Inexpensive live bait tank

Hello everyone,

Quick question for you. Has anyone tried the ready to go bait tanks that are about 3 gallon capacity, they have foam insulation to keep the water temp down, and they have a "D" cell powered bubbler?

I'm curious if these tanks are adequate for anchovies... The price is right, less than $40.00.

Please let me know if they work, or whether I'll be yaking around MB with dead bait.. My fishing hours will be from about 7:00AM to no later than 11:00AM.

Thanks as always,

Rich

I got one of the Frabill units from Mel Cottons and it works fine... the bucket is insulated with foam and it comes with an air pump... I think I payed $25 for it... I only use it for grass/ghost shrimp though... for anchovies I think I would need a bigger volume of water... or just less anchovies... I guess the bucket I have would keep a couple dozen alive for a few hours.  I think for an 8am to 11am trip you would be fine...

  I just read all the reviews at Cabala's site regarding the Frabil min-o-life, of all the negative things said about it, it's size was the the top complaint.
I purchased a minnow bucket (Trolling bucket I think) a while back  preprations for BAM IV.  Now I'm not going to transport minnows in the bait bucket, and hope to have live bait when I arrive at the lake.
  That Min-o-life bucket looks like nothing more than a tiny cooler with an air pump on it.  I'm thinking I can do one up thats bigger (Not by much though) by getting a little larger cooler designed for carrying 2-liter soda bottles, (I've seen some coolers that would be perfect at Longs Drugs)adding an air pump and a larger airstone.  Little more volumn of water, and use for transport only untill I can soak the trolling bait bucket in the lake.
 Course I won't have the "Built in net"
  I already have an air pump, just need a little longer air line, and the longer air stone.  Use a few dabs of aquarium silicon to glue the air stone to bottom of cooler drill a hole near the top and feed the air line through and seal it with the silicon and mount air pump and connect air line.  Done.
  Think I might have to start work on this.

 

IMO a 3 gallon bucket is not enough to support a bunch of anchovies.  The insulation in that bucket further reduces the interior volume available for the water/fish.

A plain 5 gallon bucket / aerator will work well with frequent refreshing of the water to keep the water temps down, and get waste out.  Placing reusable ice packs in the water will help keep the water temps down.  They come in sizes small enough to place in the bucket w/o taking up too much space.  You can carry a bunch of them in a soft cooler, and rotate them one at a time into the bucket every half hour or hour.

If you desire insulation, you can cover the exterior of the bucket with reflectix.  Reflectix is available in OSH and home depot.  It is basically a bubble wrap that is lined with foil on both sides.  $15.00 for 16" x 25 ft roll.

Walmart has a very inexpensive aerator called the bubble box.  It runs on 2 D batteries which last a very long time.

...or you can easily build a "Tube".....works especially well for "tougher baits" like golden shiners and smelt....

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,9162.0.html

The best bet and only way chovies will stay alive is water replacement. The bubbles from the air pump will stick to the chovies and stress them dead . Sometimes you are better off using fresh dead if thats all you got. The general rule of thumb is a 5 to 7 minute cycle for chovies if I recall. If you go to live bait larry's site it has all the theories and techniques so you can be a live bait pro.


Sherm

I haven't found air bubbles to harm the anchovies I've kept in a bucket for a whole day.  I guess if the surrounding air is more polluted (socal) that may be possible.   

I find heat and crowding to be the biggest threat to their livelihood.

I've already posted above what worked very well for me.

Water changes are required with or without aeration.  With aeration you can extend the water change intervals, especially if you can keep the water temps from rising too quickly.  As your anchovy population goes down, it only gets easier to keep them alive.

I'm going to get a bucket with a lid, and drill some holes in the side about 2/3 of the way up, then put some floatation at the top of the bucket and some weight at the bottom to keep it upright. For drift fishing, I'll just keep the bucket in the water and let the water flow through the holes. If I pick up and move, the bucket comes into the yak...I don't know how this will work, but I'm going to try it.

  I don't see how that idea won't work!  Some pool noodle wrapped around the top, Bada bing done!  My idea of the cooler with air pump would be for fresh water minnows, and transportation to the water only.  I have my "Trolling" bait bucket for them while on the water.
   When I start fishing the ocean (And move to live bait) I'll deal with it then.

I'm going to get a bucket with a lid, and drill some holes in the side about 2/3 of the way up, then put some floatation at the top of the bucket and some weight at the bottom to keep it upright. For drift fishing, I'll just keep the bucket in the water and let the water flow through the holes. If I pick up and move, the bucket comes into the yak...I don't know how this will work, but I'm going to try it.

This works surprisingly well for a few anchovies. I caught a halibut from anchovies stored in a small half gallon plastic bucket rigged just like this.

I do like the bait tube tho. It is a lot sleeker in the water and easier to remove a bait at a time, as well as being just as simple.

This will work for 20 b. When I lived in San Diego the had larger plywood bait sleds available at the bait barges .

I use a 3 1/2 gallon bucket and can keep a lot of anchovies fresh all day. I use a homemade bilge style tank that costs way less than $40. It's indestructable. Here is a link to instructions for building your own low cost bait tank. FYI, I now use a 6 volt 12 amp battery. The instructions are for a 5 gallon bucket, but I use a 3 1/2 gallon bucket from my laundry detergent. The actual water volume is about 3 gallons.

http://www.rockymountainkayakfishing.com/index.php?topic=56.0

Thanks Kayote,

The 3.5 gallon tank looks like a great size. I'm curious why you went with a 12amp battery.  And where did you find a 12amp??

Thanks,

Rich

I use basically the same setup for fragile baitfish like shad and chovies. Pump dragger style, Rule 360 bilge pump, a 6volt battery, and a inline switch. I use a fresh charged 6volt 7 amp battery and get 5-6 +hours or all day by running intermittent. My tank is bungied in and has a berkley 4 rod holder fastened to it.

Interstate battery carries a good assortment small batteries and chargers.

Another tank I made has a tru hull pump stuck through the scupper hole. But you need to hook a primer bulb for a outboard motor in between to get the pump primed. Or maybe bounce up and down hard on the water. Its a little more clean looking because you don't drag the pump.

need to hook a primer bulb

Mark I saw one where the inlet into the tank flipped up 180 degrees so you can pour a cup of water down it to prime then flip it back to run.