OutdoorHub Review: Frabill Collapsible Bait Bucket w/ Aerator
Eugene L. 12.05.24
Fishing with live bait is probably some of the easiest and most fun ways to fish, and often times the best way to put meat in the cooler. From chasing crappie to king mackerel, live bait just works and is a good solution to get newer anglers on fish. So Frabill, a leader in live bait managment solutions, brought out a new bait bucket at ICAST of this year. A new bait bucket that fits just about anywhere you can stuff a tackle box, perfect for anglers on the go with limited storage space. The new Frabill Collapsible Bait Bucket is a 6 quart bait bucket that collapses down to the size of a Plano 3700 stowaway tackle box. While it does come in two models, with or without an aerator, I chose the model that came with an Aerator for this review.
Saltwater Fishing Coverage on OutdoorHub
- November Mackerel in Panama City Beach: Part One
- OHUB Fishing Destination: Cabo San Lucas
- Fishing the World’s Longest Fishing Pier – The Tampa Skyway Fishing Pier
- Out of Season Offshore Bottom Fishing in Destin Florida PT. 1
- Running to the Otherside of the Gulf Stream – North Florida Bluewater Fishing
Specifications – Frabill Collapsible Bait Bucket w/ Aerator
- Bucket Capcity – 6 Quarts / 5.7 liters
- Footprint – 14″ L x 9″ W Same footprint of a Plano 3700 StowAway when collapsed
- Weight – 1.9 pounds with Batteries installed
- Rounded interior Corners
- Clipped handles snap in to base to prevent unintended collapse
- Rotating handle attachments for compact storage
- Extra Storage / Aerator Compartment
- Aerator – Single Speed Pump with Water Resistant Booted Switch
- Takes 2 AA Batteries (not included)
- Includes 10″ Hose and Airstone
- Aerator screwed into place so no forgeting it at home
- MSRP – $49.99 Bucket (w/ Aerator)
Out on the Pier – Frabill Collapsible Bait Bucket w/ Aerator
So I had the perfect fishing trip to use the Frabill Collapsible Bait Bucket, so I took it down to the gulf to use on the pier. While the shad weren’t running the river near home like they used to there was still plenty of bait swimming around the pier. So with a fresh set of AA battieres in the aerator I went to stress test the collapsible bait bucket and aerator on the pier. The plan was to run it as a livewell for the three days I was fishing for king and Spanish mackerel off the pier. So I tied on a Frabill Flow-Troll to my pier gaff rope and pulled up some water from the gulf and filled up the bait bucket. I do want to note, a single flow-troll’s worth of water fills up the collapsible bait bucket perfectly.
After that I got about using a sabiki rig to catch bait. The plan was to catch smaller LYs for Spansih mackerel and bigger cigar minnows for king mackerel. With the bait bucket being smaller than say using a 5 gallon bucket it was easy to just carry around with me as I walked spot to spot looking for bait. So I would bring up the baits on sabikis and then just drop them straight into the bait bucket instead of walking back and forth to my pier cart as I normally do. Additionally, when I did get enough baits to fish comfertably I could just leave the bucket right next a railing post to just grab live baits as I needed. The compact size made it very convenient to use, and surprisingly I could keep a half dozen big cigar minnows for most of a day alive in the bait bucket as long as I changed the water a couple times. Also the rounded corners of the bait bucket kept more fragile baits like the LYs and sardines in better shape than you would expect from a rectangular live well. Though I do need to say to pack extra batteries for longer fishing trips. I got about 2 days of run time with a set of AA batteries before they died.
Final Thoughts – Frabill Collapsible Bait Bucket w/ Aerator
After this trip I did find some great benefits of this little livewell and a few downsides with this design. First off the compact size is great, it easily fit into a boat bag with my other flat pack tackle boxes. Which is great when you have to wheel everything out a quarter mile to the end of the pier. While a 5-gallon works well its bulky and gets in the way on the pier cart. The lack of corners inside the bucket is also great, for anyone whose dealt with more fragile live baits like shad or herring just know how suicidal they can be. Corners in a livewell will kill them so quick by either they beating themselves up on the walls of the livewell or just choking themselves out in the bottom corners of a livewell. So with no corners in this little bait bucket I was able to keep a dozen or two little LYs alive for hours in it. Lastly the material itself cleans up very well, a quick hose off gets most of the livewell scum off easily. But while talking about the material being easy to clean I need to talk about the actualy design of it. The lip that forms from the top of the bait bucket easily holds onto scum, so be aware of that when you hose the bait bucket off. If not you might find a foul surprise the next time you use it. Another thing I’m not the biggest fan of the bait bucket is the main top door of the bucket does not open far enough back or lock in place. So if you’re trying to use this while it’s windy it’ll slam shut pretty quick which is a pain when trying to drop baits into from a sabiki rig. Besides those couple of issues, I think this is a great little bait bucket. I’ll definetly be using it again in the spring when the whitebass and crappie start running again.
Frabill Social Media Channels
