portable livewell?

[crack a noon]

Looking into buying a 20 gallon portable livewell for bunker.

What brands would you reccomend?Why?

[Captain Rich]

Why 20 Gallons, are you putting it in a boat or truck ?? Go for more gallons if you can, the bunker will do better. If you can grab a plastic barrel or trash can, if it's on a boat hook it up to a washdown pump,.... truck the best you can do is an air pump and air stone.

[crack a noon]

Putting it on a 20ft walkaround.Thought about using a trash can,looks like it would be a pain to secure.What size do you recommend?

[Captain Rich]

20 foot boat, perfect, we use a 30 or 35 gallon trash can, get the heavy duty stuff, not the real cheap ones, they will loose their shape, tear, etc. If you have the room a 55 gal barrel is great. Ours sits in the corner between the transom and the port side, once there is some water in it it doesn't budge. We plumbed in a quick connect on the side down at the bottom for water intake from the salt water washdown. We added a piece of flex pipe a couple of inches down from the top for the overflow. This flex pipe hangs overboard so that the overflow water does not enter the bilge (bad mistake if your bilge pump develops an issue :eek: ). You can go with a heavier pump, but we find the washdown works fine. You have to keep the cover on or the bunker will come rocketing out of the can. You can cut a hole in the center of the cover and make a flap for easy access. This set up will hold 12- 15 large bunker alive all day, a 20 gallon tank will not keep as many bunker alive for any period of time.

[Garone Custom Rods]

A cooler will also work and has a lower center of gravity than a garbage can.

[Capt. Lou]

I have an extra pickle barrel , HD plastic holds about 45 gal, used one on my boat it worked fine, bought two so I have an extra.
Coolers will not hold bunker well if they are rectangular , bunkers prefer swimming in circles & will keep better in that type container!

PM me if interested, not ecpensive ! Or for that matter anyone else that might be looking to make your own!

Thanks,
Lou

[JerseyCoast]

A cooler will also work and has a lower center of gravity than a garbage can.


This is what many of my customers do. If your worried about the corners and the bunker nosing into them, all you have to do is buy that cheap gutter guard mesh that you can cut to insert into the corners. Its probably the best thing for the boat because it will not take much to secure it as mentioned. The cooler will give you that oval shape, allowing for more bait to be held too. :)

[crack a noon]

thanks for the responses.i'm gonna build something this weekend.