NC Angler Forums banner

Cooler Livewell?

3K views 16 replies 5 participants last post by  OptiMystic 
#1 ·
I have seen alot of people with a cooler livewell in smaller boats. I have always used a cooler and filled lake water with it when Im fishing smaller ponds and all. I am wanting to make one for small tournaments. What things do you need to make one? Pictures? I was wondering, when you get the bilge pump and tubing and all set up. How do you get the water inside the cooler? I have heard that you put the bilge pump overboard, is this correct?
 
  • Like
Reactions: ryano
#2 ·
I use to do this all the time. And thats exactly how i did it. let the bilge pump pump the cooler full. I dont have any pics bec. i now have a livewell in my boat. But your idea will work fine. just remember in the summer keep that water cool/.
 
#4 ·
Randy (NCAngler, Our Most Excellent Host) has some pics of one on his profile page - recirculates using a livewell fill pump in place of the drain on an igloo cooler. Very nice design and doesn't really screw up the cooler if you'd have to re-use it down the road.
I'm working on one for my van using that as an example.
 
#5 ·
Thanks, I saw his pictures. Just making sure I need a bilge pump that I hook to a battery which powers it, then tubing to connect to the bilge then the other side of the tube connects to the spray bar. To get water in, put the bilge in the water with a tube connecting to it going into the livewell, thus how you get the water in the livewell. Am I right?
 
#6 ·
That's the basic concept most of them use. You don't need a very high speed / high quality pump, the cheap ones will get the job done just fine. Bucket also works to fill it up and it's more handy to have around then a bunch of extra tube. You can make a spray-bar from PVC and a cap, just drill some holes in it.

Get some alligator clips from Radio Shack to connect up the battery. On most pumps, black goes to negative (-) and either brown or red goes to positive (+) on the battery. Pick up a 5 amp inline fuse to go between the battery's positive terminal and the brown or red wire to keep from burning up the pump.
 
#10 ·
#17 ·
...
you can even keep fish alive on the trip home with a battery
...
IMO, this is exactly what you should expect most livewells to do; keep the catch fresher until you clean them. As noted in the studies in the article I posted a link to, you have to go to great lengths to get the true mortality rate down to what most people would deem acceptable if you plan to release the fish at the end of the day.
 
#11 ·
thanks sundrop. That helped alot. I might either get that kit or see if I can buy everything separate for cheaper. haha on a high school budget....
 
#13 ·
True I was looking at it and all you really gotta do is hook the battery up, hose, and spray bar and its ready to work. I know alot of bilge pumps dont usually come with the clips on the end to connect to the battery. I probably will get this one.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bwguffey
#15 ·
I wouldn't bother with hose clamps. If it leaks, it's just going to leak into itself, not the boat. If the fittings feel loose, use some nylon zip-ties, cut the tag ends short and smooth them out with sandpaper. The less metal you have in there the better and the sharp tag ends of those clamps could cut the fish.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top