Live well on 28

[Butch]

I have not put bait in the box yet, assuming I catch the bait, do you put sea water from the hose and than keep the the circulator on, how much water, how long will they keep etc etc . All comments are welcome. thanks

[DougSea]

Mine doesn't have a circulator, but pumps in seawater continuously up to the drain.

That is the limit of my knowledge on the subject! Mine's used for storage...

[Russell]

If your live well is similar to mine it is not the best design but it works for the hardier species used for bait. Sea water is pumped in at the top a short distance from the overflow port. It would be better for circulation to have the water enter from the bottom but at least it sprays pretty hard and gets some circulation. Baits like small croaker, spot or the minnows that you purchase or get in a cast-net do fine. If drift fishing I turn off the pump when the engine is not running to preserve the battery and the baits still do fine. If you leave them overnight some people purchase a timer that turns the pump on and off periodically. I usually put them in a plastic bait bucket and hang it over the side opposite the finger pier. If you put them within reach people help themselves.

[Carl]

Butch, there has been a few posts on this subject you should go back and read. If you have never used it you should be aware that Albin did a poor job of sealing around the top seam. You should look this over and if yours is like most, you need to run a bead of silicone or marine caulk around the gaps. When drifting and rocking the water will find its way into the bildge if you dont. Mine did to the point the bildge pump came on. Also if one of the little critters die and become stuck in the overflow tube it will run over. In the other posts you will see how others fixed that problem by extending the drain tube up with a piece of PVC which will act as another overflow if the one on the side gets blocked. I have not done this yet but I will before I use it again this summer.

Hows the new place coming along?

[Butch]

I think I will keep stuff in the live well and no bait.!! We are waiting for the new pier. When finished I will drop a plastic box over the side for bait keeping.The process of rejuvenation continues in St Michaels!!

[jcollins]

Butch,
Let us know when your having the pier warming party.

[Carl]

Butch, one of the links I was talking about is now on the tournament express 28 Board. You most likely will be putting spot in there (if you can catch any ) which usally dont cause issues. But you still need to seal around the top to keep the bildge dry. I bet towards the end of July can can catch them right around your pier. Thats when they show up at my marina and I can load the live well before leaving the dock. Otherwise take note of where the waterman are tonging oysters in the fall in your creek or just outside of it (hard bottom) and make a few drifts until you find them and anchor up. You are in a great spot over there as far as fishing goes!

[Butch]

Thanks for tidbit on tonging......Pier warming party, have to pass that on to boss!!!

[craw_daddy]

I use mine all the time, but have added a vertical stand pipe in place of the rubber stopper at the bottom f the well. This serves two purposes: 1) it becomes the primary drain, allowing 360 degree of overflow water surface around the pipe -so no one dead bait can prevent it from working. 2) it can be cut shorter to provide some drain margin to exist between it & the secondary (side) drain. I did add a timer at the dash which I can change from continuous to cycle 30s on 1 min off. I can keep allot of bait alive. I have let it run overnight for 4 days on cycle & battery w/o a shore power connection.

Here is the overflow drain tube, a push-on model like the one in the middle of the upper picture: http://www.thmarine.com/product.cfm?PRID=67

[craw_daddy]

I also upgraded the bait well pump to this Shurflo pump: http://www.hopkins-carter.com/800-gph-b ... 1-030.html. They just unscrew from the thru-hull & the wiring harness needs shortening + spade connectors added.

[poillon1]

We upgraded ours this weekend too. We added a big bag of ice and a case of beer! It held cold for 24 hours!

[DougSea]

We upgraded ours this weekend too. We added a big bag of ice and a case of beer! It held cold for 24 hours!

A case of beer lasted 24 hours? Impressive!

Oh, wait...

You meant the ice...

Never mind.