Keeping crawlers cold all day/weekend.

[EricCO]

I know it takes lots of ice in 100 degree weather all weekend, but what have you found to be the best way to keep your crawlers nice a cool all day long on the boat as well as at camp?

What about when you are camping for a week at a lake with no amenities? I'm talking tent and campfire camping, not pulling a small apartment with you and thus having a fridge and freezer.

[AquaMan]

Get a block of dry ice and keep several small water bottles or "freezer packs", like the little EVIAN water bottles or the blue re-useble deals, cold/frozen in that cooler. Each day, remove a frozen water bottle and place it in with your worms in a small lunch style cooler.

You should be able to run about 5-6 days if you only go into the dry ice cooler to exchange water bottles.

Be sure to keep the bedding lightly damp, not soaking wet. Change it or take some out and dry it if it does get too wet. Worms will drown.

Igloo is selling a cooler that is gaurented to keep a 5 pound block of ice for 5 days in 90 deg temps. I think it's called the Extreme. Could be a good idea on paper and not in reality???

But for $39 it is a good cooler anyway.

AquaMan~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.·´¯° --- "It all begins and ends at the water's edge"

Eric@crowncomputerinc.com

[dkooser]

Eric,
Once it gets that hot I carry a cooler on the boat for the worms/leeches, beverages etc. I usually use blocks of ice when on the boat as the decreased surface area of a block melts slower. Might not keep things as cold but the worms dont need to be that cold, just cool. Invest in a good cooler and use blocks vs. cube for the things that dont need to be frosty.

[Todd_NE]

This is a little "out of the box" but...

1. On the boat - When I fish crawlers, I put them in a good, but small six pack cooler that is filled with ice, and just a small amount of water (1/2 inch). Packed like this crawlers live approximately 48 hours, no more. They are also lively, plump, and CLEAN to use. I can't imagine having bedding or mud in my boat anymore. Keep your ice at least half the volume.

2. I like the above ideas but I generally use a meat packing quality styrofoam shipping cooler that has worms in bedding on the bottom, then fill the rest of the cooler with plastic bags of ice the rest of the way. Make sure they don't leak You can get about 3 days out of that if left in the shade.

good luck

todd

[Rick-Wy.]

Those Extreme coolers by Igloo really work. Sam's carries them for 10-15 bucks less than Cabela's or equal.

I'm very impressed with mine as well as my buddies that have one. Only knock is that I wish they had a larger capacity one.

[Gumbo]

I go to Lake Powell every year. Right now daytime temps will be around 105. The best way to make your ice last and keep your food and worms cold is to combine block ice and cubes in each cooler. I also use those Ultra coolers that have extra insulation. I freeze plastic milk jugs and/or water bottles, which also gives you drinking water as it melts, doesn't require extra room, and doesn't soak everything as it melts.

Use dry ice to freeze fillets you'll be taking home and to prolong the life of your ice. Keep the dry ice on the top of the cooler. It will prevent you from having to make runs to the marina for ice every few days.

[Fishnfuul]

I don't know if this will come as a link, but Cabelas sells a bait cooler in the fishing section. I have used mine since this spring and it does a good job . It's called Hagens bait cooler.http://www.cabelas.com/texis/scripts/store/+/CatalogDisplay/displayPOD/CabFALL1998/CabFALL1998ACAl/IB288B

[Chad]

If you are going to be somewhere without a fridge you could bring a container and a shovel. Bury the container after you have the crawlers you need. Dig down about 3 feet or so and the temp will be significantly cooler. Especially in the shade. Dig it up when you need more. After all that is their natural habitat.

[whitetips]

Pros all carry a 40 qt cooler for ice and bait. Sometimes that ice gets in handy to cool recirc water for good release. recommend a cooler in your also.

[Fritz]

Some good advice and great ideas so far. I keep my crawlers in a cooler of their own. One thing I started doing last year, is to freze a plastic sandwich bag of worm bedding. I put this in with my crawlers for a day on the water. This method worked great in Canada this year (of course I had access to a freezer). However I would think you could freeze several of thes bags to use on a weekend camping trip. On my weekend camping trips, I have one cooler with just ice. I don't open it until my ice in the other coolers is almost gone. It is surprising how long ice lasts if you are not opening the cooler up for a beer every hour. :)

[Starfish]

I really like the "bait canteens" that are made of fiberboard. You get a little evaporative cooling from water evaporating through the walls of the box. You still need to keep it out of the sun, and I find that it works best to throw a handful of ice cubes in it in the middle of a hot day. It routinely gets over a hundred degrees around here in the summer -- though very dry --and it works great as long as it's shaded.

[Airwave(OH)]

One thing to add is If you are investing in a cooler, I have found that a white colored one keeps ice longer as they do not absorb heat as quickly. Might seem trivial but I believe it to be true..

[Joefish]

Another thing to remember is that no matter what type of cooler you use, put in the shade and cover it with a heavy blanket and put newspapers under it. The newspapers will insulate it from the warm ground as heat rises, this will make your ice last alot longer. My 2 cents worth....

[Chuck Pederson MN]

I'm with you Todd_NE for a weekend you can't beat putting the crawlers a couple dozen at a time in water with ice in a small cooler. They swell up and become very lively and no more bedding in the boat. They will drown so you can't keep them that way for long periods but for a weekend it works great.

[fishinnut]

I've got an ULTRA COLD cooler by Igloo and it keeps ice a long time.

[BD]

We have two "homemade" coolers that work better than anything else I have seen. They are made up of a lightweight plywood box lined with 2 inches of styrofoam. A styrofoam cooler that was originally used for medical supplies fits down inside the 2 inch lining. They will keep ice for a week in 100 degree temps as long as they are out of direct sunlight.