Baitwell Splashing

[Troll]

On the west coast, we use lures, night crawlers, and plastic worms for our bait. The baitwell does not spill over when it contains ice to keep our drinks cold.

[cagrove]

Originally Posted by Jan from Humboldt

I just fill mine with ice and beer and fish with lures.

Actually, I never tried putting ice in my beer...but hey, different strokes! I do fish with lures/flies quite a bit but whenever I target the big blue catfish that lurk in the depths of the Potomac River I use live bait. They just can't resist a wounded white perch stuggling on the bottom.

But I do thank you for the suggestion...ice in beer...hmmmm...may have to try it.

[Jan from Humboldt]

Small correction, ice on the beer and in the whisky .

Have you tried any of Berkleys power bait stuff for the catfish?

[cagrove]

Originally Posted by Jan from Humboldt

Have you tried any of Berkleys power bait stuff for the catfish?

Over the years I've tried just about everything that's on the market. Most of the commercial bait will catch fish and when I want a couple of cats for the table that's what I use. But I normally target the big blue cats (25 to 60 pounders) and have found they like fresh cut bait or bait that's still alive and acting wounded. I usually leave the dock with one or two nightcrawlers and use them to catch small white perch on ultralight tackle...they're very plentiful in the Potomac. Then I find a deep hole and hook a whole perch on a 6/0 circle hook and drop it to the bottom. If there's a big cat around it usually doesn't take long for him to find the bait. There's nothing like the pull of a huge catfish that just realized he's been hooked. Tight lines.

[dbell22]

Check out muy PIC makes great storage for another battery!

[cagrove]

Originally Posted by dbell22

Check out muy PIC makes great storage for another battery!

Not an option for me. I need the baitwell to do what it was designed to do...keep my bait alive. I guess I'm just picky in that I would like the water to stay in the bait well and not on the deck. I'll figure it out. Thanks.

[NCangler]

The lid design was changed in later year models. The lid now is a see thru plexiglass with hinges and a latch. It works very nicely. You might contact your dealer or Dick at Merritt Marine to see if the new baitwell lid and cover can be purchased to upgrade. You would have to replace the entire top assembly of the baitwell as the new lid is a different size/design.

[cagrove]

Originally Posted by NCangler

The lid design was changed in later year models. The lid now is a see thru plexiglass with hinges and a latch. It works very nicely. You might contact your dealer or Dick at Merritt Marine to see if the new baitwell lid and cover can be purchased to upgrade. You would have to replace the entire top assembly of the baitwell as the new lid is a different size/design.

When I started this thread I was just soliciting ideas from others who may have found a fix for this problem. I know the lid has been redesigned but there are a lot of older boats out there with this problem. It looks like everyone else has just decided to live with the baitwell as is or use it for extra storage, etc. Before I replace the entire assembly I will find a way to modify the existing one to make it work.

[NCangler]

I had the old lid on my 2003 210 and decided to pay to upgrade to the hinged/latch lid. It was worth the money to me. If you come up with a modification that works be sure to post it.

[ILLOGICAL GGC]

cagrove
on my '01 logic i can run water all day long and never have water rise above the overflow drain and it has to be really choppy for any water to slosh out onto the lid because i totally re-plumbed the inlet location and drain. i can turn the pump off and the water does not drain back out thru the pump as some models do . and i have the ball valve in the bilge fully open so as not to restrict the flow of water needed to feed the washdown pump.

is the water you are referring to coming from the well being too full or above the drain. or you just have really rough "normal" conditions.
if from the lid ,i would cut some starboard in 2 in wide strips and screw them inside the well to the top around the lid so they would block the water from sloshing out of the lid. dont think the 1/2 in stuff is flexible enough to bend to the oval of the lid, but you could square the hole on the inside with starboard.

getting the water level under control is the most important thing to keep the sloshing to a minimum and that may require some plumbing changes esp. since you have an 02 . does your well water drain on the deck as mine or out the bottom of the well?? if bottom then you have the smaller fuel tank and plumbing is easy
think i can help once i know your layout better
GGC