I have a small boat with no livewell and room is at a premium I need advice about keeping shrimp, mullet, mud minnows, and other bait alive. Would I be better off building a livewell out of a round igloo drink cooler or buying an insulated bait bucket with battery operated bubbler?
Thanks for the advice
Depends on how much money you want to spend. A round drink cooler with a bubbler worked for me for several years. On hot days I would throw a few handfuls of ice in with the shrimp/ muds. All that being said, nothing beats a circulating bait tank with a thru hull live well pump.
ZX
Budget is the major factor. You said “portable”, so thru hull is out. How long do you want to keep bait? What size boat? Budget? If you have the room and the money I would get. 20gallon Ron vest tank. Last a lifetime and keeps the bait you mentioned remarkably well. 36hours in the tank and the mullet and small pogies look better then when you caught them. On the other end a cooler with bubbler will hold bait for a days fishing. Somewhere in between would be to add oxygen. Cooler with oxygen will work good. In a closed tank water temp is an issue. The air that’s pumped in with a bubbler is going to be really hot. It will warm the water up fast. Oxygen stops that problem. I know the oxygen isn’t a big hit on the coast but you will be amazed how well it works.
I used a five gallon bucket with a bubbler and minnow bucket in it for years. You can always throw the minnow bucket over the side of the boat when you are out. When you go home scoop a bucket of fresh creek water at the launch and drop in the bubbler. I kept bait for many days doing that. Before my daughter was born I kept live bait all the time because I fished every other day.You will have to keep the bucket in the shade and get fresh water every other day or so. If you fish a lot its not a problem. Another tip. I always keep a few frozen water bottles on hand. Drop one in the bucket and it will help keep the bait longer. IMO this is your easiest/ cheapest option.
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get a big 10gal round work cooler, and rig a battery operated bubbler. doesnt keep pogies well but everything else will do ok. i have now got flow through bait boxes on my transom so i have one that i can sell you if you want to go super cheap. 5 or 10gal.
If your boat has a swim platform, you can mount the baitwell there and out of the way.
Regards
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