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Thread: Minnow Cribs

  1. #1
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    Default Minnow Cribs

    Does anyone have any Ideas or ways to keep minnows alive in the water at the
    hut threw out the season, we currently keep them in a jug under the ice with styrofoam to cover the hole to keep it from freezing.
    I’ve seen hut operators use some type of crib with an aerator to keep the ice from forming over the hole in the ice, but looking for ideas?
    Thanks Wader

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  3. #2
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    Make a cylindrical cage from 3 square or 4 square hardware cloth and make it just under the diameter of any hole you'll cut with your auger. Hardware cloth comes in various widths like 24", 30" and up to 36" I believe. So make your cage about 6 or 8 inch round and the 24 or 36 in long. Drop it through your hole in the shack and tie it off so that it lays on the horizontal, not vertical. That way your baitfish can swim back and forth. Suspend the trap just under the ice but far enough away so that it won't freeze in when you're away from the shack for a week or so.
    Keep a long stick with a hook on the end handy so you can pull the trap back up through your hole.

  4. #3
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    You can also do the same thing with any leftover drinks or cans of food, just use a magic marker on the ends of the cans so you can identify them after the label washes off. As long as its below ice level they won't freeze...

  5. #4
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    keep in mind the limitations on the amount of bait you can possess

  6. #5
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    I have used a minnow bag... It's like a mesh bag that's soft... One end is zippered it can be brought up a small hole... I put it in the water using a coat hanger... So it won't be cut when spudding it out... Minnows are always alive too!....

  7. #6
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    Wait second "beverages" wont freeze under the ice.... i cant BELIEVE i never thought of that and i enjoy chemistry haha
    Rip yanken em!!

  8. #7
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    Sinking metal minnow bucket on a chain. They live all year and you can spud out the hole safely

  9. #8
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    I drill a bunch of small holes in an ice cream container, put a piece of wire thru the lid and attach a small piece of chain, so it will sit a couple of feet below the ice. Its weighted down with a small rock . I can keep a couple dozen minnows for weeks and very few die. its also very easy to access and put away when the day is over...

  10. #9
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    I'll throw out another tidbit of information that you can chew on. If one of your holes is located next to an outside wall then you can drill a hole outside of your shack as close as possible to the hole inside your shack. Then lower your minnow keeper down this hole and secure it so that it is about 5' or so under the ice.When this hole freezes over it will never be opened up again. To retrieve your minnows you will have to make a modified "J" hook with a handle that is at least 4" long. The modification that I'm speaking of can best be visualized by looking at the two dimensional letter J, but you will need to bend the J at it's bend in the third dimension so that when it is lowered down the hole in your shack it can snag the rope that is holding your minnows. The minnow keeper is then retrieved in your ice shack.The exact dimensions of the "J" hook will depend on the size of your auger, obviously the bigger the hole the larger that you will be able to make the hook.
    The nice thing about this setup is that there isn't any rope or chain interfering when you have to reopen your hole and therefor you can use a power auger instead of an ice chisel.

  11. #10
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    I use the ice cream with holes container idea. I use a rope to hang it and make sure the rope is in the middle of the hole so you don't cut it when you spud the hole out.

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