Bait Tube revisited

After dragging around my old galvanized floating bait bucket yesterday I am looking into making a bait tube. I have looked at every post I could find and they are all from way back. I am curious how the designs have proved out. Have you modified or redesigned yours? Is there a consensus on a "best" design? I would like to know what improvements (if any) have been made in the last six or seven years. Also, do we need multiple sizes, or is there a one size fits all? Thanks

after a 2 inch, 3 inch and 4 inch bait tube I ended up going with a live bait well 

http://www.kayakfishingsupplies.com/servlet/the-1031/KFS-Ultimate-Bait-Tank/Detail

after a 2 inch, 3 inch and 4 inch bait tube I ended up going with a live bait well 

http://www.kayakfishingsupplies.com/servlet/the-1031/KFS-Ultimate-Bait-Tank/Detail

What worked or didn't work with the different tubes?

after a 2 inch, 3 inch and 4 inch bait tube I ended up going with a live bait well 

http://www.kayakfishingsupplies.com/servlet/the-1031/KFS-Ultimate-Bait-Tank/Detail

What worked or didn't work with the different tubes?

the little tube was drag resistant but did not hold larger baits well, like macks or big sardines.  The bigger tubes are a lot of drag, and great for the big fish, but the smaller ones like anchovies seem to get beat up as they can change directions.  If I had to pick one, it would be the 3 inch tube.  If you make the tether long, it can trail your boat rather than banging into the hull.

I don't fish the ocean at this point. I expect to use minnows and hope to catch some of my own striper bait. Maybe bullheads or bluegills etc. do I need two different sizes?  Did anyone out there use the hinged door on the side? How does it compare to just the twist off cap? Worth the extra cost and effort?

Most freshwater baits are pretty hardy and will survive in a bucket if you aerate the water or just keep dumping fresh water in it and allow it to overflow. I think the exception is Threadfin and they are tough to keep alive unless you have a large cool live well.  You can buy a battery air pump at Wally World for $10.

I am trying to avoid dragging a bucket behind me. 

I don't fish the ocean at this point. I expect to use minnows and hope to catch some of my own striper bait. Maybe bullheads or bluegills etc. do I need two different sizes?  Did anyone out there use the hinged door on the side? How does it compare to just the twist off cap? Worth the extra cost and effort?

THIS
If you are just drifting leave it in the water or if you're on the move just dunk it overboard every so often.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/20563438?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227014957979&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=14106275710&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=35024361430&veh=sem

I am trying to avoid dragging a bucket behind me. 

Not talking about dragging I just put a 3 gal bucket in my tankwell

I don't think I could reach it over my milk crate/rod holders. Thats why I put the bait bucket I have in the water instead of the tank well. When I was done for the day I had to toss it to put it in the tank well.   

So is that it? No one else used them? Loved them, hated them? Did everyone go back to using bait buckets?

i never used my bait tube in freshwater.  always salt. it worked fine, but i don't fish live bait in salt much.

in freshwater, i use the bucket because it has more versatility.  i only dunk my bucket occasionally and keep it in my milk crate the rest of the time. i rarely drag the bucket, cuts my speed too much.  if i had a bait tube, it would always have to be in the water, which isn't true of the bucket.

I use one (for salt) couple of things I did...

1. Lots of holes for water flow
2. use a cap on the front end and a screw in clean out cap on the back.
3. I connect it with a length of thin bungee so any kelp snags can slide off

I put a oil funnel in front over the rope so it had a nose cone and used a 4 inch pvc that had holes pre-drilled ((sand holes smooth on inside or it will be a Bait-grader  first time you paddle )) used a 4'sprinkler grate thing in the back , rigged it with latches, then a extra latch after that lesson  ..ADD Stainless screws on nose or eventually it will come apart  lot of water resistance...I got exhausted reinventing the wheel SO I now have a circulating bait-well that is made for my kayak---works perfect every time giving me more time on the NCKA site and not in my garage thinking about keeping bait alive..I can not send a photo somehow it was smashed  with a sledge hammer seconds after I got my fancy custom bait-well ...

How do you access the bait-well. It feels like it would be difficult to reach beyond my milk crate. Between the distance of the reach(oversize milk crate) and all the poles sticking up at the back end, it seems that it would be impossible to do.