Live Bait 101
A TOP QUALITY LIVEWELL KEEPS BAITS AT THEIR PEAK.
Live baiting undoubtedly ranks as one of the most effective fishing methods. From minnows for flounder to bonitos for blue marlin, and everything in between, if you can offer something live, your chances of catching something increase. The problem with live bait is not just catching it, but keeping it alive throughout the day so that when the bite is on, you have healthy, fresh live bait ready to present to your target. Having a properly designed and working livewell is critical to your success.
ABOVE OR BELOW?
Today, few boats come without a built-in livewell, and some manufacturers do a better job than others, but most do not get it exactly right. There is great debate about whether the well should be in-deck or above-deck. For a true live bait fisherman, the boat needs both. It needs the capacity of the in-deck well and the convenience of the above-deck well. When throwing a cast net, it’s far easier to dump bait into an in-deck well than to empty it into a gunwale-height abovedeck well.
But when catching bait with hook and line or sabiki rigs, the easier option is the above-deck well. One of my favorite boats was a 2300 Pathfinder center console because it was a very live bait-friendly boat. It had a large capacity in-deck well with plenty of circulation and flow as well as two transom corner livewells that I used for feeder wells and pitch baits. The key to that system was its complete flexibility to accommodate a multitude of live bait situations, and it had enough pump power and drainage to move water and keep the baits fresh and lively.
When evaluating livewell systems on boats look for certain things that will help your live bait situations rather than hinder them. Be sure the well is circular or oval in shape so that the bait cannot get stuck in corners and worry itself to death, literally. The well needs to have a large enough gutter and drain to shed soapy deck water, as any soapy runoff that finds its way into the well will kill your bait. A sealed and pressurized compartment will prevent this. In a sealed well, the water is filled to the top, which is sealed with a gasket so there is no air at the top of the well. This pressurized system keeps the bait from getting banged around and damaged better than any other. The less banging around your bait does, the better.
STRONG FLOW IS GOOD
Be sure the pumps are large enough to move water. I’m talking real flow here, not a weak stream. If the pump isn’t moving water, replace it with one that will and be sure the inlet and outlet hoses are enlarged to let the water flow. One-inch hose and a pump sized accordingly for it is not too big for inlet flow, just be sure the outlet side is twice the size of the inlet hose to maximize flow and exchange the water in the well. Few builders make these large enough to exchange the water as much as is needed, so be prepared to do this if you plan on live baiting a lot, even if the boat is brand new.
Another mistake the builders make is putting 90-degree elbow fittings into the tank to discharge the water and create circulation. Any fitting inside the tank will mess up bait. A proper livewell has no obstructions on the inside, and does not have a standpipe in the middle to drain it. The center mounted standpipe is dead smack in the way of getting your bait, and if it gets knocked over, either from dumping your cast net, water sloshing in the tank, or the bait itself, there goes your bait out the drain.
The other thing to check is pump placement in the boat. If it is not where it can be serviced, move it. Boat builders are notorious for placing pumps where they cannot be reached and worked on by normal people in a reasonable amount of time. I haven’t seen a magic wand yet that can undo the hoses remove the pump, rewire, mount and plumb a new one. It's mind boggling how common poor pump placement is, so when you see it done right, you’ll know that builder is thinking and building a boat to be used by its owner.We all know things fail, and it rarely bothers us when we can fix them, but when it is a nightmare to service, it’s another matter.
ADD A DECK TANK
A portable on-deck well makes a great addition, or it can be used as a primary well.You can either make your own utilizing a Chemtainer tank, or buy a ready-made tank from a company like Kodiak, which makes several models ready for installation and geared for your particular live-baiting situations, with either oval, circular or tuna tube units available.
The ideal set up is to bring the water flow in from near the bottom of the well with another inlet about mid-tank. Have the water enter the tank on an angle so that the flow of water creates circulation. The drain for the overflow should be twice the size of the inlet water hoses and should be at the top of the tank. As the water is flowing into the tank, it is exchanging the old water for new and the entire water column is moving. There should be no still pools or stagnant areas. Proper circulation allows the bait to swim into the flow helping to keep them from getting too banged up and keeping them calm.
By paying a little bit of attention to your equipment and its set up, you can increase your bait longevity as well as its overall health during your fishing day. Whether it’s a healthy bunker tossed to a stripped bass or a ballyhoo to a sailfish, live baiting can create opportunities quickly and often for your angling enjoyment. Remember to evaluate your needs for live bait, assess the equipment you have and make adjustments to your gear to improve its capacity and usefulness.Test your gear prior to needing it and make sure it is in good working order before loading up for that tournament and finding out it is inadequate. A livewell full of dead or half-dead bait is nowhere near as effective as crisp, healthy colored, lively baits.
FIVE STEPS TO LIVELIER LIVE BAITS
If you talk to a dozen live bait experts, you will probably get many differing opinions about what constitutes the “perfect” livewell, and about the best ways to keep baits fresh, but you will also hear the similar things repeated by many of them. It’s all about keeping your live baits fresh and healthy, and here are a few things you can try:
- Add a clear lid—many experts believe that having a livewell that’s dark all the time actually traumatizes bait fish, since they endure a change from almost total darkness to blinding light every time someone opens the lid of the well. Better to have a clear lid that keeps light on a more even keel.
- Paint it blue—another school of thought says that baits live in a habitat that’s primarily blue, and that by painting the inside of your well a light blue color, they feel more at home and more relaxed, and therefore will be less stressed and more energetic when you toss them in the direction of a hungry predator.
- Add aeration—a growing number of live baiters are adding oxygen tanks to their livewells, supplying baits with highly oxygenated water which supposedly gives them extra energy and wards off lethargy longer.
- Segregate the bait—Many of us fish two or more different bait species during a day, and the baits will fare better if you keep them in separate wells. Pilchards and ballyhoo just don’t swim the same, and end up running into one another, causing them to wear down faster.
- Hands off!—If at all possible, don’t touch the bait with your hands, especially baits that have been caught on hook-and-line or sabikis. Hold the leader taut and drop the wiggling baits into the well by using a small hook remover. When you touch a bait, you inevitably knock off protective scales or damage the baits' slime layer, both essential to protecting the little critter. Of course, if you caught them in a cast net, they’re already beat up—just try to use them as quickly as possible!
For questions, contact karl.anderson@centerconsoleangler.com.