.

[Pitts]

I beleive it's the quality of bait.
Let's think about this I bought 2 doz. shiners,1 scoop fatheads, and 1 scoop of crappie minnows on the 21st of Jan.
I fished Lake Minnetonka on that date and put the rest of them in my garage until I went to Mille Lacs on Fri where I changed the water for the first time. Sat I added 2 more doz shiners to the shiner bucket and fished until Sun noon. I brought them home and forgot to change the water when I left Mille Lacs so I ended up changing it with city water yesterday because they were pratty dank looking and smelling they are all still kicking and alive and will go with me to LOTW and Red Lake this weekend.
It has been 9 days total and I picked out maybe 3 dead shiners the whole time. I keep the crappie and fatheads seperate because they will kill the shiners and the bucket I keep the shiners in is a Frabil Cool Keeper it's about a gallon in size.
Maybe you are shocking them with cold water when you get to the lake try adding small amounts of water until the original water is tempered and remember you cannot keep 10 doz shiners in a small bucket try an empty five with a sealing lid for the bulk of them and leave that in the truck them just take what you need out of that bucket for use out on the ice that way you can resupply if you run low right from your truck.
Try to keep them cold all of the time do not let them get warm even with an aereator because that will kill them a lot faster.
As far as an aereated bucket I think I would use that more in the summer than winter.
My .02


Pitts