Mead 09-19-2015 (fishing/baitwell)

[wolfs4evr]

Not a bad day on the water. The lower temps sure are a plus. Caught bait in the usual places and 98% of what we netted was the good sized stuff. Same place I was at ~3 weeks ago and hardly any good sized stuff was netted then. 30 minutes or so and 40-50 pieces of bait. (I also netted my first LMB plus a ok sized Talapia.)

Didn't run into much topwater wise. Not like it was the last time out. Tried that before getting bait. The only good boil we hit they were all reallllly small Stripers (12-14 inchers or so). Madi quickly nabbed up 4-5 of them before I decided to move on. I was just there to get 'em off the hook and her back into action. Pretty tough/busy to deal with both of us casting when only one of us lands/unkooks 'em when the action is that fast.

Bait fishing was a little bit slow too. Hit just about everywhere in the wash and ended up running the boat quite a bit trying to get on 'em. I guess what I get for only going every 2-4 weeks. Learn everything all over again each trip. We ended up landing a couple dozen or so before calling it a day. About half of them or so made it home. Madison caught the biggest one of the day and the only one worthy of a picture.



Using a 5 gallon bucket and aerator just wasn't cutting it for bait. Works for a hour or two but that is it before they die unless one is constantly changing the water out. Works fine for once/twice a year chasing Stripers but this year we have chased them more than we have in the previous 4 years. So needed to do something so I made a baitwell. I couldn't of been happier with that decision!!! We had Shad in it all day and only one small Shad died. All lively and ready for action even after being caught/kept in it all day. Another item to have to drag around/store in the boat but a 100% necessity IMO after using one.

Nothing fancy but works! 20 gallon garbage can with the over the side drain at about the 11 gallon point on it. No reason for more water than that plus we were able to run around all day with almost no water splashing out. I was pretty surprised how well it just sat back there with dinky nylon cords holding it in place with the rollers on the main lake and all the boating traffic. Lots of waves and no issues. Nothing permanent. Long power cord to the dash/cig plug. 4 foot of 3/4" to the 500gpm pump that I just tossed over the side when stationary. 1 1/8" drain line heading back into the lake. Simple build.

I just need to find the right container now that I know how well it works. 10-15 gallon white barrel would fit the bill if I can ever come up with were to find such a critter. Something a little stiffer than a garbage can for tie down purposes, etc. Plus that dark can was a bear to see into/catch Shad out of. lol





Tom
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[BigE]

[cool]I have been thinking of building one myself. Try using an old cooler or perhaps The Container Store may have the barrel you are looking for.
I am also using the 5 gal. bucket w/aerator. It works for about three hours before major die off. I then use dead bait for the remainder of the day.
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[toadie_79]

Eric, I had the same issues with keeping my bait alive in the yak. I ended up buying a used hobie livewell. Best decision I ever made. II an keep 50 to 60 pieces of good size bait alive all say with it. Maybe look into the vittle vault DYI livewell. There are tons of YouTube videos showing how to do it too.

Wolf, I fished Friday in the wash and I saw boils all over the wash from 5:30am to 8:00am. I was too slow to get to them before the action died down or I was netting bait. In other words I missed out. Lol. Planning another trip out of Thursday or Friday. I'll let you know how I do.
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[wolfs4evr]

I have more coolers than I can count. I didn't want to use one since there is corners. Shad get there noses in a corner and then get "trapped" and die. The only round one I have and haven't used in the last 15 years is a drink serving round one. But only 5 gallons. I'm really looking for something in the 10 gallon range or a pinch bigger if I have to. Not a ton of luck finding anything local at all.

Dead Shad to me is useless on Lake Mead. Picky Stripers. One will catch 'em on dead stuff but the chances of catching one on live bait is 10 fold so I won't bother at all.

I might get around to making a mount for the pump permanent on the back of the boat one of these days. Would be fairly easy to do w/o any holes back there. Just one of those things to mess with. Everything I put into this one was a "test" per se. Now I now it works and works extremely well one of those things to go to the next level on as time permits.
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[fishrdan]

[quote wolfs4evr]I just need to find the right container now that I know how well it works. 10-15 gallon white barrel would fit the bill if I can ever come up with were to find such a critter. Something a little stiffer than a garbage can for tie down purposes, etc. Plus that dark can was a bear to see into/catch Shad out of. lol [/quote]

Rubbermaid makes smaller "Brute" garbage cans that are available in white, order into a Home Depot or buy from a local food service store. If they are as thick as the bigger brute trash cans, it should be pretty durable, or $20 worth of durable. That's what I was thinking of using...
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[Shogunofthecity]

Thanks for another great fishing report Tom, and nice fish Madi.

