Portable Live well advice

[Malek_Nyghtson]

malek that is a huge bait tank. If you think it fits your needs go for it. But as john said water weighs a lot. I guess it depends on how you fish and assuming for catfish you will be going to one place and sitting down for the duration.
Home depot made some great coolers a while badk they were about 10 gallons.
Also we used to use some that were about 20 gallons a while back made out of white poly. This was when you could use herring from the delaware but you cant do that anymore.
What I wouild do is find some way to switch out the water if you will have the tank close to it. Even if you change 3-5 gallons at a time that would make a big difference. Someone mentioned the ammonia content in the water from the fish waste. Anything you could do to dilute that, short of plumbing it directly into the river where you fish, would give you a leg up on fish mortality.
How many baits do you usually keep in a tank at one time? When you have the answer to that question you can build your system around it. good luck and let us know how you make out.
btw rob nice link for that 5 gallon bucket. Now they make bigger buckets so you could modify to use for a 7.5 or 10 gallon bucket if you found one. I wouid use a 12v battery to power that system.

I have considered the weight and I need the size for the amount of catfish we usually catch we usually keep them on a stringer til we get ready to leave, am trying to change that cause here a couple weeks ago we caught a 20lb channel cat had it on the stringer in the water and when we went to leave all we had was the head apparently a muskie snuck in and had a snack on us which is very disheartening for us fisherpeople. I usually keep 20-30 sunnies which are 8-10 inches in length we run a double chub rig tossing 2 baits at once with 4-5 of us fishing. i got a real sweet spot for catching the bait where I can grab the big ones consistently but it is about a half hour 45 min drive from the spot we catfish at I catch the bait in morningish then catfish at night and the bait does not last that long with the current container I use to transport them. for the waste I think I am either going to put in some in line cartridge filters or add a couple hoses to drape in the water for recycle the water just gotta figure out how to allow the system to run during transport

[seamonkey]

Very informative thread thanks for sharing. What is the biggest size small catfish that you will use for bait?

[Malek_Nyghtson]

Very informative thread thanks for sharing. What is the biggest size small catfish that you will use for bait?

here in pa catfish are considered panfish no there is no limit on size and we are allowed a creel limit of 50/day. with that said I use any bullheads I catch and any channel cats under 14 inches are bait to me I usually rig them behind the dorsal fin since flatheads generally attack from behind it ensures they are gonna get hooked. as I always recommend check your local laws in regards to what can and can't be used as bait in pa any fish caught legally can be used as bait with some exceptions no shad, carp, goldfish, or koi may be used. gizzard shad are allowed but according to the book all other shad are no open season so not legal. i do tend to use sunnies for bait but they are not that hardy of a fish and do not live that long once cast out catfish on the other hand are an incredibly hardy fish and throw a fit when cast out which does attract other fish to them.

here is the text directly from the Pennsylvania fish and boat commission

"BAITFISH includes all forms of minnows; suckers, chubs, fallfish, lampreys, eels between 6 and 8 inches in length; gizzard shad 8 inches or less; and all forms of darters, killifishes and stonecats (except those listed as threatened or endangered species). Legally taken gamefish may be used as bait. It is unlawful to use or possess goldfish, comets, koi and common carp as baitfish while fishing.FISHBAIT includes crayfish or crabs, mussels, clams, and the nymphs, larvae and pupae of all insects spending any part of their life cycle in the water.
SEASON, SIZE, LIMIT – No closed season (except as noted below) and no minimum size. The daily limit and possession limit is 50 combined species. When purchasing bait, be sure to obtain and keep the sales slip or receipt. The receipt authorizes the possession of the fishbait or baitfish so purchased for a period of 15 days after its date of issue. Fishbait or baitfish purchased from a licensed dealer do not have a possession limit and do not count toward your daily limit of fishbait and baitfish taken from Commonwealth waterways. Approved trout waters are closed for taking fishbait and baitfish from March 1 to the opening day of trout season. Most specially regulated trout waters are closed to taking fishbait and baitfish at all times.
TAKING AND KEEPING BAIT is permitted using rod and reel or handline, dip net or minnow seine not over 4 feet square in diameter, or a minnow trap with no more than two openings that shall not exceed 1 inch in diameter. All devices must be under the immediate control of the person using them. Unattended minnow traps or baitfish containers left in Commonwealth waters must be identified with the owner’s or user’s name, address and telephone number. If fishing in a group and the total number of fishbait or baitfish taken exceeds the possession limit (50), separate containers must be provided for the fishbait and baitfish. Total possession limit in any one container may not exceed 50 baitfish or fishbait combined.
MUDBUGS (dragonfly nymphs)– No daily limit from lakes, ponds, swamps or adjacent areas; the daily limit from rivers and streams is 50.
FROGS AS BAIT – Except for those listed as endangered or threatened or those with zero possession limit, frogs may be used as bait. Certain seasons and possession limits apply (see reptiles & amphibians)."

