Bait Tank Question

Ok fellas, got a question for everyone. Does anyone have any insight on how to make or what to use for an inexpensive herring tank?

I'm not wanting to fork out the bills for a tried and true bait tank at the moment, but wouldn't mind concocting something to use next summer for the striper. I've been several times with friends and I know I can catch them if I only had a way to keep herring a live. Just wondering if anyone had any ideas. I thought about the bottom half of a blue drum or something with an aeration system. Looking for something around 20-25 gallon that will fit in the floor of my bass boat. Not wanting to go too extravagant as I'll only be chasing them a few times a year.


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CB, for holding herring, water temperature control is key, especially if fishing in the warmer months. Insulating your tank will be necessary. Keeping water temps under 75 deg is a must, either by cool water additions (well water) or ice/ice bottles. If using ice or city water, don't forget to neutralize the chlorine/chloramines. Homemade tanks work fine, round tanks with mild circulation and filtration work best. I use polyfil (pillow stuffing) as a filter media. A 360 or 500 Gph pump is what most use. Adding salt also helps with electrolytes, roughly one lb per 30 gals. Look at the basic deigns of the well known tanks, and you can get some idea of the flow path and set up you will need. Basically let the pump and gravity due their job by allowing water to seek its own level. Lots of designs from simple, to "spent so much, why didn't I just buy a tank?" Hope this helps some. Tight lines!

Just a thought! If you got anyone that buys or sales older boats, maybe they have a old bait tank setting around their yard or place of business. Maybe worth a look. I got mine that way off an old pontoon being traded. It's not insulated but works good. Good luck finding one that suits your need. :highfive

CB if you just want to keep them alive just for fishing one day get you the biggest round beverage cooler you can find and add a good aerator and use it. With the new 5 and done rule you only need a couple dozen. Sometimes I just use my live well on the boat as I am only interested in keeping them alive for a couple hours.

My friend Jeff that I fish with debunked a couple of myths for me. He has a Stratos bass boat that has 2 large live wells in the back. Last Friday we had about 50 herring in his live well and most all were still live and frisky 6 hours
later. He said the tank does not have to be round. He said the reason herring bunch up and suffocate is lack of oxygen. He has a high output 12 volt bubble aerator in the well he keeps the herring in and that along with some ice a couple of times in the trip and 90% of the herring left were still lively. Most of the dead ones were ones we put back in the well when we moved to a new spot. I think the bubbler has two tubes out of it, both in the one well.

Attachment 244830Call John at 704-864-1039 if interested.

A lot of guys use a round barrel,a pump large enough to exchange the water quick,place the injection so it is angled parallel more or less to the side wall low in the barrel,and a drain pipe just below the intended water level at the top. You set the outlet with a valve so you can adjust the outgoing water to match the incoming just right to maintain the level you want. It sets up a circular motion and the water is changed quick enough the fish do good.

A good live well with adequate water change will work it does not have to be round. I have one in a small jon boat that is welded aluminum and it is square.It has a tube welded into the bottom of it and goes out the bottom of the boat and is welded flush to the bottom of the boat. A pump in the stern has a pickup out the back and the supply water is piped to the livewell in the middle of the boat,it goes in the live well at the top with a spray head. The water comes up in the livewell to match the depth the boat is drafting. When the pump is on it raises the water level to near the top . I set the spray head volume to do that. It will keep huge catfish or bait alive just fine. Sometime have both in there. It works pretty good in the middle people in the bow or stern can access it that way easy. You need to make sure the drain is large enough to take all the water the pump can deliver and then some,a valve on the drain pipe will let you adjust things out.

I am gettin ready to build another for another Jon I have. I am going to use a round barrel on this one. I am going to put it in the middle of the boat and take the pickup and drain out the side I think this time. I am going to valve and pipe it so I can circulate when it's trailered.

Doggone would you mind showing a pic? Thanks

I have a chromebook and I have never figured out how to post pics on it.

Take a look at this link...it has all the info you should need to build whichever type you want

https://flow-rite.com/marine/livewell-builder

If you go to the interactive system and choose spray head on first option and drain with overflow on third option that is exactly what I have on my small Jon....except I don't have the stand pipe. I let the water come into the livewell through the drain.The depth in the livewell matches the water line on the boat. When the pump is on the level will come up but as it raises the drain will drain faster because the water height puts more pressure on the drain. You just balance it out to get the height you want. You can put a stand pipe but it is harder to clean out. I plug the drain when I haul out to hold the water.

If you look at the power nozzle option with the angled fitting that one will set up a current in a round well.

I have a bassboat that has dual livewells with the standpipes and drains on bottoms and spray heads on top with the remote levers to work valves in the bilge to fill or drain. But it does not recirc trailered or pump out the wells .

But I think on the next one I do want recirc for when I am hauled out. Their is a system on here to do about anything you could want. Remember that if you have a leak on the plumbing below the waterline you will take on water. So take care. Hope that helps.

I just cut down a blue 55gal barrel and added a 12v bubbler works great! Ice and salt helps when out on the water and I just replace a little every now and then when at home with my well water. Curious how do you go about catching bait? I've only bought at 6$ dozen it'd be nice to know thanks.

Matanza during the first part of the summer herring can be found in the bay down by the damn to the right of the landing. The bait guys have big lights on there boats shining in the water which draws the herring and then they throw cast nets on them. They are also caught at the towers using sabizi rigs jiged down by the towers

I pm you !!!

Derrick,check on Craig's list and yard sales,sometimes you can run across the 10 gallon water coolers,that way when you start,you'd have the insulation part anyway.whenever you build one,try to incorporate a filter of some sort,to catch mostly scales with the herring. If you catch gizzard shad they will clog up a filter in a hurry