# Offshore live bait/livewell question (need some advice)



## GWally (May 16, 2009)

Basically, all my long ago experience was trolling, except for some boring experiences on a couple of headboats and Sea Bass.
After watching reports for a good while, it is evident that once I get the lay of the land offshore, I am going to have to try some live bait or jigging.
I'm pretty sure that with either a Sabiki or my cast net, I can get some live bait. Question is, keeping them alive.
"The boat" has no live well and I don't see building one in. 
I'm looking for some suggestions. I don't want to put any holes in the boat to get water. I have a couple extra large ice chests and, one of those 55? gal poly drums I could cut down (that's what we used to soak the shrimp and trash fish in to separate them when "pushing".
Advice and or links to "how to's" greatly appreciated. Also, how hard is to keep the bait alive?


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## sniperpeeps (Mar 5, 2011)

My old boat did not have a live well. I bought a 30 gallon baitwell at a yardsale for 2 dollars. Had an old 500 gph bilge pump that I mounted on a bracket below the waterline on the transom for water intake. Ran the overflow pipe right over the top of the transom. I just used a regular cinch strap to keep it in place, although when it was full it didn't move much anyways. Had the bilge pump wired to a switch on my console. Worked great! I bet if you cut one of those 55 gallon drums down a bit it would work well, although plumbing it could be a pain. Also you need a good lid to seal the top so all the water and bait doesn't slosh out while you run.


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## GWally (May 16, 2009)

Is water flow critical? Will the bait survive if a closed system is used and water changed periodically (say 5 gal bucketfulls) and an aerator put in?


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## DAWGONIT (Jan 16, 2009)

GWally said:


> Is water flow critical? Will the bait survive if a closed system is used and water changed periodically (say 5 gal bucketfulls) and an aerator put in?


Sir,

you'd have to be changing the water every couple minutes....aerated water is the best. Previous entry mentioned an older bilge pump...some of the aquarium bubblers might work, but if you've got a bunch of bait...gonna need a lot of aerated water.

catch 'em up.


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## sniperpeeps (Mar 5, 2011)

GWally said:


> Is water flow critical? Will the bait survive if a closed system is used and water changed periodically (say 5 gal bucketfulls) and an aerator put in?


I'm not going to say you can't keep them alive like that but with delicate baits like cigar minnows and threadfins, oxygen flow and temperature are huge. When it is hot, water in an uninsulated container can get hot very fast. You would pretty much need to remove and replace 5 gallons like every ten minutes to keep more than just a few baits alive for any period. Baits like mullet, pin fish, and bull minnows are a little more tolerant of low oxygen and dirty water. Something else to remember is the ammonia can build up from the fish waste and kill them too. Even with a 30 gallon tank and constant water flow my max that I could reliably keep alive was about 4 dozen cigs or about 3 dozen threadfins.


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## GWally (May 16, 2009)

Thanks for the inputs. I need to so some thinking about a water intake. Transom location would most likely be the easiest.


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## Big Red (Oct 1, 2007)

We used these on the "Left" coast. They work rather well, actually.

http://www.aquaworld-products.com/superbags.html

http://www.pbsboatstore.com/Todd-SBW18.htm



You mount the water pick-up on the transom, & the pump wherever is convenient.


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## GWally (May 16, 2009)

Big Red said:


> We used these on the "Left" coast. They work rather well, actually.
> 
> http://www.aquaworld-products.com/superbags.html
> 
> ...


Did my time out there a while back. Looks like a good option, thanks.


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## GWally (May 16, 2009)

DAWGONIT said:


> Sir,
> 
> you'd have to be changing the water every couple minutes....aerated water is the best. Previous entry mentioned an older bilge pump...some of the aquarium bubblers might work, but if you've got a bunch of bait...gonna need a lot of aerated water.
> 
> catch 'em up.


 
I should have been clearer. I was thinking about a tank with some means of circulating/aerating the water (like one of my "spare" 120 qt ice chests with say maybe 20-25 gallons water in it) and periodically (if necessary) dumping out and adding a few gallons. Ideally, it would be great to be able to circulate water like in built in livewells but, that isn't an option for me. I have a spare bilge pump that could push the water through a pvc pipe with holes to aerate or I have seen aerators that basically do tghe same thing. I'm guessing I'd be looking for something to keep pinfish or whatever I'd hook on a sabiki alive for a few hours. 
Is the 30 gal120qt ice chest overkill? I also have a couple of 48 qt ones. Been doing some "googling" but, not getting many answers.


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## sniperpeeps (Mar 5, 2011)

30 gal would be about the minimum you would need, something I forgot to mention, you want a container that is as rounded as possible. Baits like cigs and threadfins will kill themselves running into sharp corners.


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## 60hertz (Oct 1, 2007)

Here's what you need to build. I put one on my skiff as a backup/second livewell, but it got borrowed and never returned....

http://www.pensacolafishingforum.com/f49/pet-food-container-livewell-94425/


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## GWally (May 16, 2009)

sniperpeeps said:


> 30 gal would be about the minimum you would need, something I forgot to mention, you want a container that is as rounded as possible. Baits like cigs and threadfins will kill themselves running into sharp corners.


 
Sounds like the pvc "drum" is looking better and if I make a base to raise it, it has threaded fittings to hook up a drain and I think I may be able use the cut off part as a lid. Just what I need, another project .


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## DAWGONIT (Jan 16, 2009)

GWally said:


> I should have been clearer. I was thinking about a tank with some means of circulating/aerating the water (like one of my "spare" 120 qt ice chests with say maybe 20-25 gallons water in it) and periodically (if necessary) dumping out and adding a few gallons. Ideally, it would be great to be able to circulate water like in built in livewells but, that isn't an option for me. I have a spare bilge pump that could push the water through a pvc pipe with holes to aerate or I have seen aerators that basically do tghe same thing. I'm guessing I'd be looking for something to keep pinfish or whatever I'd hook on a sabiki alive for a few hours.
> Is the 30 gal120qt ice chest overkill? I also have a couple of 48 qt ones. Been doing some "googling" but, not getting many answers.


GWally, Think you're on the right track. Mine is a 45 gal (fixed) and uses an 1100gph aerator pump. Pinfish will stay alive quite a few hours in my experience. Sometimes those that are cast-netted up tend to die off faster. 

Post some pics as your project morphs.

Catch 'em up. :thumbsup:


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## 60hertz (Oct 1, 2007)

FWIW - I would keep pin fish, shrimp, or bull minnows alive for several days with the well that I built from the pet food container.


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## sniperpeeps (Mar 5, 2011)

60hertz said:


> FWIW - I would keep pin fish, shrimp, or bull minnows alive for several days with the well that I built from the pet food container.


That thing looked badass for sure


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## GWally (May 16, 2009)

*Bait tank how to*

The pics looked great. I chased down one of the recommended sites and found the step by step. Not sure how to post links so I'll type it out and hope it works:
http://www.kayakfishinggear.com/baittankhow-to.aspx


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