Livewell Improvements

[Jordan3206]

Greetings,

I purchased a SeeArk ZX170 this past fall and have begun TX fishing out of it. I upgraded the live well pump to a 750GPH unit, added a timer as well as a VT-2 vent. Before every TX I scrub the live well with well water and spray with peroxide. Last weekend we had a smallmouth die in the live well and its really bothering me. It was the last fish we caught and it was dead two hours later. It was hooked a bit deep but not in the tongue and wasn't bleeding. I only have the fill pump with a spray nozzle, the timer was set to 10 minutes and the water temp was low 70s. I now realize i should be running the pump at least 2x as much but also wonder if I should install a recirc system for summer when temps get warmer. My other concern is the live well seems small. Its probably only 15-18 gallons? Have yet to measure. Any suggestions or tips to improve fish care?

Thanks!

[tcesni]

Definitely add a recirculating pump. You can easily add a pump built for a cooler or bait bucket and add post clamps to the wiring. I’ve used one of these for decades and have kept one in my boat as a backup in case of pump failure. You might also add an Oxygenator to your livewell, it does sound a bit small. Smallies are more sensitive than largies so don’t beat yourself up too bad over it but improvements can be made.

[BOATS]

I run my pump 3 minutes off 1 minute on.

[Real L]

I run mine every 5 minutes for 2 min. I also use pieces of pool noodles floating on top of the water and that seems to help.

[FrancoCialone]

My Lund has a livewell but no recirculation pump, so I added one. Marine Metal super saver kit from BPS, sku # 275571, $49.99. I mounted the spray bar at the top of the livewell and mounted the pump on a livewell divider so no holes drilled into livewell, also mounted a switch to console, used to do a lot of "out of water" weigh-ins like BASS tournaments, for club events and the system works well and is easy to install. BTW my livewell is 42"wide and came with a 500 gph pump, more than enough. Have a timer as well, and have never had a fish die in my livewell !

[bassbama]

Add ice in the morning then fill with lake water first thing at your first stop not at the take-off site add G juice or similar to condition the livewell water. Get a recirc system that has a venturi air nozzle (flow rite) is a good source. you do not want to bring in 85-90 deg surface water in the summer your fish will suffer. Pay attention how deep you caught your fish if it is over 10 ft learn how to fizz a fish if it is floating upside down a few minutes after you put into the well. Carry a bottle of Mountain dew for bleeders remember a fish won't stop bleeding until it is back in the water.