Italian tackle company Colmic are well known throughout Europe for their innovative products covering both boat and shore fishing. New to the UK market is the Colmic Bait Box Cooler.
Up to now I have been carrying a small cool-box on my shorter shore sessions but this has now been replaced by the Colmic Bait Box Cooler. It is less bulky than my 4.5L Coleman cool-box and fits comfortably inside any seatbox.
Suitable Storage
The bait box measures a compact but generous 19 x 19 cm and is 8 cm in overall depth. The bait container top section is 4 cm deep and is divided into three sections allowing different baits to be separated.
I have found that the Colmic Bait Box Cooler will store sufficient bait for a three to four hour beach session.
Chilled Out
The unsegmented lower section, which clips securely onto the top tray, contains a removable, foam insulating pad whose upper surface is covered with a foil reflective sheet. Two ice packs are supplied with the Colmic Bait Box Cooler and these have the capacity to keep the bait tray chilled for around six hours.
If travelling a distance from home before fishing I keep the whole box with the ice packs installed in a larger cool-box to maintain the temperature as low as possible.
For longer shore trips or for boat fishing I use the bait box to hold my prepared baits with the bulk bait remaining in a backup cool-box. This saves the cool-box being constantly opened to extract bait and maintains the internal temperature longer.
Keeping A Lid On It
The only improvement to the Colmic Bait Box Cooler that I would like to see would be to change the material of construction of the lid to a more impact resistant material.
The current plastic is rather brittle and while dropping it on soft sand would not be a problem I see impact damage occurring if dropped on rocks or a pier.
I will probably look at covering my lid both for protection and to shield the bait from direct sunlight.
Future Adaptions?
It would be great if Colmic could bring out replacement tray accessories with either one divider or as a single compartment to make it easier to store larger baits such a peeler crabs.
All in all this is an extremely handy bait storage receptacle which the organised shore and boat angler will find indispensable.
The Colmic Bait Box Cooler retails at around £20 and I purchased mine from Dene Conway at Rite Gear Angling Centre who have an excellent mail order service.
