hey guys, well we finally got a boat . We got a 1448 all welded tracker. I want to use the boat in an upcoming tournament, but dont have a livewell. I was wondering if you guys had any reccomendations on how to make a livewell to put into my boat. i would prefer if it was not permanent, and preferabbly portable.

it needs to be able to keep 5 decent size bass alive (thats the goal at least )

let me know if anyone had any ideas. i was initially thinking about using a cooler and a pump/ arerator from BPS, but dont know how big the cooler should be to keep the fish healthy.

Thanks for any input.

BEN

I'd go with at least a 70qt. cooler.There is a member at another site i visit who produces portable livewells,and 70 qt. is the smallest he makes.His livewells are a little more advanced then just aerator,but a pump/aerator should work fine.PM me if you would like more info,and i can possiblie hook ya up with the guy who makes them for in depth info.

PM sent, all other ideas are welcome

I agree with Bob, a 70 qt cooler would be best. I use a 48qt cooler and a 500 gph recirculating pump. Even though I have never had a fish die in the three years I've used it, I'd recommend a bigger cooler.  

I'm not sure of your budget, but BPS has one for about $180 plus extra shipping. You can find it here:

http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=883&hvarTarget=search&cmCat=SearchResults

cooler with a aerator is a good idea.

When we move fish we use a cabelas product that is a fiberglass elongated round white tub with a split top (so you can open at either end) that an aerator sits in the middle of.  The tops are padded and held close with a velcro closure.  I went to the Cabelas website and couldn't find them??  

We have quite a few of these.  We can move about 20 - 25 fish each system depending on size of fish.    

and this fits in a boat??

sounds big if it keeps 25 fish alive- I'm guessing thats not 25 EIGHT POUNDERS like I always catch ;D

Mine is permanently mounted and it holds a lot of fish for long time. But it was cheap and easy to build. I bought a 20 gallon potable water tank for an RV ($75) an areater pump from Walmart ($12) and some hoses and fittings ($15). It draws water from outside the boat (so it's the same water the fish came from). I rigged the outlet hose so if I forget to turn off the pump, it will drain out the back of the boat by gravity. I know when the livewell is full of water when I hear the water trickling out the overflow tube. I will post some pictures if you are interested in something like this. I love mine.

Ronnie

i would love to see pictures....it souds kindof what I might do. And pic would help me get an idea of what mine should look like

It's already dark here, I will take a couple of pics tomorrow and post em for you.

Ronnie

Here's my home-made livewell. I decked my whole boat so I would have as much fishing platform as possible. The livewell is mounted in front of the rear seat and under a door in the deck floor as you can see. Let me know if you have any questions or if I can help in any way.

Hose connections...

Out of sight untill needed...

Sucks water in from the fishing hole and lets it run out when full, (overflow protection)

Pump and drain, there's a tube in the drain hose that fits through the boats drain plug with a valve that didn't make the picture. You stick the tube through the plug hole and fill your catch & release bag for weigh in and finish draining the tank.

This works great and I hope this is helpfull.

Ronnie

that is an excellent design and will help me understand what I will need. Thanks for the help and i will let you know if I have any questions!