I do agree that a round bait tank is ideal, but from my personal experience, as long as the tank is big enough and supplied with a steady flow of fresh water, gizzard shad will simply form up in single file and swim in circles as if the square corners were not even there. At times when retrieving a bait they will bump into the corners, but I have never seen one die or appear to dumb to get stuck. My current tank is set at 12 gallons with a 12v 500gph pump. I have filled the tank so full of bait that I could not even see the bottom, and kept that bait in primo shape until they were gone over 24+ hours later. I have noticed problems with bigger bait getting stuck in my square corners like mackerel and smelt, but I think that has to do with their longer bodies.
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[wolfs4evr]

Good to know! I've read edges are bad so good to hear maybe not so for the bait we have in Mead. I have a "square'ish" container in mind so I might go down that route on my next build. Something that would fit in the space I wish to use up when in use or not in the boat. We shall see. Back to the mad laboratory for a couple weeks to ponder up something better than I have now.

Tom
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[Shogunofthecity]

Happy to help. I just had well over 100 5+" gizzards in the tank for 8+ hours and not one died. A couple other other recommendations to research into a new build is a timer for the pump itself, and a one way check valve. Im sure your build will be spot on, as most of your projects are Tom.
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[fishrdan]

Here's a cheap timer I just ordered for my livewell pump, pretty cool device as it can be set for on duration as well as off duration, plus it's only $4 compared to the $25-50 purpose built marine timers. Downside is, it's not water proof so it will need to be housed in a pill bottle or the like.

[url "http://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-Cycle-Delay-Module-Cycle-Relay-Switch-Relay-Module-Timing-Chip-Control-New-/361286648854?hash=item541e5cc416"]http://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-Cycle-Delay-Module-Cycle-Relay-Switch-Relay-Module-Timing-Chip-Control-New-/361286648854?hash=item541e5cc416[/url]

Going to take a couple of weeks to get here as it's coming from China, but what isn't now a days....
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[Shogunofthecity]

Nice find Fisherdan. Thanks for sharing.
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[wolfs4evr]

I suppose I'll just continue to post in this one.

Since going out for the first trip with a purpose built "rough/test" baitwell and showing to myself how mandatory it is to have one I have pondered over what to change on it to make it better for my purposes since then.

Portability & non-intrusive to my hull is mandatory for me. 9 times out of 10 I'd prefer to be chasing the LMB/SMB for the sport so this is just a phase chasing the Stripers for the time being since the lower lake levels have really tossed off my LMB/SMB game. I refuse to deal with fishing in 40-100 feet of water for them. I don't enjoy that at all.

Anyways... I have a new HD plastic container ordered (15 gallons) and it won't be here until next week sometime. So next weekends project. I don't plan on changing much else. My first attempt works for me. Nothing died and nothing too fancy. Simple & portable. I plan on installing the inlet and outlet lines in essentially the same places I have in my "rough/test" baitwell.

I acquired a new 1 1/8th overflow elbow/screen for it off Amazon and spent a wopping 10-15 minutes in the garage this afternoon staring at the back of the boat and the junk/misc bins in the garage. In that short amount of time a serious lightbulb moment happened... I fabricated a 100% portable pump mount that takes seconds to install. On land or on the water!

Sooooo simple [crazy] DOH

PVC pipe, a PVC "T", a few minutes measuring, a drill, a dremel, a couple wood screws and done. (Could be improved on but what one gets for 10-15 minutes into the garage and out with pictures.)

The easiest part was holding it in place. It was already in the boat. What I fabricated to hold the barrel down on the first trip. A spring loaded carabiner.

So still 100% portable. I can have my baitwell under the passenger dash and install everything at the lake in the water in minutes.









The screen bottom is currenly flush with the bottom of the boat. I highly doubt my redneck mount, as is, could handle it being any lower with the boat up to speed and drag placed upon it. I'm not concerned one bit about pumping new water into the livewell while the boat is up to speed moving spot to spot. There is no place on the lake I would be cruising long enough to cause the bait to die due to lack of fresh flowing water. (We cruised around for a hour or so last week goofing off with the pump off/out of the water and that didn't phase the bait I had one bit.) I also don't see a need for a timer in my application. If I was doing the tournament thing and needed to be carefull about batteries over multiple days then yes but a one day trip i'm not concerned one bit.



