New boat, new live well and I've never used one before. How is a live well typically used for inshore/offshore fishing in New England waters? Basic stuff, what kind of live bait, how much, when. No clue how to use one of these but I bet it's good fishin.
New England fishing w/Live Well
- Thread starter TimHenn
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2002
- RO Number
- 10503
- Messages
- 3,677
I went out in the Gulf (Biloxi) with live bait.
He used a Cooler, and poured a bucket of sea water in once in awhile.
My bass boat had a Pump to intake Lake water, and pump out the dirty water.
Some have a pump to intake the water, and you just crack the plug to let the nasty water drain out into the boat and just let the automatic bilge pump take care of that.
Keep the Tank clean. No soap or anything the Fish don't swim in on a normal basis.
Then keep the water circulating or change it out occasionally. Some guys keep Fish food on board to help keep the Bait fish in good health and keep their attitude up!
I thought the most fun of the trip was catching the bait. We all used Bass rig's and Jigs. Cast and catch till the Cooler was full.
He used a Cooler, and poured a bucket of sea water in once in awhile.
My bass boat had a Pump to intake Lake water, and pump out the dirty water.
Some have a pump to intake the water, and you just crack the plug to let the nasty water drain out into the boat and just let the automatic bilge pump take care of that.
Keep the Tank clean. No soap or anything the Fish don't swim in on a normal basis.
Then keep the water circulating or change it out occasionally. Some guys keep Fish food on board to help keep the Bait fish in good health and keep their attitude up!
I thought the most fun of the trip was catching the bait. We all used Bass rig's and Jigs. Cast and catch till the Cooler was full.
TimHenn,
what kind of live bait: depends on what your fishing for. Tinker Macks, Snappers, Porgies, Bunker, Bergalls, Spot (if they come up that far) all work on Fluke, Stripers, Blues, Mako, etc.
how much: Depends on how long your fishing for and how many predators are around. Bluefish will destroy baits. Depending on how large the baits are and how many you need/want...figure 1 fish per gallon of water. More if the fish are smaller. The live well should be constantly on and the flow should not be pushing the bait too hard.
when: whenever they're available...live baiting is great for the larger fish.
Try not to handle the bait as they will live longer if not stressed/de-slimmed.
Hope this helps...
what kind of live bait: depends on what your fishing for. Tinker Macks, Snappers, Porgies, Bunker, Bergalls, Spot (if they come up that far) all work on Fluke, Stripers, Blues, Mako, etc.
how much: Depends on how long your fishing for and how many predators are around. Bluefish will destroy baits. Depending on how large the baits are and how many you need/want...figure 1 fish per gallon of water. More if the fish are smaller. The live well should be constantly on and the flow should not be pushing the bait too hard.
when: whenever they're available...live baiting is great for the larger fish.
Try not to handle the bait as they will live longer if not stressed/de-slimmed.
Hope this helps...
And keep it empty when not using. That's a lot of extra weight when full.
One of the slickest ones I've seen was built into the transom of a 45 Cabo. It had a large window facing the cockpit and had a light for night viewing like an aquarium. We filled it with live squid for YFT & BE at the canyons used with great success. I suspect the window & light might trend to overly stress other bait fish, but the squid stayed lively & fresh as we used them and added ones newly jigged up all night.
One of the slickest ones I've seen was built into the transom of a 45 Cabo. It had a large window facing the cockpit and had a light for night viewing like an aquarium. We filled it with live squid for YFT & BE at the canyons used with great success. I suspect the window & light might trend to overly stress other bait fish, but the squid stayed lively & fresh as we used them and added ones newly jigged up all night.
I appreciate the information, and sorry for the newbie questions. I pick up the boat next weekend so I'm not familiar with the specifics yet but I do know it will draw water in via a pump, circulate the water (switch on/off) and then pump the water out when done using it.
I would typically be fishing for large striper but with this boat would like to learn to fish for tuna (just the small ones would be fine, the 80lb class).
So, you fish for the bait that goes in the livewell you don't purchase it somewhere? I know that sounds silly but fishing-to-fish is a new concept for me. I know others do it. Where would I fish for Pogies if targeting Stripers? Tuna eat ?? I dunno. Lots to learn. Thanks for the information.
I would typically be fishing for large striper but with this boat would like to learn to fish for tuna (just the small ones would be fine, the 80lb class).
So, you fish for the bait that goes in the livewell you don't purchase it somewhere? I know that sounds silly but fishing-to-fish is a new concept for me. I know others do it. Where would I fish for Pogies if targeting Stripers? Tuna eat ?? I dunno. Lots to learn. Thanks for the information.
TimHenn,
then pump the water out when done using it: No, typically there's a center post (hollow tube) that you remove and the water drains from the bottom.
you fish for the bait that goes in the livewell you don't purchase it somewhere?: Yes, I make keep a supply of baits that I catch. My neighbor, who has deep pockets, pays $10+/fish for Spot. They're great baits but you can go thru many baits in a day so that can get pricey. I used to have a local commercial netter that I bought live bunker from with 6-packs...bought him breakfast occasionally but otherwise a symbiotic relationship for sure. He's since passed away and haven't found anyone to replace his services.
Adding lights and windows for the baits allow them to see the livewell walls so they don't keep swimming into them and damage themselves. I added a small waterproof light at the top of my well for just this purpose.
There's 2 ways to catch bunker...snag and netting. If you can locate a school of bunker you can cast a weighted treble over the school and reel hard. While you can fill the well, all of the bunker will come into the boat injured and probably won't last long. Netting is the preferred method but local laws may limit this...NY doesn't allow gillnetting so you can only cast net. Bunker need to be tightly schooled to use the cast net. And, throwing a cast net is a real skill that you'll learn over time. If you have frisbee experience then learning how to throw one effectively is easier as the motion is similar.
Hope this helps...
then pump the water out when done using it: No, typically there's a center post (hollow tube) that you remove and the water drains from the bottom.
you fish for the bait that goes in the livewell you don't purchase it somewhere?: Yes, I make keep a supply of baits that I catch. My neighbor, who has deep pockets, pays $10+/fish for Spot. They're great baits but you can go thru many baits in a day so that can get pricey. I used to have a local commercial netter that I bought live bunker from with 6-packs...bought him breakfast occasionally but otherwise a symbiotic relationship for sure. He's since passed away and haven't found anyone to replace his services.
Adding lights and windows for the baits allow them to see the livewell walls so they don't keep swimming into them and damage themselves. I added a small waterproof light at the top of my well for just this purpose.
There's 2 ways to catch bunker...snag and netting. If you can locate a school of bunker you can cast a weighted treble over the school and reel hard. While you can fill the well, all of the bunker will come into the boat injured and probably won't last long. Netting is the preferred method but local laws may limit this...NY doesn't allow gillnetting so you can only cast net. Bunker need to be tightly schooled to use the cast net. And, throwing a cast net is a real skill that you'll learn over time. If you have frisbee experience then learning how to throw one effectively is easier as the motion is similar.
Hope this helps...