S.S Minnow...

[Downthehole]

So as my tag says I'm a total newbie (2nd season) and have loved every experience so far. The experience below is not so high on the list....but funny enough to share - here goes:

A couple of weeks ago (Jan 30th - the day Buckeye Lake melted around us) I was able to go out on the lake to fish. This was the 2nd time out on a big boy lake so the excitement level was up there. On the Friday night I bought 4doz minnows from Cheshire Rd Market on the way home from work and had to buy another polystyrene bucket to put them in (I have a collection of them now - need to remember minnows need buckets). Anyway, got home, did the usual Friday night thang.....didn't sleep much due to excitement level and was up early on Saturday. I loaded the truck and put the minnows (that I'd checked numerous times and had taped an aerator to the bucket the night before) in the crew cab. Right, here we go, king-ding-a-jig, off to slabslay, put 30inthabucket etc....The roundabout 10mins away from the house had something different to say!

As I went around the roundabout (negative camber) I heard SPLOSH!....."Oh crap!" thought Andy "The minnow bucket has fallen over!".....I pulled over a little way down the road and my fear was discovered to be true. I opened the back door and minnows fell out on the road. I looked in the back and they were wriggling everywhere. I quickly put on my new head light and started to put the minnows back into the bucket. I picked them up off the road, off the carpet, felt under the back seats, under the front seats, and found them all over the place. Now we have to remember, it's 5:00am, I'm in surburban Powell, OH, I'm in my ice suit, have picks around my neck and a head light on. If the cops would have seen me I would have been arrested me just for being weird! It wouldn't be your usual stop! Anyway, I got most of the minnows back in the bucket and then realized they were swimming in 1" of water...."Hmmm these aren't going to last long." I thought. "Water, they need water" I said to myself. Looking around for water. I then realized I was next to O'Shaunessy reservoir. "Great! Water!" I drove down to the boat ramp and then realized "Oh crap! it's frozen!" Duh! The whole reason I was on the road at 5:00am was to go ice fishing. Anyway ended back at the house filling the bucket from the outside faucet....

The days fishing was good, on the lake for sunrise, got to fish with David, Rusty, Steve, Josh etc, caught a few...a good day...

My truck stiiinks so bad now. The stink ranges from an abandoned fish cleaning house on a warm day to mild stinky fish cat food on a cold day. I've emptied at least 2 cans of Lysol into the cab since the event. Last Sunday I did a close inspection and found 2 rotten minnows in there but still the stink continues....who knows when it will go away?

So what about S.S Minnow? So I went out dock fishing during the thaw and the missus had taped an SS Minnow sign to the steering wheel.....no sympathy there...

Anyway, hopefully the stinky fish smell will go away soon...I'm currently looking for ways to stop a minnows spill ever happening again...

Andy

[fishingful]

5 gal bucket in a milk crate with a lid. A Styrofoam bait bucket will fit in the 5 gal bucket. If your draging it behind a quad put a plastic  coffee can with a lid inside the Styrofoam bucket.  They will be alive with an areator  and no spills

[slabslayer]

That works well.  If space is a problem, like it is in my shanty, I got one of those aerated rectangular boxes from Frabill that has a seal and latch. Never had any problems with leaks, I think I paid $30 for it 2 years ago. Aerator is built into the side, but can lift off to replace the battery.

[Downthehole]

That works well.  If space is a problem, like it is in my shanty, I got one of those aerated rectangular boxes from Frabill that has a seal and latch. Never had any problems with leaks, I think I paid $30 for it 2 years ago. Aerator is built into the side, but can lift off to replace the battery.

I've got one....didn't have it in the truck with me when I went to get minnows (Note to self)...

[fishingful]

I have one of the frabill cooler type. It leaked from day 1. Idk why

[30inthabucket]

I bought a small (prob 1 gallon) cheap minnow bucket for like 4 dollars at a bait store.It's only like 6 inches tall.  It fits great in the bottom of a 5 gal bucket and then I can pile gear in on top of it. Or put fish underneath it. Saves space and any spills go in the 5 gal. But you do have to remember to take it with you or doesn't do any good. (Note to Andy)

[Downthehole]

I bought a small (prob 1 gallon) cheap minnow bucket for like 4 dollars at a bait store.It's only like 6 inches tall.  It fits great in the bottom of a 5 gal bucket and then I can pile gear in on top of it. Or put fish underneath it. Saves space and any spills go in the 5 gal. But you do have to remember to take it with you or doesn't do any good. (Note to Andy)

Yeah...my stinky truck has fostered lots on notes to Andy.....

[snowcone]

I have a 1 gal plastic container from wal ....   w a screw on wide lid  1.89  pop in a couple ice cubes .....I was using a plastic coffee can w   a   snap on lid ....and like you dth  I had a similar deal had minnows floppin all inside my pick up....that was so funny reading what you had happen , almost like re living my own experience....

[Downthehole]

I have a 1 gal plastic container from wal ....   w a screw on wide lid  1.89  pop in a couple ice cubes .....I was using a plastic coffee can w   a   snap on lid ....and like you dth  I had a similar deal had minnows floppin all inside my pick up....that was so funny reading what you had happen , almost like re living my own experience....

Glad you enjoyed.....good entertainment value....

[slabslayer]

That's funny. I've never had that happen to me, but I have a friend who played a joke on a guy he worked with. We went fishing in North Carolina and were using crab as bait. His bait cooler was still full when we returned, so he secretly entered this guy's van. He is an electrician, so his van has many drawers and slide outs. He put about 20 crabs in there, behind drawers and all over. He said it stunk for weeks and he was still finding crabs 8 months later. Guess it could be worse than minnows, could have the crabmobile.

[30inthabucket]

Ok I've got one too. When we were younger a buddy and I decided to go catfishing.  We both had sports cars at the time so we decided to borrow his mom's escalade. We went to the creek and caught a 5 gallon bucket full of chubs and warmouth. Put all our stuff in the back and away we went. Unfortunately we hadn't secured the bucket very well and when he took a turn too fast over it went. Lol. Bait everywhere. I didn't go with him to face her when we got home, but I still see her from time to time and 15+ years later she still reminds me about the time her son and I destroyed her SUV. Guess it smelled for a while.

[Downthehole]

Now that it's warming the stink is coming back.....it will take a while....

[bruce136]

 Hide your wife's car keys. Make her ride in the truck for a day. She will become sympathetic to your plight (or ban you from ever fishing again).
 Get a box of kittens(they are small enough to go under the seats).
Cover them in tomato juice(works for skunks) set them loose in the truck for a day or two. They will find the missing  minnows and smear tomato juice on the carpet to get rid of the smell. Don't forget to put the litter box in there or you will have a new smell.
 And for the record, I tried to prevent this by taking your quality bucket the week before.
 Good luck!!!!!

[Downthehole]

Hide your wife's car keys. Make her ride in the truck for a day. She will become sympathetic to your plight (or ban you from ever fishing again).
 Get a box of kittens(they are small enough to go under the seats).
Cover them in tomato juice(works for skunks) set them loose in the truck for a day or two. They will find the missing  minnows and smear tomato juice on the carpet to get rid of the smell. Don't forget to put the litter box in there or you will have a new smell.
 And for the record, I tried to prevent this by taking your quality bucket the week before.
 Good luck!!!!!

LOL.....great tips!