OK, I have to ask, why did you have to insulate the live well, last time I fished on Moultrie for stripers, we had a problem with the bait tank being warmer than the water(we were killing shad when we put them in the lake). Being a salt water guy, I wondered why they wern't using raw water from the lake rather than the complicted filter/charcol/ screen system just to recirculate water that was warmer than the air or the lake.

Spare first, I'm not the pro...Reel is the pro! You could probably get by without the fancy tank in the winter but insulation becomes extra important in the summer.

In the summer if the water in the tank gets too warm it will kill the shad. To combat this you need to insulate the tank as well as either add ice or some type of frozen water bottle to keep the water cool. Additionally the surface temps on the lake are much warmer and contain less O2 than the deeper cooler water, which is why the stripers go deep in the summer to begin with. Reel said you need to get the baits down quick in the summer so they'll be able to stay alive long enough to entice Mr. Linesides. If you try to fish them on top in the warm water they die quickly. I wouldn't think the shad would die going from warm to cold because the colder water should have more oxygen but maybe the sudden temp change just shocks them?

So that is water temp, now as you mentioned you have to worrry about the filtration and controlling the chlorine, ammonia, foaming, o2 content and sluffed off scales. Which is why you need the filtration system, an additive to remove chlorine (from using tap water or adding ice) and something to help slime and harden the scales like rock salt.

I'm learning and hopefully if I ever get this keepalive filter I ordered a long time ago I'll report back with some actual experience on this topic. :beer:

Spare, Flyfishin saw this post and reminded me to also add that we are going to be catching the shad in high rock lake and fishing in Badin lake. Another good reason for it to be a self-contained system.

I neglected to mention that.

:beer:

More to come on this project....Fly has the tank DONE and now we need to play around with the aerator placement before gluing it in place. It comes with suction cups but I can't see those holding for more than a minute....I figure we'll use the suction cups to test the placement by putting a dozen or so shad in the tank and see about where the discharge should point. Chime in here Reel but I'm assuming place it off center to get a "swirl" going. Also not too close to the side such that they jam up and hurt their little noses. Once the optimal placement is found I will glue it in place with aquarium glue as Reel suggested.

P.S. Went jug fishing over the weekend. Only 8 jugs and 8 channel cats. Biggest went 8 ish lbs. Good times!:nice:

Sorry I'm late gettin' in here, BR...bet you got 'er all buttoned up by now...how'd it go?...


BTW...you were wise not to use the suction cups...they hold the pump off the bottom just enough for the herring/shad to get their noses under and can't get out and they die...

Hey Spare...I've used my "self-contained" tank in saltwater as well...all the salties think they gotta have fresh water pumpin' in/outta the tank, so gotta deal w/all the plumbing...w/a self-contained tank, all the water is filtered and aerated so all you need to go to the tank is 12 volts...much easier...

I did a test but it left me with more quesitons like, how close is too close to the side for the pump? Is 6" enough or more? And what is the preferred additive - I've heard of some stuff called "Better Bait??" Any good?

4-6" should be about right and have the stream go toward the wall on a fairly sharp angle to get things turning in the tank...

Shad Keeper and salt in the tank for "fixins"...rock salt or Kosher salt best...gotta keep water around 55* tops...careful adding ice as some store-bought ice can have chlorine and kill 'em all...if you add ice from a store, add a little more Shad Keeper

http://www.wholesalebait.com/product.php?pid=174

or here's yer Better Bait...good too

http://www.wholesalebait.com/product.php?pid=63

and get some of this too

http://www.wholesalebait.com/product.php?pid=70

in case ya run outta Coffee Mate

It won't take much to 20 gals of any of this stuff, but drop in about 1/2lb salt...lemme know how it goes, DAWG... :beer:

Great info, thanks Oz! This seems a lot like rocket science - only a little more complicated!

One thing I'm having a hard time understanding - which has been touched on in this post by someone else - is how to get the water down to 55 without killing them. They'll be coming out of 80 ish degree water, so I assume you start out with 75 degrees in the tank, and lower it slowly as to not stress them?

Thanks Oz for all your expert advice. I know its gonna pay off!
:beer:

You wanna keep tank around 55*... hook the bait as quickly as you can and GET HIM DOWN...we generally use 1 1/2 oz barrel over a swivel and 4-6' leader...sadly the fact is eventually the lake water will lose it's D.O. and you'll have a tuff time using livies...:cry:...that's when we go to draggin' umbrellas and lead-core line...:party:

BR, When are we going to put this thing to use??

Next weekend Weather permitting.

Reel, Thanks, for all the help.


FF