Aerators and minnow nets

[Bruce/CO]

Any suggestions for aerators? recently drove 200 miles with minnows in an icechest using the alkaseltzer-looking aerator pills. While this worked so-so, would like to be able to transport minnows without dropping "pills" every three hours. Anyone have good long-lasting luck with battery operated aerators sold through Cabelas or bass-Pro? We're also considering buying a minnow seine, and there are several to choose from in the catalogs; any suggestions? We've never used a bait net, so ease of use would probably prevent our drowning, in pursuit of minnows :-)

[dutchman]

The best thing I hve ever found for keeping bait alive and fresh is change the water frequently with the same temp water. When I travel I use an oxygen tank It's called an E-cylinder I trickle 02 into the bait container. These can be purchased or rented from most welding supply stores. Usually $6.00 to $12.00 per tank worth the money if your hauling creek chubs (or any other unavailable specie) to a tourney

[BarryM]

I have had great luck with the Mr. Double Bubbles. It takes 2 D cell batterys and will run continuous for over 24 hours. I will usually pick all my minnows the day before I head out and keep them in a 5 Gallon bucket all night. Works outstanding. It will have 2 hoses available if you want to run 2 different buckets at the same time. If not, you can store the additional hose within the unit. Take Care, BarryM.

[Dick]

I use a "minnow miser". It can be found in Bass Pro Shops catalog and many bait stores. Buy the 12 volt converter and hook it up to one of your boat batterys. I use a cooler for the minnows with cold water. you might want to add a few cubes of ice (make sure they don't come from your fridge) if you are going on a long trip. I have kept fatheads alive well over a week in a 5 gallon pail in my fridge with the aerator running.

[CJHughes]

I purchased a plastic tool box for my truck.The width of the back of the bed to the front of the wheel wells is how wide it is and it is as deep as the bed of the truck.I bought it from Quality Farm and Fleet.All you need for air is a bilge pump connected to half inch dia. pvc with holes drilled in it,and a end on it.Tie wrapp this to the top of the box so the holes are pointed toward the water.I use my old trolling motor battery.Oh, also this only came in black ,paint it white it is much cooler that way.Six foot seine is the best for one person.Memphis net & Twine have some neat stuff 18002386380.Minnow traps are easy to use if you don't care what size minnow you get.

[crash]

I have the "Quiet Bubbles" from the Cabelas catalog. Its not as "quiet" anymore but its still better then the outboard sounding ones I've had in the past. Runs three days straight on a set of Battery's. As for nets? I use one I picked up at a pet store, I use Alewifes for bait and a typical mesh bait net beats them up, but the Aquarium net dosn't trash them as bad...

[Jack]

Fishing in Florida we faced the problem of how to keep wild lake shiners alive in our livewell overnight. These shiners cost $12 a dozen and need lots of oxygen to stay alive.

After a variety of experiments with mixed results we settled on an aerator similar to that mentioned by CJ Hughes in response #4, only ours was bought retail from Wal Mart. I have seen these things on the shelf at our local Wal Marts just recently. It is an aerator pump with a filtering device around the intake portion of the aerator to filter out excrement from bait (shiners are dirty for the first 24 hours). The aerator has suction cups on the bottom to allow you to firmly attach it to the bottom of your bait tank. A PVC pipe carries the discharge water to a point about 12-14 inches above the aerator and sprays the water out thru holes in a cap on the end of the pipe. This water is quite forceful and aerates very well.

Having looked at the retail model it only takes a little imagination to figure how to build one yourself for less than half of the approximate $24 that Wal Mart gets for the retail model.

These units hook up to a twelve volt battery for power. To run them overnight I always hook the aerator leads up to a battery charger which is, of course, plugged into a normal electrical outlet.

Extend the leads on the areator and you can hook them up to a battery in your boat.

[Bill Coomes]

I started using a minnow-mizer about 10 years ago after reading about them in one of Bill Binkleman's Blue Books. You can buy an AC converter for them, too.