Livewells

Livewells keep fish alive on a boat, which is crucial to recreational, tournament, and even commercial fishing for a variety of reasons: Read More

Keep Catch Alive for Tournaments

Many fishing tournaments and competitions — whether bass tournaments, walleye tournaments, or redfish tournaments — are strictly catch-and-release. Fish must be brought to the weigh-in alive and healthy, then released after they are weighed. Often, fish that have been caught are released when the angler catches a larger one later in the day. A good quality livewell is important to keep tournament-winning fish alive and healthy.

Fresh For Those Keeping Fish to Eat

As with many foods, the freshest fish is the best. Instead of tossing caught fish in a cooler for hours, some anglers keep the ones they plan to take home for dinner even fresher by storing them in a livewell until the end of the day when it’s time to clean them.

Keep Baits Alive and Fresh

Some live baits can be kept in a bucket or box, but live baitfish like minnows, shiners, mullet, sardines, and more, plus crabs, shrimp, and other crustaceans, must be kept in a livewell with clean, aerated water to survive more than an hour or two. Additionally, even if your baits don’t die in a bucket or cooler, they won’t be as lively as baits stored in a circulating livewell, and healthy, fresh baits are much more effective for most species of gamefish.

As we embark on this learning journey, we dissect key elements such as the materials, sizes, and shapes that transform a livewell into an essential tool. By unraveling these aspects, we aim to equip boating enthusiasts with insights into making informed choices that enhance the utility and success of their livewell systems. Read More

Material

The material livewells are made from helps determine their quality. Livewell materials include plastic, aluminum, and fiberglass. On most boats, fiberglass livewells offer the best combination of appearance, durability, and function.

Size

The size of your livewell will determine how much live bait or caught fish you can keep alive. If you are just going out fishing yourself or with one passenger, you will only need a small livewell, while if you are going out on a bigger boat with a large group, a larger livewell will be crucial. Overloading a livewell can kill the bait or fish inside.

Shape

Livewells come in a variety of shapes — rectangular, oval, and round. One consideration is which shape will fit your boat best. Additionally, round or oval livewells have proven to keep bait and fish alive better. Baits crowd into the corners of rectangular livewells, bumping into each other and the walls. Even rectangular livewells should always have well-rounded interior corners.

Livewells come in a variety of shapes — rectangular, oval, and round. One consideration is which shape will fit your boat best. Additionally, round or oval livewells have proven to keep bait and fish alive better. Baits crowd into the corners of rectangular livewells, bumping into each other and the walls. Even rectangular livewells should always have well-rounded interior corners. Read More

Pumps

Livewell pumps are incredibly important as they are responsible for ensuring that the water stays aerated in the container part and the fish and bait stored inside are kept alive. Pumps draw raw water from outside the boat and pump it through the well.

Lids

Livewell lids are important in the same way that any lids on containers are important: they stop the water or the fish and bait from sloshing out, while there is water being pumped in continuously. Of course, they also help prevent dropping pliers, phones, sunglasses, etc. into the well. Clear livewell lids make it easy to see the condition of the baits inside a well and also let in natural light, keeping baits healthier and less stressed.

Housings/Tanks

The housing or tank is where the live bait and freshly caught fish are stored.

Plug

Livewell plugs are used to stop the water from escaping the tank through the drain. When you need to empty the water or want a flow of fresh water, you may choose to not have the plug attached until you reach the shore.

Feed

A livewell feed is the fitting through which water is pumped into the tank. To create a gentle circulation of water and avoid strong currents, livewell feeds direct water along the walls of the well, rather than toward the middle.

Drain/Standpipe

The standpipe is a crucial part of most livewells. It is inserted into the drain, allowing the well to fill to the top of the pipe before beginning to drain. Then the standpipe is removed to drain the livewell completely.

At Boat Outfitters, one of the most popular and renowned sources of boating products, we believe we offer the best deals on livewells. We have a selection of high-quality options that are designed to meet the different needs of boat owners and their vessels.

If you are looking at a choice of livewells that all look similar, it can be hard to pick out the good from the bad. Therefore, when looking, consider the flow volume, as this will determine whether your bait and fish stay alive for the duration of your trip or not, the capacity, as you will want to make sure you have a big enough place to store all you catch or use as bait and the design so that it fits neatly and safely onto your boat.

That really depends. If you are not going fishing on your boat, then a livewell is not necessary. However, for most kinds of fishing, a livewell is a crucial tool. They are used to keep both live bait alive and the fish you catch to keep their freshness until you get back to land. ​

At Boat Outfitters, we not only stock high-quality livewells for a variety of different types of boats and setups, but we also sell all the important parts, components, fittings, and fixtures you need. If you need a livewell for your boat, come to Boat Outfitters – you won’t be disappointed. ​