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DIY live well help


Garcia96

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Hey guys was just seeking info from experienced anglers. I'm interested for tournaments. Would a 20 inch SMB or even 2 of them survive in a 47 litre(12gal)cooler with 2 aerators? 47litre is the average big beach cooler and I'm asking because I'm a aquarium owner and know for keeping fish it should gallon per inch of the fish and if same rule applies for live well and releasIng the fish after weigh in?

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I've seen some good cooler made units in the past with 2 aerators (1 at each end). I would however say there is a "stay alive" mix you can use too that you might want to consider if 'said fish' are caught 1st thing in the AM and you want to keep them alive and well till 3PM or after...

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Temperature is a big factor... The warmer it is the more you gotta change the water...

 

Other then that a cooker works great

 

A stringer used while stationary with the cooler for driving is another option... Stringers are great for keeping fish alive

Edited by Mike Rousseau
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how often u change water? If I was fishing inshore at a derby and keeping the DIY Live well in the shade ?

Depends how serious you are about keeping your fish alive...

 

Also really depends on weather... Is it for July or October? 5 degrees or 35 degrees makes a big difference... In November I've left fish overnight in my well with no aerator and they were fine... Lol

 

If you have a fish you think is gonna actually place I'd either weigh it in or change the water as often as possible... Keep an eye on your fish and they'll tell you how often to change it out... When I'm in a tournament my live well pump is on the entire time once I have good fish...

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I would consider a larger cooler/container as 10 gallons is really not much water for two large fish. My main livewell is 29 gallons and the bait well is 9 gallons and I have a timer on the aerator that kicks on every 3 minutes for 30 seconds. Even then I have fish that go belly up half way through the day.

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Aerator I was looking at was like 12 gallons for $30. Was going to get that or buy 2 and it is only for summertime so when I weigh the fish I can release soon as possible. I think with the 2 bats it said last up 50 hours or something. So I'd leave aerator on whole time and leave In shade if I was inshore ? And I'm going to see if I can find a bigger one that is cheap.

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There will be some new and used fishing stuff people are selling off and you wil probably beable to get for less than they are asking because they want to sell it than take it back home

I haven't been to that one but it's always the case. The seller wants the items they brought gone and I have scored some great deals on items! Keep in mind you may want to bring extra cash than intended due to deals on custom soft plastic baits you may like, rod's, reels. Name it and the odd's are someone there has it for sale for the bigger events.
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If an item isn't at the swap meet it doesn't exist. Buddy bought around 150 quality spoons there last year in a few large plastic roll up lure pouches for $100.00. I watched a good quality Okuma trolling rod/reel combo sitting on a guys table all day. When he was packing up I grabbed it for 45 beans, he was asking $125.00. Wait until the meet, no Bass fishing until after that anyway. My opinion is if you are going to keep those fish frosty fresh recirculate the water continuously. It has been a while since I did a tourney which was a 4 fish limit (small mouth) 4 19" fish need room so we had both live wells going with 2 fish in each. We did use Rejuvenate as well. Bills Bait on Upper James Hamilton has it. Someone at the meet will I'm sure, finding the table is the trick.

 

Hey Loonie, nice to read your posts and I can picture your movie star good looks now that we have met. You too Pics.

 

206, that's a beauty set up for a tinny. Garcia no need to reinvent the wheel, that Super Saver set up looks good to go for a smaller vessel.

Edited by Old Ironmaker
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