How BIG is your......

Livewell? :LOL2: I have a plastic tank that I was planning to turn into a livewell, but I think it is too small. It measures 33"Lx11"Hx10"d. I believe it is about 15 gallons. I was going to mount this in my rear seat, but I am starting to thinnk it is just too small. I may build one out of fiberglass and that way I can round the corners.
Also what kind of livewell system are you using? Do I really need a recirc? If I just pump fresh water in on a timer and have a big overflow, would that not work well? Why would I need a recirc? I only want to do this part of the mod once, so any suggestions would be appreciated. I work on boats for a living, but every one has a different set up. I just want what is best.

Back up, I could use some info.

The length seems fine but the height and depth seem a bit small. What is the biggest you can fit in your spot? IS there any more room in there?

Don't have the dimensions of my livewell, but I know it's a 20 gallon. Guessing on dimensions I'd say about 26x14x18 or there about.

I think total I can go 13" High. Deep I believe I could go about 18 and length is about 67" I think my height is going to be my biggest factor. I wanted to put this in the rear seat that is full of foam. That way it would be insulated. I fish an occasional tournament and need to keep fish alive. Plus there are times I will catch a mess of crappie or white bass and need a livewell. Hence the questions about the system. I can make a livewell what ever size I want inside of the seat. I will just build it out of fiberglass. But I wanted some idea of what I need before I continue. Most noats I work on are fiberglass and they have a deep well that is not too wide or long, just deep. Is that preffered?

i have seen wells that are very long and narrow and about 12"deep they will hold a keeper musky
IMO the bigger the better if you plan on fishing tournaments.
as far as a recirculation pump you can pass on that as long as you keep pumping fresh water in.
the recirculation pump is used along with ice or keep alive

redbug said:

i have seen wells that are very long and narrow and about 12"deep they will hold a keeper musky
IMO the bigger the better if you plan on fishing tournaments.
as far as a recirculation pump you can pass on that as long as you keep pumping fresh water in.
the recirculation pump is used along with ice or keep alive

Click to expand...

Well I am in Texas and it does get hot. Maybe I want to consider that.

There are two schools of thought with livewells for bass. One is the pump in and overflow setup that continually replaces the water in the livewell. The other is the recirculation setup. The other school of thought as mentioned by Redbug is to seal it up and recirculate the water. You have to add a chemical such as keep alive, rejuvinade, or please release me to the water and ice at different intervals to keep the water at a good temperature.

My old livewell was a 48qt igloo cooler fitted with plumbing to be a pass through type livewell. I wasn't really happy with it but it worked for me. In 5 tournaments that I fished with it I almost lost one fish and that was because the fish knocked the drain plug out and I didn't realize it right away. It swam away afterwards, but barely.

Now I have an aluminum livewell built into my front deck. It measures 26L x 14W x 12D. It is rigged with knobs to divert the flow of water for a flowthrough setup or a recirculation setup. Up under the lip there are two valves on either side of a T going to the recirculating pump. One valve opened allows for recirculation and closed allows it to be a pump out. Mine is a bit on the small side, but I think will do well for team tournaments or solo trips where 5 or so bass will be in there.

Thanks for the info, keep them coming.

Hey, Huntinfool,

I've also been thinking about building my own custom sized livewell out of fiberglass. From my internet research, I can't figure out why more people aren't going this route. As someone who works with this material professionally, I'm sure hoping you will post a how-to thread with lots of pics.

Weight of 1 gallon of water 8.33lbs

20 gallons x 8.33lbs.=166.6 lbs

Seems like an awful lot of extra weight for most Jon boats, just a thought.

I will post some pics along the way. I have an old tank that I took out of another boat. It is kinda deep but not very long. It was made out of plastic, and had some glass wrapped around it. I am going to cut it in half and make it longer. I will get rid of the plastic and just make it from glass.

Right now my boat in the back only sits down to the first rib. That is somewhere between 4-5". That is with the outboard, 1=2 batteries fishing gear and 1 person about 200lbs. I am sure I will be ok with the extra weight. Besides I will not have it full when I am not using it.