[wisgobbler997]

You could just pick up one of these and be done View attachment 334341

I’ve got two in my boat now. Problem is when I move to another location I have to transfer the bait from the panfish basket to another container. But… kinda looks like it’s my best option at the moment.

 

[wisgobbler997]

Pool noodles won’t go to waste. LOL.

 

[Luckydawg13]

 

[Luckydawg13]

Lucky, those baskets might work for bait, in a boat. But, though the 5 gallon bucket ideas should be feasible for boat or bank, my situation is different.
Any of them that require putting them in the lake are basically out of the question for me.
With the water level currently at 4' below normal, that would put either the bucket or basket 5.5 to 6 feet below ground level (at least).

So, what I am more or less forced to do is use one 5 gallon bucket for "live well" and one for bait. Each with a bubble box aerator.

If the water surface was closer to ground level, though, the bucket/ pool noodle ideas would work great.

You need something like this then

Lucky, those baskets might work for bait, in a boat. But, though the 5 gallon bucket ideas should be feasible for boat or bank, my situation is different.
Any of them that require putting them in the lake are basically out of the question for me.
With the water level currently at 4' below normal, that would put either the bucket or basket 5.5 to 6 feet below ground level (at least).

So, what I am more or less forced to do is use one 5 gallon bucket for "live well" and one for bait. Each with a bubble box aerator.

If the water surface was closer to ground level, though, the bucket/ pool noodle ideas would work great.

So would this work for you 10$ fish pump from Walmart for home i have kept 10 bluegills alive for a couple days in this

 

[truckgrandpa]

Lucky, that is, basically, what I have for baitfish that I catch (sunfish, etc), same lid, different "brand" bucket.

 

[Luckydawg13]

I understand now went back and reread your post. Only other thing that comes to mind is a ice cooler with wheels on it and just put your fish right on ice. Or look for a wagon to put everything in and pull it

 

[J. Lewis]

To give you guys an idea of the limited space I have to deal with. I’d love any advice or ideas you fellers have to share! View attachment 334338

Wis, the bait thing is definitely one of my biggest challenges on my little boat, especially fishing a tournament where i may have 40 big bluegill and half a dozen big trout, etc. that I have to keep alive. After a LOT of working out details, I've kinda fine tuned my bait keeping and have a pretty good system.

I bought 2 mediim sized plastic totes with snap on lids ( light colored ones, NOT BLACK) I can't remember what size they are , I think 32 qt. At any rate, I drill 3/8" holes in the top 1/3 of my buckets. (A LOT of holes , so the water can drain down to the bottom of the holes quickly, however many holes you think is enough, double that)

It took me trying a couple different brands of lids to find ones that are secure enough to not worry about coming off, but are not on there so damn tight that you rip your fingernails off trying to get them off every time. (Walmart lids seem to be the best, I don't like Lowes or Ace HW lids , they snap too tight)

I tie a short 3' section of paracord to the handle of the bucket and on the other end of that rope , i tie a little carabiner clip. I have a little loop of rope that I tie to my back cleats on the boat , so I can clip the carabiner from the bait bucket rope on and off nice and easy.

I keep my bait in a spring fed creek in a big cage, so when I go to pick it up, I throw the totes in the boat and strap them in (wrap a strap around the tote to ratchet the lid on, also gives the lid some support for when it's full of water) I stop at the spring and fill the totes about half full of that cold spring water, zip down the hill a bit to my bait cage, fill my 4 bait buckets (5 gal buckets with the holes) throw them in the totes, with the 32qt. totes , the buckets will lay down on their sides so they get good water flow. (It's CRITICAL that they lay on their sides, if you fill the tote too full of water, the buckets will want to stand up on their own, once they stand up they won't get good flow and the bait will die!)

I have a 3 hour ride to the river, so on hot days, I will throw some ice in the totes with the water, especially if I have trout, they are really sensitive to the temp. Since the totes are in the boat bouncing around , the water is moving quite a bit bait stays good. Temp is definitely the biggest challenge, keep the water cool and the bait stays way better.

Once I'm at the river, I empty the totes, throw em in the back of the truck, condense the bait into 2 or 3 of the buckets and away I go. Biggest thing for me is remembering to drop the buckets into the water as soon as I stop.

I can keep 15 big gills in a bucket and keep them super lively, as ling as the buckets are in the water. Then I keep 1 bucket with no holes up in the boat so I can throw a handful of gills in there for baiting the rods, I hate having to pull a bucket every time I need a bait.

I fish in current most of the time, so the pool noodles just caused headaches. I want the buckets to sink as much as possible , I've found that just just holes works best. If current is.ripping, I'll throw a rock in just to keep the bucket down better. Having the buckets out the back also acts as a drift sock and steadies the boat from wind (somewhat).

It's a pain to pull the buckets every time I move, but after a lot of trial and error , I've just chalked that up to the cost of fishing for big fish in a small boat lol. Having a LOT of holes in that top portion of the bucket makes it a lot easier, that way you don't have to awkwardly stand, holding the bucket out over the water while the water is draining out.