This will be the 1 1/8" exit elbow out of the new baitwell next week. Standard marine stuff off Amazon. The screen is actually threaded for 3/4" and I just punched out the rubber a little so it will fit over the threaded 1 1/8th elbow. It slips on/somewhat threads on tightly. I will shorten the threaded section some once the new container is here and I know how much to trim off.



Tom
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[Shogunofthecity]

Looking real good! Very clever as usual Tom. Ive got a couple questions if you dont mind... Did you get your desired white barrel? Where from and how much? And where do you have your pump feed actually entering inside the bait tank? I have found the best cycle of clean water is to simply have it fill from the bottom of the tank clockwise and thus pushing water up towards the drain.
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[wolfs4evr]

Being me... I found a blue barrel and went for it. Matches the boat... pathetic [crazy] $25 bucks for it plus 11 and change shipping (eBay). I like the screw on lid. Just leave it off while the action is hot and screw on if needed. It is 15 gallons and I plan on installing the exit hole somewhere around the 10 gallon point. Looking at the picture of the barrel below I am guessing that would be at the top of the flat center area on it or so. Without the lid on I am guessing very little water could/can splash out of it due to the top section curving inward which would direct the water/keep it inside the container. Lots of guessing so will have to wait and see if my guesses are semi in the right direction. It is "square" so TBD on that and Shad life. If I fail then only $35 bucks out on this attempt.

Other than that I like the shape since something like this will fit under the passenger dash and allow the occupant in the passenger seat more leg room than they would get with a round barrel. That way if we go out to chase the Stripers and then later on decide to chase the LMB/SMB I can put it away and out of the way of the rear casting deck.



In the baitwell I have now the water comes in just above the overflow/exit hole. (Previous posts shows inlet/outlet placement from the outside of the "rough/test" barrel I made.). I am using a standard livewell/aerator head that is adjustable. The attached pic makes it look like the water comes out that little slit in the end but it actually comes out a inch or so behind that and turning the very end in/out adjust the amount of water coming in. So with this one is always listening to the waterfall coming from the back of the boat but it isn't very loud. Actually it could put one to sleep. lol At least one knows when it is/isn't running at all times. We've only been out once using it but no bait ever died from the 8 or so hours they were in it so I didn't feel there was any reason to change it up but always game. Plus with the water shooting in right there no Shad ever got trapped against/near the exit hole. I'm still going with the mesh screen posted in my previous post to take no chances on the next build.



Now if shooting the water out at the bottom of the baitwell works better I could still go with this placement and just screw the aerator head off and run a line to the bottom of the tank.

Thoughts?

Tom
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[wolfs4evr]

I did revise that PVC mounting arm for the pump some just a bit ago. Paint is still drying. I found a square'ish slab of 3mm thick aluminum in the garage and mounted that on the "T" on the bottom. Very solid. Then mounted the pump mount/pump onto it. Mucho solid set-up. Then painted it all black.

Tom
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[wolfs4evr]

Gotta love fast drying paint. lol

Very solid set-up now with the aluminum plate addition. With this design/Attwood pump I could screw it down futher and cut the end at a angle so it would suck up water on the move but I am not concerned about that very much and will leave it as is.

About all I can do until next weekend on this project.











Tom
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[Shogunofthecity]

