To build a live well or not?

[jhande]

I think I know the answer but am looking for others input.

My past experience in fishing I have always just put the fish on a stringer until done fishing for the day (canoe or shore fishing). Now that I'm rebuilding my Glasstron bow rider and setting it up for fishing I don't think I can hang a stringer of fish over the side LOL.

The bow seat is not going to be used, I'm going to deck the area. But their is fiberglass structure where the seat is that I will leave intact. Since I'm replacing the floor, stringers & transom now would be the time to build a live well and plumb it. The only live bait I've ever used was worms. But my son and I would like to try for landlocked salmon and lake trout. I'm not so much worried about the cost of doing it, it's just that I don't know if it's really worth the effort. We really don't plan on entering any fishing tournaments, just a fun relaxing day on the lake.

My other thought was that a cooler with ice might work just fine keeping the fish from spoiling.

Oh I should add that I'll probably be fishing solo more often than with my son.

All thoughts, ideas & input is greatly appreciated!

 

[dingbat]

I have a 80 qt. bait/live well. A 45 qt. built in cooler and a 190 qt. fish box.

Of primary importance - built in beverage and food cooler. Beats the heck out of dealing with a cooler on deck

Almost equally as important to me is the fish box.
I'm a firm believer that any fish destined for the dinner table should be "dispatched" and iced down in salt brine immediately to preserve the favor and texture of the meat.

If I had to live without one it would be the bait well.
I mainly troll and jig artificial. Only fish live bait a few trips a year when live lining for Stripers or slow trolling for Kings.

The bait well comes in handy when I use it, but its used for storage (down rigger balls, sinkers, outrigger clips, etc) most of the year.

 

[jhande]

Yeah, I was thinking the cooler could play double duty, fish and drinks in one.

I figured if the fish died in an ice cold brine it should still be edible after a couple of hours.

Using just a smallish size cooler would be both cheaper and a lot easier than running plumbing from the stern to the bow plus the pumps and wiring.

 

[TyeeMan]

Some years back I saw somewhere that you could buy a kit to basically convert a large cooler to live well. Pretty sure it had a pump and everything. You could check here in the iboats store, or West Marine, Cabelas or Bass Pro Shops.

If you are going to be using live minnows for bait at some point in time check out the Engel bait coolers. https://engelcoolers.com/collections/live-bait-coolers
I have a 7 1/2 Qqt. and a 19 Qt. They work really well and keep the bait super lively, even on hotter days.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Some years back I saw somewhere that you could buy a kit to basically convert a large cooler to live well. Pretty sure it had a pump and everything. You could check here in the iboats store, or West Marine, Cabelas or Bass Pro Shops.

If you are going to be using live minnows for bait at some point in time check out the Engel bait coolers. https://engelcoolers.com/collections/live-bait-coolers
I have a 7 1/2 Qqt. and a 19 Qt. They work really well and keep the bait super lively, even on hotter days.

like this one? https://www.amazon.com/Marine-Metal-Super-12-volt-Aeration/dp/B0014454J8

amazon is cheaper than west marine

 

[dingbat]

I figured if the fish died in an ice cold brine it should still be edible after a couple of hours.

Fish will stay good in salt brine for at least a day and a half.

For the best favor, fish should be killed, gutted if allowed by law, and immediately put in salt brine upon capture.

 

[TyeeMan]

Maybe salt water fish. I wouldn't want to take a fresh water walleye, sunfish, crappie or other and put them in a salt water brine.

Typically we keep the fish alive in a well aerated live well right up until we head to the fish cleaning house. If we need to travel, then we fillet the fish, leave a patch of skin on for legal identification purposes, then put the fillets on ice.

 

[dingbat]

Maybe salt water fish. I wouldn't want to take a fresh water walleye, sunfish, crappie or other and put them in a salt water brine.

The salt imparts no flavor in the fish whatsoever. Its only used to lower the temp of the ice below freezing.

 

[jhande]

Thank you everyone for chiming in.

Cooler it is!