Splash free minnow bucket carry

[IceTroll]

I was wondering how many people out there have had the problem of properly securing your minnow bucket to your ATV or snowmobile. I could never figure out where to secure it and when I did finally figure out a place to put it, I was forever taking a minnow water bath when traveling at a fair speed and I would hit a bump. Well if anyone else has ever had this problem, I came up with a solution. I fabricated a carrier that would hold a five gallon bucket that I could fit my minnow bucket inside. I then simply put a lid on the five gallon bucket and solved the splash problem forever. On its maiden voyage to Ft. Peck it performed like a charm. Here are some pictures that might help someone do the same if they like the idea.






If you like the idea, feel free to copy it or get a hold of me for more details.

IceTroll
     

[MikePike]

Too deep snow here to use ATVs . I use bungee cords aswell to fasten my bucket to the  back of my Tundra

[Gas_Auger]

Now all I need is the 4 wheeler!   

[IceTroll]

Thought I would bring this back up to the top since I posted it so late in the spring. Just in case anyone is interested.

[Iceshanty]

One step better Troll 

I got tired of the minnow bucket freezing up in back of the truck on a 1-4 hour sub zero ride up north. freezing lids or cracking junk plastic or styrofoam minnow buckets in extreme cold drove me nuts! The worse thing was dumping the minnow bucket in the sled on rough ride out. I got one of these watercoolers about 10 years ago, orange thing pictured below. The thing is indestructable, wont' spill a drop, cover won't freeze on and it really helps keep the water temp stable so your minnows are happier to! .

On late ice it doubles as a no-freeze fish storage, 300lb capacity chair, safety device or keeps my camera, gps and other electronics safe and dry. If you check with your local golf course many will give them away when they buy new ones for the course... some do it yearly... or just go buy one it will be the last minnow bucket you purchase.





-Scott

[dwayne]

I started to use a cooler for bait about 4 years ago and have to say it beat the frozen snot out of a 5 gallon pail.  No longer have to deal with my water starting to freeze up and minnows dying.  Only once last year it started to freeeze up on me but it was -17 when I started and only climbed to about -2 for the high that day.   

[fishinQB]

We always put our bait bucket in a 5 gallon bucket with a lid.  One time I was pulling the sled and it hit a rough spot on the ice and the bait bucket tipped over and all the minnows were flapping on the ice.  Of course this happened after dragging the sled out about 1 mile!  

[big big rdg]

Thats a sweet looking setup.

[Turkeyhunter10ga]

Scott needs to keep those minnows fresh , for that little something extra for taste on that sandwich.  LOL

[fishnnut]

All great ideas guys that's why I love this site somebody always comes up with new ideas. I found a guy on ebay last year that was selling lids that fit a 5 gallon pail and they basically convert a 5 gallon bucket to a minnow pail. The center has a lid that opens and it looks just like the old metal buckets lid and they work great on the 4 wheeler or sled to keep the water from splashing and a little more water volume keeps the minnows from freezing bad. It probably won't work as well as the cooler idea for the minnows freezing but thought some people might like the idea anyway. Keep the ideas coming and tight lines everybody.... Come on ice!!

[IceTroll]

I do like the cooler idea Scott and it would probably work with my little carrier that I fabricated. That was my biggest problem was where to strap my bucket though, which I have solved with my handy dandy little carrier. I dont pull a sled and lots of time we are blasting full throttle across the lake so I needed someplace to put the bucket (or cooler) itself. We have not had enough ice in many years to drive the truck on the ice so I am limited to the ATV. I will have try a cooler to see if it will fit in my carrier. If not, the bucket does seem to insulate the actual minnow bucket which is inside the 5 gallon bucket. I had very little problems with the minnow bucket freezing last year. I do really like the cooler idea though and I will try to make it work.

[TogueHunter]

For years I've been using a 1 gal round Thermos jug with a screw on top.  The top has a built in handle and the smaller size makes it easier to grab a shiner by just reaching in, and the fact that it's insulated keeps it from freezing up.  Every so often I'll change the water to keep the O2 level up.

[madporider]

i have one of those water coolers also twist on top. now if only i can get it out of the camping supplies and in the otter with out the wife noticing that would be great.  The only thing better would be if minnows could somehow survive in beer you could kill to birds with one stone

[cdc]

sweet carrier icetroll....Scott do you just the cooler for the bait?? Or do you put a minnow bucket inside?? I have a smaller one that I was planning on useing but not sure if I was going to use just the cooler or put the bait bucket inside..