My DIY kayak bait tank Part 1 

This is one of the cleanest diy livewell. Good job. The hooks on top for the bungee is an excellent idea.

Excellent!! You just need to add the hatch lid and it will be the best I’ve seen. NICE JOB!!

It looks like it was made for it.. Awesome job..

Great job. Thanks for the tour! Some solid ideas. You can never have too many rod holders either :)

Great video! Keep them coming!

Thanks a lot, learned a lot from your three videos. I just recently bought a 15'4 gheenoe and looking at way to build a live well. I live in south west florida so i do a lot of flats fishing around pine island. Great build and wish you the best of luck fishing Thanks, Devin.

Mark, Water can enter freely through the scupper holes if it needs to but it will exit just as quickly. The design of most cargo areas in modern SOT kayaks facilitates draining. The only way water comes up through the scuppers is if the top of the scupper is below the waterline. I run this rig loaded to the gills with gear and me (190 lbs) and with the tank at it's highest level of water and have not had water come through the scuppers. This particular Ocean Kayak will hold a lot of gear.

Thx for the ideas!! Made one similar to work in my ride 115.

Scott T some primer bulbs have a built in check valve.

The handles are sold by Yak Gear. I think I got them at Cabela's. The plastic bulb is to prime the pump. It pulls water up into the pump housing to get it going.

Great job!.

what size vittle vault did you pick?

Mark, If you watch the first video where I pan the camera under the kayak you can see the end of the pick up tube. It's nearly flush with the bottom of the scupper hole. So when your in the water it's well below the waterline which alows water to be drawn in. This tube goes up to the 3/4" check valve and then to the pump. Hope this answers your question.

Great job. I'm defiantly trying this for my pro angler

Thanks for the comments Devin! Much appreciated.

It's holding up well. Thanks!

Great job!! I wonder where did you buy those plastic J-hooks?

Best DIY tank I've seen. Got a question, what type of paint did you use and does it scratch off easily because its plastic?

The closer the pump is to the water, the less likely you will need a primer bulb. If you were able to install the pump as close to the floor of the yak as possible, or on it, you may not need one. Do some testing with different lengths of intake pipe to see how well it will self prime.

I got the 3/4" check valve at a local hardware store. It's blue plastic. I can't remember the brand. They should be readily available at most hardware/plumbing supply stores.

Thanks for the videos...creative and outstanding workmanship. Question, where do you go to get the grip handles? What is the purpose of the plastic pump connected to the water pump? Thanks again. Thao from SF.

Very nice ideal. Do you have work instructions?

So built this livewell but question is what battery do u use and do u use a timer to not run battery deep to point of not rechargeable.

I don't quite understand what you mean the water level must be above the top of the scupper I weigh 145 and have alot of gear but I don't really understand how the intake tube is possible?

MO why did you paint the tank and I have a prowler game 3/4 inch pipe does not look like it will go down the scuppers did u mold that too?

This is the 40 pound size. I got it at Petsmart online. I use a 12 volt battery from Cabela's

where did you get the little plastic hooks at for the bungee?

About $140.00 give or take. I don't have any experience with Marine Metal Bait Tanks.

i removed the one check valve on the intake side of the bulb like Mo did and put a check valve down at the intake below the pump. still no luck getting it primed using the bulb though...

Where do you get those hooks, that you use to strap the livewell down?

Nice...Thanks

Hey Shawn, Go to hobiecat forums and go to the Pro Angler section. Find my thread "My fully rigged 2012 PA.. PIC HEAVY!!!" It's on the front page. This is my PA and how I used the same design to build a tank for it with a new twist. I have inserts for the tank to round out the corners for the more finicky bait. Comment on the forum. Let me know what you think.

where did you find your small bait net? I am going to make a bait tank like yours at it is the sleekest one out there!!! Great job!

Mo, first off - awesome job on this. I'm curious, was there any reason why you didn't put the pump inside the baitwell similar to the way Hobie has their setup? Was it planned or did you have to do it because the pump isn't submersible?

Hey I love the bait tank and was getting started on my own and had one concern... How do you keep water from entering in through the holes in the bottom of your kayak. I see you can just remove the whole bait tank but how do you have a proper seal with your intake tube and the hole in the kayak to make sure you don't flood the kayak?

would the pump work without the primer bulb? I have had bait tanks on my boat but never had a primer bulb.

Nice. Where did you get the check valves?

where did you get this size vittle vault as I can only find the larger version? also what size battery do you use for this set up?

It has kept every bait I've put in it (including shad) alive with zero issues. I've never used it for salt water so I can't speak for that.

What size battery do you use with the Johnson pump and how long does the charge last?

I use Cabela's 12 volt 7 amp hour sealed lead acid (SLA). I don't know how long a charge lasts. I've never ran one down. I've ran the tank off and on for 10 hours with no issues.

How well does it hold white bait? or really any bait in that matter? Thanks, Devin

I'm about to order a pump for my livewell and I want to ask did you use the bildge pump or the actual livewell pump

Well you have a PA now and do you think I should get a 60lb or do you think it will be too big. I wanna use it for live bunker and porgies so I think it should be as big as possible. What do you think?

I'd go with the 60 for your purposes.

Did you paint the bin? And if so, what was the reason?

how did you stabilize the pump?

Could you give me an estimated price on the whole setup? And also have you ever tried or no anyone who have tried the Marine Metals Bait Saver Livewell Tanks?

Is that a ocean kayak trident 13 ?

MO, I made mine just like yours with a ck valve on the intake side and a primer bulb on the outlet but I can not get water into the pump no matter how much I pumped the bulb. any ideas what I am doing wrong?

wow that thing is awesome, i want one of them. what is the tank you started out with and where did you get it at? also how much are they?

Is that the 60lb vittles vault?

I got the bait net at Walmart.

what is that tank? can't understand you....

It's the 40 lb.

livewell pump.

Funny how your video is 7 years old in 2020but everyone who copied you or whoever you copied makes videos of the exact same thing and never give anyone credit for the original idea.