Personally, I prefer to fish with artificial baits and lures.  I also know that some days, the fish just don't seem to bite on anything other than live bait.  For this reason, I sometimes carry a dozen or so live minnors and/or shrimp.  If you also like to keep a few live baits on hand as a backup plan, here is a simple project to keep your baits happy and cool, without having to resort to complicated pumps, plumbing or power supplies.  For this project, you will need the following:

-  Soft-sided zipperless cooler with a rigid insert
-  Portable aerator, preferably a water resistant model
-  Project knife or box cutter
-  Drill
-  One long plastic cable tie (optional)
-  Marine GOOP (optional)
-  Gel-pak freezer pack (optional)

Visit your local big box discount mart and purchase a zipperless soft-sided cooler and a portable aerator.  Both of these items should be in the sporting goods department.  The cooler is of sufficient size to hold 12 beverage cans.  It also fits neatly into a milk crate.


Start by removing the plastic insert.  Drill a hole near the top edge, but be sure the hole is far enough down from the top edge to not be obstructed by the cooler lid when it is closed.  The hole must be large enough to accommodate the aerator tubing.


This particular cooler came with a plastic divider insert.  While its original intent is to divide foods and sodas, I drilled some holes in the bottom half and use it to keep my minnows separate from the shrimp.  Being natural enemies, the minnows have a bad habit of nibbling the eyes off of the shrimp, who in turn, also have a habit of impaling the bait fish on their sharp horns.  Mixing the two baits results in shorter life spans for both.  The top half of the divider folds over to form a shelf, but I removed this half, not seeing a practical application for it.
   Note:  The rigid insert may bulge a bit when you add water to it, causing the divider to float free.  If this happens, you can try a couple of options:  1)  Use a long cable tie and wrap it around the top & bottom of the insert, front to back.  This will compress the box so the water weight won't bulge the sides quite so much and cause the divider to slip out of the slots.  2)  You could also permanently attach the divider using Marine GOOP.



Run the aerator tubing through the hole you drilled in the insert.  Attach one end to the air stone and the other to the aerator.  Place the insert back into the soft-sided cooler.

Put the aerator in the front pocket of the cooler, and you are ready to keep your live bait cool and comfy on your next kayak fishing trip.  If you place a sealed container of ice or a frozen gel-pak in the water, your baits will last even longer.  As the water becomes warmer, it rapidly loses its ability to dissolve oxygen.  The ice will help your aerator do a better job of keeping the water oxygenated during warm weather.

This cooler is exactly the proper size to fit into a standard sized milk crate.  There is even some room left over for other necessities, such as lip grippers or tackle trays.  The zipperless feature of the cooler makes turning around to retrieve bait a snap.