Bait coolers

Looking for real world reviews on bait coolers. I own a frabil, and have been pleased with it, however I add a frozen water bottle to my minnows each morning, and again in the afternoon when warm out. It is the smaller 13 qt version of their bait station. I have started to do some catfishing and looking to get something bigger to hold larger chubs (up to 6 inches). Stick with frabil or go to something else? Is there one that keeps the water cooler, longer?

You could go the cheap route and just get a cooler and use it for bait or go to something like the engel that has an aerator. I have one and its great. The pump that comes with it is noisy as heck and typically doesnt last very long, mine still works, but I bought one off of amazon that is rechargeable and is very quiet. The only thing I wish is that I bought the smaller one because its pretty big and its not the biggest one either.

I have the 13 quart Engel and love it. I also upgraded the aerator to the rechargeable, may have been the one you recommended Captain, super quiet and has a pulse mode to use less battery. My buddy has the same and bought the 19 quart to keep shiners in when we go on trips, it kinda big to have in the boat but works great to transfer them into one of the 13s. I don’t know anyone with other brands to compare but it keeps the water cool for a long time, as long as you remember to close the lid.

I would echo CaptainMusky on the Engel + an aftermarket aerator…. adding the caveat that Engels will freeze shut when ice fishing. One drawback. They do have good customer service and honor their warranty.
If you REALLY want to go all out…. look at the Flop box. It pretty much looks like the Rolls Royce of bait cooler… but you will pay for it.
https://www.flopindustries.com/flop-box-10?gclid=Cj0KCQjwnMWkBhDLARIsAHBOftoeZSVkp3ad1eRVp0jxBBfgV66mdh8IO6eNRgSrCEbZpynWqldH9KEaAmE9EALw_wcB

The frabil you have and engel are the same thing. It’s a insulated cooler is all they are. Get a good areator and keep water cool and minnows last all day. No minnows survive in hot non oxygenated water.
I also have both the small and larger size frabil

Flop box looks sweet!!!

Tip on the freezing shut thing. Put some vaseline or chapstick on the seal and its never frozen on me.

CaptainMusky wrote:

Tip on the freezing shut thing. Put some vaseline or chapstick on the seal and its never frozen on me.

Live bait is my #1 priority when Flathead Fishing. I’ve tried many brands and homebrew containers. So far the 30qt Engel has won my support as the best. It has kept the water cool and my bait lively. The metal hinges and buckles also get a thumbs up. The cooler has a very good seal and never seems to leak water from all the jostling as a lot of homebrew ones do. They have also just recently released an XL lithium rechargeable bubbler for even more air.

So far the only thing that bugs me sometimes is how the buckles fold over inside when I go to shut the lid.

And…if you think the Flop Box is luxury, I suggest checking out the Whisker Seeker Bait Shack.

3Rivers wrote:

And…if you think the Flop Box is luxury, I suggest checking out the Whisker Seeker Bait Shack.

Sheesh! At $300 no thanks. Looks nice though.

Flop box and whisker seeker are out. For 250 or 300 bucks I could use a Walmart rotomolded cooler and put my own aerator on it and save some cash. Does anyone know which one is better at keeping the water cool between engle and frabil?

3Rivers wrote:

So far the only thing that bugs me sometimes is how the buckles fold over inside when I go to shut the lid.

That is definitely annoying.

jbg1219 wrote:

larger chubs (up to 6 inches).

Them are just little guys

jbg1219 wrote:

Flop box and whisker seeker are out. For 250 or 300 bucks I could use a Walmart rotomolded cooler and put my own aerator on it and save some cash. Does anyone know which one is better at keeping the water cool between engle and frabil?

I have run both. The larger frabil is my current one and the 13qt engel. Both did the job just fine. It’s tough to keep water cold on a hot day when you are in and out of it.

If you have well water you could pack some ice to add to it as needed, but yeah there is not a great way to keep it cool.

I went from the frabil to the Engel because of the latches. After two winters, I broke both plastic latches on the frabil. Engel is metal

I have 2 Engels that I like for ice fishing but for summer time it seems like the insulation thickness is lacking to me.

I like the Engel because it is white. White coolers stay cool longer when in the sun.

The latch issue flipping in is a pain.

Save your money and get a $5 cooler, drill a hole in it and run an aerator through

crappie55369 wrote:

Save your money and get a $5 cooler, drill a hole in it and run an aerator through

this is what i have too but there are guys that blow all sorts of paper on bait so they want it to stay alive. i only use live bait in spring, fall and winter so no need for me. at least i keep telling myself that.

crappie55369 wrote:

Save your money and get a $5 cooler, drill a hole in it and run an aerator through

I just happened to run across an old roto molded yeti style cooler that is 32 qt size and has a very ugly logo on it. (I won it in a sales contest during a previous employment). I think I will get a vintage Johnson Outboard sticker or someting made to cover the logo, and drill a hole in it and buy a nice aerator for it and see how it works.

I’ve heard good things about the Engel rechargeable aerator. I think the key is having an aerator that is rechargeable and/or can be plugged into a 12v socket. Burning through D batteries gets old real quick.

I pick up a aerator for a $4 from walmart AA batteries and it’s not loud. Run for ever for the Engel.

I use the Engel 7.5 with their Lithium pump, fits inside my ATV’s Monster Box bucket holder for ice fishing, not too heavy to lug around by hand. Obviously you need to change the water out more frequently though…. The new pump is a game changer, so quiet and rechargeable. I also upgraded to a larger bubbler that suctions to the inside…

3Rivers wrote:

So far the only thing that bugs me sometimes is how the buckles fold over inside when I go to shut the lid.
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I actually like that feature because it allows you to easily keep it cracked open to air out when its not being used…

i run the Engel 13 with the Norsk Aerator. It is so quiet. I either plug it into the USB on the boat or use a portable power supply. It is also handy to plug it in to a charger in the truck and not worry about batteries

JoeMX1825 wrote:

I actually like that feature because it allows you to easily keep it cracked open to air out when its not being used…

Well shoot, I didn’t even think of that. Yeah you’re right, I’ll have to start doing that.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>3Rivers wrote:</div>
So far the only thing that bugs me sometimes is how the buckles fold over inside when I go to shut the lid.
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I actually like that feature because it allows you to easily keep it cracked open to air out when its not being used…

I hang mine on the trailerjack so the water drains.

All the cooler guys. Question. Specifically, regarding hot weather (I don’t do ice fishing). When I’m sitting on the beach in FL surf fishing, how do you keep the water cool? I’m upgrading to an aerated cooler next time I head to FL (next month). It’s not as hot this time of year but when we are down there in late May and late August, keeping the bait alive can be challenging. A Flow-Troll works great off piers and bridges but not so much in the surf.

Frozen water bottles. Switch out as often as needed.

-J.