Live tank options / bait board

[Gabm]

Hi Raiders,

I recently looked into getting a live bait tank & was told unfortunately there's just not enough room in the stern to house a live bait tank.

I then looked at the option of a combination bait board / tank, but a little worried about the added weight on the back, up high (~50kgs filled?) & sloshing around / spillage when cruising from point to point.

The boats an aluminium Quintrex 435 coast runner. Would look to mount on two rod holders on the stern just in front of the motor.

 

Has anyone used one of these for a boat this size and / or can offer any other suggestions?

 

Appreciate any advice. Thanks

 

 

 

[Welster]

I had a large live bait tank/ cutting board combo on the stern of my previous boat it held 50-60 litres of water and was great for livies and bleeding fish.  It didn't to upset the performance of the boat at all.   That boat was a 5.3 Quintrex and generally only two people fishing in it.  It had the drain set up so I could choose to half fill it or completely fill it.  

If I was you I'd be figuring out a way to strap an esky in position with a towel or something protecting the paint. Fill it up and go out for the day and see how it goes. 

I have a mate with a 4.5 quintrex that uses a screw top container for his.   Mounted on the rear step ( I assume your boat has one).   He has a bracket made up that uses the ladder bracket and a strap around the top.  It's mounted on the opposite side to the driver and the boat performs ok.

 

[rickmarlin62]

Cheap effective tank

[JonD]

I made a video to show a mate in the UK how Ive got mine setup in my small rib.

 

[Guest Guest123456789]

There is heaps of space at the stern there for an awesome live bait tank.

Why 50kg tank? You could drop in a neat looking 25 litre tank and the weight would be maybe 30kg. If you've got good flow, good inlet and outlets and no light in the tank a 25 litre one can keep 20 yakkas and 3 squid going all day. 

[Gabm]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

FlatheadLuke - the 50kg is from a ~30-35 ltr tank + weight of the board. I looked at a 25l plastic Johnson tank, but there just wasn't enough room to get the lid cut into the stern (only 20cm across). The photo looks deceptively larger than reality.

 

I could mount inside, but I've a long row seat which I'd have to fold down & with two kids wanting to sit, not ideal.

 

I love the idea of a small round tank mounted on the transom & will explore. Thanks for the video JonD, very informative. Possibly mounting to utilise the existing ladder (yes, boat has one) & will test performance first with a small esky for both positions - thanks Welster.

 

The added bonus of the bait board model is I could also get a window built in give the young ones an aquarium to keep them happy when things are slow.

 

Was mostly worried about sloshing & performance but it seems with the transom setup, it would be no worse & obviously works, so will test as suggested.

 

Thanks again.

[Guest Guest123456789]

Buggar about the 25 litre tank!

sounds like a tank like Jons or Ricks simply strapped to the transom sitting on the back pod is the go. Cool in that you can remove it when you want max speed for tubing etc and also cheap. 

id be concerned with a live bait tank/chopping board set up for two reasons, light in the tank and weight up high. Personally I think the bait freak out in the sun and light and darkness sends them to sleep. I've used those glass tanks and the bait are so wound up they're really hard to catch. With a dark tank you just grab them and theyre usually asleep. A lot more relaxed while you get them ready for the hook and in my mind more relaxed means they use less oxygen which means you can use a smaller, lighter tank. Then consider 50kg up high and how that will affect the handling in your boat, particularly the roll left and right. I had my 80litre esky up on the casting deck for a while and when laden the boat was to tippy to fish from in a small sea. As soon as I put it on the floor closer to the bottom of the hull it fished so much better.

[zmk1962]

The picture shows my live tank and bait board set up.  Although my boat is bigger there are several similarities - take what you can from what I found works for me .... I too have found you do not need to go for more than 30L for serviceable live bait tank.

In my set up there is a 360GPH rule pump under the pod/marlin board fitted onto a stainless scoop water pickup. I drilled the marlin board and put a thru-skin fitting fitted with a standard male hose connection on top of the marlin board accessible from the stern. The pump/pickup feeds water up through the marlin board both underway and at rest for :

1) the live bait tank,

2) the hand wash tap on the bait board and

3) the deck wash (not high pressure but does the job).

The live bait tank is a 35L kitchen rubbish bin with flip top - it lasts about 5yrs - then I get a new one. All the fittings are from Bunnings (mainly irrigation line or rainwater water tank plastic fittings) and they get re-used every time I need to replace the bin. I feed the live tank at the bottom through a non return check valve and it empties near the top. All the crap the bait fish bring up gets flushed out. On slow fishing days it has kept 10-12 baitfish alive all day. I have found you don't need to go to the expense of an esky to keep the baitfish cool as long as you run plenty of fresh clean water through.

The bait board is made from larger kitchen cutting boards - sourced at the local catering supplies. It hinges upward, so frozen bait is stored in a plastic container that fits snug in the compartment underneath. There is a recessed sink drain and large 2" plastic hose that carries liquid and cuttings over the side (In addition to keeping the baitboard clean, I have found this very useful when cubing - once you have cut your pile of cubes, just use the knife to flick them into the drain and out they go - eliminates dirty hands on my rod grips and reels). Also on the cutting board is the electrical switch for the 360GPH pump and another switch for a red side light that is used to light up the cutting board at night. There are 3 irrigation taps to direct the water flow.

The cutting board is removable and clips onto my stern/trasom by heavy shockcord. The hoses all attach via standard hose fittings etc etc. There is a multi-pin electrical connector that makes wiring connection/disconnection a breeze.

I made this cutting board in1998 and its still going strong. Since then I have had to replace the pump once and have gone through several bins, shock cords and hose fittings through normal wear and tear. 

Anyway, hope some of the above helps you as you design your set up.

Cheers

Zoran

[Welster]

4 hours ago, zmk1962 said:

 

Killer bait board Zoran.   Well thought out.

 

Also Gabm a small net from an aquarium makes catching the livies much easier. 

[Sigma]

On 02/05/2017 at 1:07 AM, Gabm said:

Hi Raiders,

I recently looked into getting a live bait tank & was told unfortunately there's just not enough room in the stern to house a live bait tank.

I then looked at the option of a combination bait board / tank, but a little worried about the added weight on the back, up high (~50kgs filled?) & sloshing around / spillage when cruising from point to point.

The boats an aluminium Quintrex 435 coast runner. Would look to mount on two rod holders on the stern just in front of the motor.

 

Has anyone used one of these for a boat this size and / or can offer any other suggestions?

 

Appreciate any advice. Thanks

 

 

 

Hi Gabm,

I don't know what your budget is but I had the same problem with my Quintrex 560 Freedom Sport.

I had a ski rail on the back and had the same thing, only 20cm across the beam.

I got myself a Baimate tank off ebay (I think its about 42litres) because of the gap where the engine tilts (it had to be bigger cause the boat is bigger) but you can get smaller units to suit.

You can get simpler set ups for the pump but I spent extra and got it thru hull (love it) as it so neat to use (fills, recirculates when on plane and empties all thru the sasme inlet/outlet using just one turn of the lever (see pic)

Here is my link to my thread here on fishraider.

 

http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/topic/82245-baitmate-live-tank/#comment-599985

 

 

[Gabm]

Zoran, awesome setup. If I do go custom I'll look into putting in some of these great ideas.

Sigma, thanks for the link. I was looking at the same supplier + another similar one in QLD. Will also contact the site sponsor. Your Quintrex is longer & wider, so I assume the extra weight up top isn't a problem. My little Coastrunner, moves about a bit more so have to be careful of the weight distribution. I'll do a few tests first.

Thanks again everyone, you've given me lots of ideas to think about.