Insulated bait bucket suggestions

[brycro]

Past few years I have been cobbling together a bait bucket........usually buying a styrofoam insert that always gets cracked...........Look ing to buy a Frabill or similar insulated bucket but damn they are expensive..........Min now magnum or the shrimp shack...........any suggestions and where to look for best deal out there?  Been looking but haven't seen the good deals.......I guess I am more concerned with getting something that will last.  Thanks

[adkRoy]

alot of people use small coolers or big jug coolers.

[primepin65]

I have the Frabill Min-O-Life Personal Baitstation. I use it becasue I already bought it but if I could go back a few years, I don't think I would buy it again. It insulates the bait fairly well but the latch is cheap and broke during the first season. The pump busted at the beginning of the second season. The replacement pump I bought broke at the end of the second season. I'm not exceptionally hard on my gear and I don't think I mistreated the Baitstation. My friend owns the same thing and had the same issues that I had. We now use small bungee cords to hold the lid down(since the latch busted). 3/10

[jopes]

I use one of these coolers.  I drilled a hole through it for the air hose and put a small bracket on the back for the air pump.

[kylerprochaska]

Small coleman water cooler works great.  Water tight lid, and it only cost me $6 at walmart... opposed to the frabil which was going to cost me $15

[NorthWoods Harry]

I use one of these coolers.  I drilled a hole through it for the air hose and put a small bracket on the back for the air pump.

(Image removed from quote.)

What do you use for an air pump??

[jopes]

I use a bubble brand air pump.

the frabril ones ate batteries too fast and didn't seem to last long like the bubble ones do. 

[pike4some]

I just got a deal on the Magnum t his last week for 30 bucks on clearance. I had been looking for a while also an d came across the last one. normally 45 bucks couldn't pass it up. been wanting one with an aeratorarray of. alternative a pretty good set up.

[Bullelk34]

The yellow and white Plano minnow bucket is a good one that lasts for years.

[Griff]

The yellow and white Plano minnow bucket is a good one that lasts for years.

They're very durable, but when I'm hole hopping it quickly becomes a block of ice.

[ULking]

I love my clam insulated bucket! Fits in holder that came with my Jason Mitchell shack and I've left it in the car for over a week and temps going from 9°-54° and checked today only had 4 dead ones...

[Whopper Stopper]

Frabill Sit and Fish is what we use when it's cold. Minnows stay fine.  If the bucket freezes shut just hit it or use a hammer to break it loose. It is in destructable, and pretty easy on the billfold. Under $20.

           WS

[waderman]

I SWEAR by my Frabill four seasons two-piece live bait bucket!! I took a picture of it but can't figure out how to append it to this message. Maybe someone can tell me how to do it...

Anyway, the inner bucket - which has a lid and contains the bait - fits into the larger outer bucket. The water that sits between the walls of the inner and outer buckets freezes solid and insulates the water within the inner bucket. I've never had the inner bucket water freeze over completely, no matter how bitterly cold it got outside. The whole thing is also small enough to fit snugly between all the other stuff on my ice fishing sled. In addition, I like to refresh the bait water when I get to a pond in the morning. It's easy: drill a hole through the ice, lift the inner bucket up and simply plunk it inside the hole to change the water!

Finally, and as a bonus, I use my trusted bait bucket in the spring when I troll for salmon or trout with live bait. Because of the two-piece system, it's easy to lift up the inner bucket and drop it in the pond to refresh the water when needed.

WalMart sells them for $10-15. Best investment you'll ever make for a bait bucket.