Well Tom, my thoughts are that it looks so good that you should have a "Patent Pending" disclosure. You are definitely on the right path, and possibly just a test run or two to determine the correct height to fix the pump and you will have a perfect system. The tank itself, besides the cool factor for matching the paint, looks perfect and I would give it 100% confidence in not loosing bait due to the corners, as I believe the key to having happy bait is giving them room vertically to move and not crowd each other. The entire design of portability is genius. As far as the main water inlet of the system goes, these are my thoughts: Generally a live well is going to be much smaller and used to keep a few fish alive, and in a shallow tank an aeration nozzle is usually used. But now you have stepped up your game into an actual bait tank, that is usually much taller and can be used to keep as many live baits as happy as possible for as long as possible, and Im talking about 100+ gizzards without hesitation should you so desire. To accomplish this the one and only goal is to keep them in fresh water. From experience myself, a tank that fills at the top and has a drain at the top, by design the fresh water will come in, possibly penetrate a few inches, then drain right out of the tank. And what I found was that my bait would always hang out at the top, and several baits would die, more so if I aggressively crowded the tank. But with a tank that fills from the bottom, the fresh water must move throughout the entire tank to reach the drain. And now I have bait comfortably swimming in the entire water column and only die if I clean forget to run the pump. I am a member of the Nevada Striper Club, and I regularly try to fill my 12 gallon tank to the absolute limit, and I am sure I have had 150-200 gizzards in there just to try and find the breaking point of killing shad and I am yet to find it. And as peaceful as the sweet melody of a waterfall is now, you will eventually find yourself having to pee all the time or just really annoyed at something interrupting the great outdoors. This only leaves one possible weak link in a perfect system, and that is simply operator error, by not running the pump responsibly. I do agree that as a recreational striper slayer, this is not a bid deal and not a necessity. But I have been around long enough to know that you always do top notch work from the design to fabrication, and I imagine you will eventually include an adjustable timer to your system. And they are very easy to install by simply replacing the on/off switch with the timer and adding an additional ground wire like a 3-way switch and are totally waterproof. I got one on Amazon for $35, and now it is as simple as set it and forget it. Thanks Tom for sharing another project, Im sure this will be a big help to all our local fisherman.
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[Shogunofthecity]

Also, and it has been a while since I built my current tank so I hope this is accurate, but since we are in the Northern Hemisphere of the world, bait fish will naturally swim counter-clockwise in a tank. So I have my tank fill from one corner pointed in the clockwise direction, and I do see them swimming around counter-clockwise. This is very noticeable the more crowded the tank is. I also increased the down tube size inside the tank. For example, the outlet of the pump itself has an inside diameter of about a 1/2", so the last leg of the system is set up with 1" clear hose and that has a 3/4" 90 degree fitting on the very bottom. And that relieved a lot of the pressure of the system so that it is now a smooth steady flow of water without stirring anything up.
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[wolfs4evr]

Then that will also be next weekends project also... Feeding water to the bottom verse aerating on top. Thank you for passing on your indepth knowledge/experience on that fact. In my head I was thinking the water shooting down on top was needed to assist in aerating the water but I see your point that since the system is constantly flowing water in/out that extra doesn't buy one anything and yes... The need to pee constantly did come to mind/happen often on the first outing listening to all that water splashing constantly. lol

I did notice last week that the majority of the Shad were in the top 4-6 inches. Only the couple "other" minnows that we caught were down deep. Makes sense after reading all that you posted. The upper portion is "fresher" water with more oxygen verse the bottom of the barrel.

Should be fairly "painless" to just remove/screw the aerator head from the 3/4" inlet I have and put on a PVC elbow. Then something to feed the fresh water to the bottom of the tank. Either a PVC pipe to the bottom or... Something to mess with. (I have decent chunk of 3/4" clear/thick walled tube that might be the ticket laying in the garage.)

With that said I will still install both the inlet and outlet at the same height or so on the new tank and go from there. I could just install the inlet in the bottom of the tank but I think that might make it a pinch more of a pain storage wise since I am keeping this one "portable". Down low I can see someone in the boat stepping on it, kicking it, etc when under the dash and not being used. Also with the inlet up high I can just toss the pump into the container when not being used plus my cast net and baitwell tie down ropes, etc, etc. Then just "bend/taco" the plastic lid and squeeze it in also. All my "Striper" stuff in one barrel tied up under the passenger dash.

Down the road will be power to the back and potentially a timer. Right now I have a 15+ foot length of wire with a 12v plug on it. That runs all the way forward to the passenger dash and gets plugged in. Works for now. Something simple to test/make sure of how well a baitwell works and again portable. Easy enough for power in the back since my main battery is right there in the back on the opposite side of the boat from where I have the tank sitting. Something to ponder over still keeping portable in mind.

Thanks again,
Tom
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[wolfs4evr]

[quote Shogunofthecity]Since we are in the Northern Hemisphere of the world, bait fish will naturally swim counter-clockwise in a tank. So I have my tank fill from one corner pointed in the clockwise direction, and I do see them swimming around counter-clockwise.[/quote]

Googled and found someones dolphin research...

[#ff0000][size 5]Swimming in Circles[/size][/#ff0000]
Counterclockwise direction preferred by Northern Hemisphere dolphins.

Clockwise direction preferred by Southern Hemisphere dolphins.

Tom
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[iamthesmf]

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