Ice Livewell -- Neat

[scottyhoover]

probably best for panfish, looks pretty cool
http://icebusterbobbers.com/pics/fishwell-page.jpg

see it here:
http://icebusterbobbers.com/fishwell.html

[Melon]

Not a bad idea.
Well until a hungy pike comes by and has a feast on your catch.

[Huntin Horseman]

I've seen laundry baskets that hang off of a door that look just like that!

[tommy-n]

Kinda looks like one of them sacks the women put their panties and bras in so the wash machine does'nt eat em up :yikes: I hate it when the washer gets em before me :D

[mallardtone-man]

Kinda looks like one of them sacks the women put their panties and bras in so the wash machine does'nt eat em up :yikes: I hate it when the washer gets em before me :D


Lmao!


My thoughts on this live well are that it is pretty much useless. Thats one very big plus of ice fishing is that you dont have to worry about fish spoiling. The onlt way I could see that being useful is if you were keeping a bunch alive with plans to sort thru em later, or something very similar.

[scottyhoover]

or if you don't want your fish frozen solid so you can clean them right when you get home, without needing to thaw them first.

I like to keep a mess, only for pictures.....then let them go. Can't keep every limit you catch all winter....would be no freezer room. (....but that's only a problem 10% of the fisherman have.... :) )

[tommy-n]

I keep a limit every time I can, maybe not the biggest ones though (selective harvest) and in november every year I donate enough to a club I belong to for a fishfry for 80 -100 people. Not only is is nice of me :D It gives me a chance to clean out the freezer and make room for fresh fillets for the up coming ice season :)

[Arin]

I remember seeing in an OutdoorLife magazine about an ice livewell. You just begin to spud a big hole in the ice and then break a small hole in the ice so the water comes in. Or use an auger to go down halfway a few times and break through with a spud.

[Crooked Dave]

I am with Arin on this one. If you must keep the fish alive, bore a few holes side by side and make a nice rectangle area part way thru the ice. Pop a SMALL hole in a corner of this with a spud and you have an instant livewell.

Make sure your spud hole isn't too big as a fishes tail moving back and forth will slowly dissolve the ice and give him/her an out....I know this from first hand experience. Imagine sitting in your shanty all day tossing a few fish in your icewell, only to realize they all have escaped by the end of the day. "The fish fry that never happened." Tight Lines

[scottyhoover]

problem with making your own livewell....who cares to take a 10lb spud along...thats 10lbs i don't need to carry.

[ozzgood2001]

are you even in a spot long enough to make a "permanent" livewell?? looks neat but if they made it on the ice they'd prolly go home

[scottyhoover]

that's why i said 'Neat' , not 'gotta have one'.

[falcon captain]

I usually make my own like Arin was talking about. Unfortunaltly its not to keep my fish from freezing to the ice, but if I only end up with a couple of fish that wouldn't be worth keeping and cleaning, only had to do it once though :) .

[ih772]

I do the pretty much do the same thing with my auger except I stop drilling when I can feel the ice composition change just before the auger breaks through. Usually by then there is a tiny hole at the bottom of the hole to let water in and keep the fish from swimming out. Worked well for keeping bear lake browns fresh and easy to clean.