Live wells to small..

[bassindon69]

I have a small boat with two live wells (front and back ) The front is not as deep but long. But still I am having a hard time with big fish fitting, anything 10+. I think if I ever get another boat it will have to have bigger wells LOL!
I like to hold the fish till the bite slows then take them a little deeper and set them free. But I cant hold the big ones so I let them go sooner then I want too. Is there a way to have bigger Live wells put in? If so who would do it? I think many wells are to small on some of the boats.

Don.

[JKitz]

But still I am having a hard time with big fish fitting, anything 10+.

This is not an issue.. I would love to have that problem!!

[Steve]

Go the cheap route and buy a monster cooler, provided you have room in your boat.

[Bob Simard]

Are you talking Bass? Damn man, if that's the case - check the 06 Proam schedule and go win yourself a shiney new bass rig!

Otherwise, just let em go once you catch them. They're better off in the water they came from - plus it'll be a sign of good faith to all the other fish that you're not taking them prisoner - like us tournament guys....

Happy New Year,

Bob Simard

[Lugnut]

Don, Its hard for me to understand where your coming from becuase I have a hard enough time catching a keeper ...............lol I will pm you the information on the rod you asked about in the next couple of days.

[MN]

I have no problem putting 10'lbrs in my livewell,my problem is it takes 5 fish to get 10lbs.

[swimbait]

Most bassboat livewells I have seen are designed to be deep, not long. Which like you are saying is bad for big fish. I fished with a guy recently in a new Z-21. He caught a 12 and a half and I was very surprised to see that it did not really fit in the livewell. You would think on a boat that big, they would have livewells that would fit fish like that. He had the divider in, but getting the divider out appeared to require taking out a bunch of screws so we didn't do it on the water. Earlier this year when I fished with CV and we had the divider out on his boat, I would still say that the situation was less than ideal.

I can honestly say that my 100qt cooler in my jon boat takes much better care of big bass than the average bass boat livewell. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that most of the boats are mfgr'd in areas where getting 10lbers is not common. From a responsibility toward the fish standpoint, those mfgrs could do a better job. I know when the time comes to buy a 'real' boat, livewell size will be a big consideration for me.

For comparison, here's my cooler with a 9lber and a few smaller fish


And here's a standard bass boat with a limit of 6-9lb fish (divider out)


Even though there is more water in the bass boat livewell (typically 27-30 gallons vs. my 25 gallon cooler) I think that the fish being able to turn around and get their bodies straight is much better than having more water over the top of them but being bent or in a position where they can't turn around.

[Ray L.]

You would not have that problem in a Champion. I have had a couple of 10's and a bunch over 5 in my livewell and have never had a problem with the fish being able to move around.

[mark poulson]

Even my Tracker 175 has a larger live well than that.

[BassTraveler]

Don,
I got a solution and you don't even have to make any changes to your boat.
We'll use my new I-Class. You won't have to pay for gas and you can even take the front of the boat.
I'll even make a four course lunch.

<img src="/shared/photos/photos/resized/2000_resized.jpg">

[bassindon69]

I think I will take the cooler with me next time. That is about all I can do. I think as long as they can be strait and even with room in front and back they are better off.
They all go back free, only on board for a short time. If I think that they don't fit they go back very quickly.

What are you serving Seig ? LOL!

Don.

[BassTraveler]

Peanut, Jelly and two pieces of bread.

Happy New Year!

[bassindon69]

works for me! LOL! But none of that chunky stuff LOL!