# baitwell/cooler?



## bilgerat (Feb 20, 2018)

Has anyone turned a cooler into a bait well? I cant find a small freestanding baitwell that will fit in the back of My boat', Im thinking of converting a 30 to 40 QT cooler to get one the size I want,


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## notnksnemor (Feb 20, 2018)

bilgerat said:


> Has anyone turned a cooler into a bait well? I cant find a small freestanding baitwell that will fit in the back of My boat', Im thinking of converting a 30 to 40 QT cooler to get one the size I want,



https://www.walmart.com/ip/Bubble-Top-Combo-Universal-5-Gallon-Lid-with-Aerator/16494327

Add to a 5 gallon bucket and go fishing.
Need more, buy 2.


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## jimbo4116 (Feb 20, 2018)

NOTNKSNEMOR said:


> https://www.walmart.com/ip/Bubble-Top-Combo-Universal-5-Gallon-Lid-with-Aerator/16494327
> 
> Add to a 5 gallon bucket and go fishing.
> Need more, buy 2.



Worked for me for several years now. Just be sure the bucket is white.


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## bilgerat (Feb 20, 2018)

5 gals aint big enough, I'm gonna run a thru transom 500gph livewell pump to it with a overflow . want it to be around 20 to 25 Gals. just don't want to pay $350+ for a store bought one.


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## jimbo4116 (Feb 20, 2018)

Better check your math.  40 qt cooler is just 10 gallons.

Shouldn't be to difficult as long as the inside walls are smooth to seal the bungs.

I would make the overflow line larger than your inlet line unless you are going to have it on a timer.


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## Darkhorse (Feb 20, 2018)

Back in the early 80's the wife and I fished a lot of Kingfish tournaments and live pogies were the hot bait. The boat had no livewell and we had little free cash.
My first livewell I built from a heavy duty plastic like trash can. And it worked pretty good until I could replace it.
I made an aluminum bracket with a 500 GPH pump and a pickup for flowing water when running. A 1" flexible hose ran over the transom through PVC plumbing with a shutoff/adjustment valve down to a thru hull fitting in the bottom of the can/tank. At the chosen high level mark was another thru hull 2.0", attached to this was a 2.0 flexible hose running over the transom for a drain.
The can proved to be almost too flexible but still worked for a couple of years.
Pretty simple really.


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## bilgerat (Feb 21, 2018)

LOL, yea My cyphering was  little off. I'm looking for it to fit in a 18"x20" space in the corner of My cockpit, I found a Igloo cube 48QT that might work.


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## bilgerat (Feb 21, 2018)

well after some more measuring and thinking Ive decided to go with a 38qt igloo marine cooler , ordered it from wallmart for 20 bucks.  its a little bigger than I wanted for the space but it will work. Ill post a few pics of the installation when it arrives


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## BWebb88 (Feb 21, 2018)

i use an old igloo cooler for a bait tank. i wanted a way to keep bait alive overnight/for a day or 3 in between trips.
i just drilled a small hole in the lid and ran a plastic line through it. i put a splitter in the tank, with 2 of the little aerator stones for aquariums on the ends. i run a medium sized 120 volt aerator, or a battery powered one if im in the truck. super handy, saves me a bunch of money, and ive kept shrimp alive for 4 days.


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## henrydaviss (Feb 21, 2018)

here is what has worked for me, is get a big cooler and go to academy sports and get the super saver 12 volt aeration system. it works the best.


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## Rabun (Feb 21, 2018)

I have used one of these in the past with pretty good results.  What type of bait do you usually use?  I've used this with herring and it was marginal at best.  Shiners or shrimp and no problems at all.  When you're done, you can just sling the hose over the gunnel and drain if you have a back like mine and don't want to pull it trying to lift and empty.

https://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/...CE8Qoq4MSQ1vQjoF9uHupB9nSKfKR2tgaAuwkEALw_wcB


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## notnksnemor (Feb 21, 2018)

Rabun said:


> I have used one of these in the past with pretty good results.  What type of bait do you usually use?  I've used this with herring and it was marginal at best.  Shiners or shrimp and no problems at all.  When you're done, you can just sling the hose over the gunnel and drain if you have a back like mine and don't want to pull it trying to lift and empty.
> 
> https://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/...CE8Qoq4MSQ1vQjoF9uHupB9nSKfKR2tgaAuwkEALw_wcB



Rabun brings up a good point with what type of bait you're trying to keep.
Some baits will bury in to even a rounded corner and beat their noses off.
That's why a lot of the molded bait tanks are round.


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## Chase4556 (Feb 27, 2018)

Rabun said:


> I have used one of these in the past with pretty good results.  What type of bait do you usually use?  I've used this with herring and it was marginal at best.  Shiners or shrimp and no problems at all.  When you're done, you can just sling the hose over the gunnel and drain if you have a back like mine and don't want to pull it trying to lift and empty.
> 
> https://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/...CE8Qoq4MSQ1vQjoF9uHupB9nSKfKR2tgaAuwkEALw_wcB



I agree that I think this will be your best bet. Can still wire up a through transom pump and drain if you want. That would allow you to fill the livewell, use this kit to keep your water circulating and aerated, and then have a timer set for your pump to bring in fresh water every 30 minutes or so. 


Also second trying to round out the edges of your cooler. With a little ingenuity, it shouldn't be hard to do. In my mind, I see 2 liter bottles cut in half and glued/sealed to the walls of the cooler doing a pretty good job.


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## ThatredneckguyJamie (Feb 28, 2018)

when I used to pier fish a lot I had a 30 or so qt igloo I used one of those bubbler rocks to keep shrimp and mud minnows in. Worked great...it was there I learned mud minnows will eat the tails off your shrimp lol


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