BigBendFishing.Net

Looking for a GOOD dependable bait aerator for Pinfish..I have tried the small Bubble Box they just don't hold up..

Used the Marine Metals double bubbles in the past but couldn't get one to last more than a year. After going through 3 I tore my last one apart and understood why... horrible workmanship, weak design, and cheap, cheap parts. For what it's worth, I spent 20 years in manufacturing, the bulk in production and/or quality control, and ended my manufacturing stint as a quality manager for an electronics manufacturing facility.

Won't swear it's the very best unit out there but after seeing firsthand how horrible the assembly quality was with the Marine Metals unit I found a Frabill unit and opened it up / inspected it before buying it. MUCH, MUCH better quality work, better parts, and considerably better design for quite similar cost.

Here's the one I picked up:
http://www.frabill.com/store/bait-care- ... /1425.html

Unlike the double bubbles, the Frabill unit has a decent seal. I did coat a few internal connections with some liquid electrical tape just to help fight corrosion in the event the seal failed, and I'm going strong on year number 3 without a single hiccup.

Walmart sells a rule 360 pump that has rubber suction cups attached at the bottom and a pipe that comes up and is capped with angled holes drilled in it. It aerates far better than any of those little aerators. It really pumps some water. You can add some length to the pipe to get the head above the water line if necessary. I have used one for shrimp and bull minnows...works great. Only drawback is that you need to hook it to a 12v battery. I think it is called a bait saver...or something like that...cost about $25.

Problem solved...

Thanks for all the good info guys!!!

Don't let the size of the Frabill unit fool you... I've got a fairly large livewell (underseat center console type) and it's kept all my shrimp and pins alive even on some blazing summer days. And to FlatCrazy's point on the 12v, it operates off independent D batteries - a setup I much prefer to throwing more drain on my cranking one, though it's also got a 12v plug in adapter if that's the way you want to go. Also found I liked the flat octagon shaped bubble disk... that thing throws a serious bubble path out and doesn't seem to get so fouled as the stones did on the Marine Metal units.

big bend gyrene wrote:Also found I liked the flat octagon shaped bubble disk... that thing throws a serious bubble path out and doesn't seem to get so fouled as the stones did on the Marine Metal units.

Frabill has some of the smallest "microbubbles" in the industry; that's good.

"smallest" "micro-bubbles". isn't that redundant?