We just purchased our first boat, a 1978 Jay Bee. It has a live well, but no pump. It only has a drain with a plug and a side drain. The side drain flows to the bilge. How does this live well work?

I wouldn't use that as a live well - a cooler with ice and drinks...maybe a sandwich.

 

Rule for any tank holding fish - if it's not aerated, then 1 gallon of water per 1" of fish. If that's 15 gallons, then you could hold 15" of fish in there...that's a single 2# bass.

 

Even if it's just one of those cooler conversion kits that has a pump, hose, and spray-bar - get some sort of aeration in there if you plan on keeping more than one fish.

Thank you. My two sons are dying to use the boat, but I wanted some options in case this is unusable.

Do you need a livewell?

You'll need some sort of aeration system

 

2 minutes ago, BassNJake said:

You'll need some sort of aeration system

 

Didn't I say that?

 

13 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

Even if it's just one of those cooler conversion kits that has a pump, hose, and spray-bar

Oh ya...I did.

I just went the extra step and provided a picture.

You know how they are worth a thousand words and all ...?

Years ago, my boat at the time didnt have a live well, I would use a shad barrel.  ( live bait tank made from 35 or 55 gallon drums)  theres info all over the web how to make one.  That's a good alternative if you dont want to fool with the existing cooler in the boat..( I beleive that's what that was meant for) bonus on shad barrels is you can build one or have them made fairly cheap.  And you can take it in and out of the boat.  Or, you can simply plumb a s pump and recirculate to the cooler

a little hydrogen peroxide can go a long way in a situation like that .

you would not be the first

If you are saving fish for consumption, get a cooler and just throw them on ice

30 minutes ago, NHBull said:

a little hydrogen peroxide can go a long way in a situation like that .

you would not be the first

Funny you mention this.

My parents ran a tropical fish store back in the late 60's, when it was a craze.

 

They used a solution of Hydrogen peroxide for transport. 

Put newspaper down over the ice, then catch your fish, bop them on the head, (to kill), then throw them in. This will prevent freezer burn and stop ( whatever the term is called) that "soils" the meat while struggling to stay alive.

8 hours ago, Bird said:

Funny you mention this.

My parents ran a tropical fish store back in the late 60's, when it was a craze.

 

They used a solution of Hydrogen peroxide for transport. 

1/2 cup,of 3% hydrogen peroxide tom15 gallons of water add dissolved 02 in the water for a few hours, if the water temps are within 5 degrees of the bass body temps.

The dry storage box that doubles as a ice chest isn't a livewell. It's also falling apart and needs some TLC ( contract glue).

So how does the fill plug work? Take it out and maybe 4" of water runs in until it gets to the water line, you need a bucket to fill it any higher. Then pull the plug when the boat is on the trailer to let the water out.

Too small force livewell, a 55 qt cooler with the areation system works better.

Tom