Live Well and Lid options and thoughts...

I have been working on a live well for a couple weeks now and came to it being the tried and true basket with water noodles zip-tied around it, hey if a design works and it only costs $5.00 why change it. I was now debating what to go with for a lid and was also leaning towards hinged lexan/plexi glass like Miller's design "which by the way awesome live well man ". I had a random conversation with a biologist customer at work that asked me what the heck I was making and why.

Gave him a quick explanation and he brought up some interesting things to consider all of which are based on opinion and logic not tried or tested fact. And are making me think about lid design for if I have to lug a 6 lbs spottie around all day in a live well and hope it survives. He also noted why in fresh water Bass Tournaments they just lip the fish out of the water instead of netting them... partly all the dead bass they found on lake bottoms the day after.

Spotties are on the ocean floor for a reason, to regulate body temp, sun exposure and possibly their eyes are designed for a certain amount of light exposure. Being in a open design live well removes their ability to regulate body temp, leaves them open to sun burn leading to infection "yes all living things can get sun burn" and their eyes are are exposed to the brightest possible spectrum of light for longer than they are used to... possibly causing vision damage.

A live well with a clear lexan/plexiglass lid in theory increases all those negatives effects by magnifying the suns rays increasing water temps in the live well, increasing the brightness and light reflection the fish is exposed to so increasing chances of sun burn and vision damage.

Add in all these factors with increased stress levels of being in a live well and it could equal a great looking seemingly healthy fish that is released to die a few hours later.

He did provide the one solution of using a lid that was white on the top to refract heat and light and black on the inside to keep temps cooler and the fish calmer. Or if possible use a enclosed and insulated cooler with water circulation as a live well "kind of hard to do on a float tube but they do use them on kayaks".

Just curious what your guys thoughts or suggestions were on a lid or live well design and your thoughts on the above possible issues from using a live well. And just to be clear no I am not hinting that we shouldn't use live wells, no I am not preaching fish rights and no I am not knocking anyones live well design or fish keeping methods.

That's actually some good info right there. By not letting direct sunlight come in, it will also keep the fish calm. That will come in handy if keeping live bait

.:LOLLY:. wrote:That's actually some good info right there. By not letting direct sunlight come in, it will also keep the fish calm. That will come in handy if keeping live bait

Good point, when I used to use a bucket in a boogie board as a bait well I did find the fish were more freaked out and keeling over compared to later when I switched to a submerged bait tube that hung about 2 feet under water from my yak.

A lot of good info there. If I remember correctly I think I have read something like this somewhere. I want to say it had something to do with salt water fish tanks. Maybe I'll paint my lid this week and see what happens.

On another note - I have only used my live well once. Kept a 2lb spottie in there for half a day befor releasing it. It was calm and healthy when I released him. Now that day it was cloudy, windy and raining so that properly had a lot to do with it?

WHAT IF ???

You could use one of the small compact umbrella hats like some of those folks in the gallery at pro golf games wear as a cover. Only weigh a couple onces, would extend a short distance past the livewell and increase the shaded space. You can paint it with fabric spray and it would still be flexible, stows away nicely too. Wore one at a College footbal tailgate party once case you are wondering. I dont golf, I fish, do crazy things at times where beer is involved ... my bad or what ?

TOJIACK FLOATMAN wrote:WHAT IF ???

You could use one of the small compact umbrella hats like some of those folks in the gallery at pro golf games wear as a cover. Only weigh a couple onces, would extend a short distance past the livewell and increase the shaded space. You can paint it with fabric spray and it would still be flexible, stows away nicely too. Wore one at a College footbal tailgate party once case you are wondering. I dont golf, I fish, do crazy things at times where beer is involved ... my bad or what ?

or you could just put the umbrella hat on the spottie and bam your done!

lol it would but they a bit too expensive, maybe just go with some Walmart ones instead. And maybe spray them down with a little sunscreen just to be safe.