Converting livewell to baitwell?

[Hans]

I have a pro-style walleye boat with 2 livewells.

(I think) I'd like to convert one of them to a baitwell to keep minnows and leeches in.

Any ideas out there?

Hans

--
"There is nothing; absolutely nothing; half so much worth doing,
as simply messing about in boats." :-)

[EAGLE EYES]

Hans, What ever you do don't overwhelm your bait with to much DiHydrogen Monoxide!! Sorry could'nt resist!

[Phil T.]

My livewell is just wide enough to fit one of those yellow flow-through minnow buckets into it. I think there is a similar product with much smaller holes for leaches.

[MR.Pike]

Hans, Try the Plano baitwell bucket. I is about 6"wX 8"HX 14" long. Two piece design is nice too.
I just fill 1 livewell and float the bucket in there. If the action gets hot you can lift the bucket out and place it in the base part(anywhere you want in the boat) Also added bonus is they hold leeches just as well and they are about $6.00 ea at Gander Mtn. Good luck<;{{{{{<<( Mr.Pike

[Riceburner]

In both my Competitor and new rig, I have found plastic containers (Garbage cans) that fit the opening to the livewell, but can be removed easily. I actually bought two of these--drilled one with 1/4" holes for minnows, and another with tiny holes for the leeches. This lets the water flow through, and the bucket controls the bait--square or rectangular buckets are easier to find--the round ons the right height are tougher to find. I even use these to keep two sizes of minnows separated now- E-mail if you want more info.

[BRDKLR]

Hans, I like your quote at the end of your posts. It is also in the august issue of Wisconsin Sportsman on the last article. The author said it was a quote from a popular childrens book writer. I have read it before years ago but can't think of who wrote it. Was it Mark Twain?

Let me know it is bugging me, thanks

[Jim Carroll]

This is my solution. I use the inner liner of the Plano two piece bucket. In my livewell above the water level I mounted a piece of plexiglass with a hole in it large enough for the inner liner of the bucket to slide through yet catch on the lip. Suspends the bucket with the lid above the waterline for quick bait access. In my livewell the plexiglass actually rides on the lip so I can slide the whole rig end to end. I imagine most livewell would need some sort of cleats to hold the plexiglass. What I like about this system is that it allows you to put fish in the box too.

[Hans]

I don't know the "original origin".....

I got it from a Ham Radio friend in New Zealand.

Hans

--
"There is nothing; absolutely nothing; half so much worth doing,
as simply messing about in boats." :-)

[Phil T.]

It's from "Wind in the Willows". Hans, you should be reading classics like this to your grandchildren.

[EYE-GUIDE]

Great idea!

[GTE]

Buy a Pro V, comes with two livewells and two baitwells.

[cisco]

Wow, an "original origin." OK, I know I'm no help, just couldn't resist.

[REW]

I 2nd your idea. It works great. I really don't understand, why all the boat manufacturers don't make this a feature. So simple to implement.
If you don't already have one -- install a timer on your livewell. For most bosts -- you can simply remove the switch, and replace thw switch with a timed three postion switch.

Just make sure that you can keep the water level in your livewell at a level that will keep water flowing through the bait. I have seen lots of boats, that have an adequate water level -- if the boat is sitting still, but find that the water level drops to a very low level, if the boat is run for long periods with a bow high attitude -- i.e. running in rough seas for a long period of time.

Do what ever is required to mainitain the water level to an adequate level to insure a fresh supply of water to the bait.

Also, if you often make long high speed runs, you might consider the addition of a high speed livewll connection. This is basically a square box, that fits on the livewell inlet pipe - such that the bottom of the box is flush with the transom. Then when the boat is running wide open -- the pressure of the water running past the transom, is such that water will be continusously circulated through the livewell / baitwell to insure live fish and lively bait.

Take care

REW