[Pebbles]

Question - If people are allowed to keep 50/day catfish, is there not a worry that the fish will greatly go down in numbers and eventually there will be only a few left to catch? I guess it is kind of like the stripers. Some people don't realize how much the numbers have gone down over the years. I don't know if they are in denial or don't care. Is there no fear of that?

Or are there just so many or they do they make enough babies where it would never become a problem. I am just asking because I don't know anything about catfish and I hope you are not offended by the question. I figure you may be a good person to answer this as you do seem to know a lot about them. BTW - Welcome to the site.

[Malek_Nyghtson]

Question - If people are allowed to keep 50/day catfish, is there not a worry that the fish will greatly go down in numbers and eventually there will be only a few left to catch? I guess it is kind of like the stripers. Some people don't realize how much the numbers have gone down over the years. I don't know if they are in denial or don't care. Is there no fear of that?

Or are there just so many or they do they make enough babies where it would never become a problem. I am just asking because I don't know anything about catfish and I hope you are not offended by the question. I figure you may be a good person to answer this as you do seem to know a lot about them. BTW - Welcome to the site.

here in PA they do not care about catfish this is a bass state to them all the catfish do is decrease the Bass population. now channel cats have always been in the susky but it was not til about 96-97 (they figure) that someone illegally introduced Flatheads to the Susquehanna river they are not native here in fact living here is south central PA the only options we had for going after flathead catfish was either going down to maryland and fishing the potomac (which is a great place to fish for Bluecats) or drive the 4 hours over to Pittsburgh to fish the 3rivers or where they are native. as I said for the last 6-7 years they have had a kill order out on Flatheads in an attempt to get rid of they for a while they even had imposed a fine of $250.00 for anyone caught putting one back. the fine has since been removed but it does show how serious they were. as far as population goes I could never see a time they were not there. on average a catfish lays between 90,000 to 300,000 eggs depending on the size of the fish of course if only half of these were to hatch and then only half of them avoid being food for something else were still talking 22,500 to 75,000 fish. i have even read that bluecats have made there way up the river and have been caught near York Haven. most people just either do not care or do not consider the effects on the ecosystem of releasing a fish to a body of water where it is not native to. since the introduction of the Flathead catfish (which is a top level predator) to the susky the bass population has faced a serious decline hence the kill order. I was told by one F&G officer that they figured the population of all bass in the Susky was down under 100,000 fish throughout the entire river which is not a lot of fish. even the other great fish like walleye has faced a decline due to these fish. now I love fishing for them and I am more than willing to harvest as many as I can catch cause they are great eating. I know I rambled on a bit but that is basically why the catfish are treated as bait fish here in pa they would be ecstatic if they were all gone from these waters most fisherman here in PA view them as a nuisance and nothing more though there are those of us that love fishing for them and know that the only way they will ever get rid of them is if they were to shock the water and physically remove them which so far they are not willing to do.

[Pebbles]

It is amazing how different parts of the country view different species of fish. It is understandable why fisherman don't want the catfish. I never realized how predatory they were. I remember one time my father caught a hugh wallye. He lived in Minnesota, and fishing was a past time for a just about everyone one in the town. I guess that catch would not have been possible if the lake was overtaken by catfish.

Thanks for the informative response.

[baitstealer]

malek you seem like you know a lot about catfish so maybe you can answer this. I saw these catfish on a fishing show they say they are big enough to steal babiies and small children from the water in India and China. Was wondering if you had a chance if you would ever go fishing for these they weigh up to 300 lbs. And what bait would you use for them. thank you.
They are called wells catfish they are giants!

[bababooey]

. And what bait would you use for them. thank you.

Either dead babies or small children?
Small kittens? Just kidding, I have no clue.