Hi all,
As a follow up to the striper fishing thread, here are some pics of my homemade livewell for shad. It is cheap and ugly, but works for me.
It is just a big plastic tube with a wooden lid and insulated sides.
As you can see I use the top for cut bait when needed.
I have a thru hull aerator pump that pumps the water to a spraybar up under the lid.
I made a small filter that fits over the pump intake to trap scales and slime. I can pull it off and rinse it in the lake easily. It works pretty well and way better than no filter.
I add non-iodine salt (40lb bag for $5 at tractor supply) at the rate of about 1 cup to 2/3 full tank. add a bit more after a water change depending on how much water I change.
The pump for water changes is a old bilge pump that i put in the lake to fill or in the tank to empty. (sorry for the lousy pic)
All are wired with old extension cords to a fuse accessory port on the boat. With the extension cords I can plug or unplug the system easily when not in use and remove it from the boat.
It holds a dozen large shad in great shape for at least 4 hours (my typical fishing trip) or many more small shad.
Hope it is helpful.
Have a great Thanksgiving holiday,
Jim