22 Is The New 24
 

What a difference a week makes with the weather! Memorial Day weekend was windy and the first weekend in June had record rain. This Sunday was the first day in a while to have nice conditions. We launched in Santa Barbara to lake-like conditions. The water was clear; we could see fish and urchins on the floor at 20 feet. Wind was about 5 knots, slowing to 2 knots by 1pm. Water was in the mid-to-upper 50’s. There was a strong current pushing us uphill, making it tough to stay on our marks.

I was using the 5-inch BH Fall colors with a weed-guarded jig-head. Austin was using a similar swimmy with a bare jig-head. No doubt that the weedless keeps you out of snagville, but you lose more fish. If you can see where you casting, the bare jig-head is the ticket.

We caught assorted RF, lings, cabs and a couple of spider crabs. Austin thought it would be funny to tease some crabs with the swimmy and ended up snagging them. Say goodbye to that lure! He caught and lost an old-school ling, but redeemed himself with a 23-incher.

I tested out my new Briggs & Stratton / Hobie live well, custom made for the Revolution. It kept a ling and several RF alive for hours. This puppy fits perfectly behind the seat and is low-profile so that you can still access stuff on the stern. It has a built-in handle and drain spout. AND you can buy it for $13.49 at the Do-it-Center! I’m not sure why the original Hobie version is so tall, unless maybe you’re holding giant sea-horses.

A rainy fishing day last week:
http://www.getbentsportfishing.com/g...n_the_Rain.JPG

Austin’s ling:
http://www.getbentsportfishing.com/g...ns_23_Ling.JPG

This cabbie was eating rock crabs:
http://www.getbentsportfishing.com/g...Crabby_Cab.JPG

Dangerous Catch:
http://www.getbentsportfishing.com/g...0/SB_Crabs.JPG

Some pics of my Briggs & Stratton / Hobie live well. They also come in red, which has got me thinking…
http://www.getbentsportfishing.com/g..._Stratton3.JPG

http://www.getbentsportfishing.com/g..._Stratton2.JPG

http://www.getbentsportfishing.com/g..._Stratton1.JPG

Nice fish. sounds like a good time

Nice idea for a live well.

cool live well. i am still a bit confused on the briggs and stratton reference?

They manufacture gas cans along with small motors for lawn mowers.

http://www.google.com/search?q=briggs+%26+stratton+gas+can&hl=en&um=1&ie =UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=fi&biw=1639&bih=77 1

Cool bait tank, great report!!!

Jim

excellent job on the live well John, almost looks like you bought it that way, nice craftsmanship, nice report too...:reel:

yaksailer, that is a nice tank. from the pictures it looks like you ran the battery wire thru your hull? also noticed that you had a hobie hatch on it, may i ask why not run the inlet thru the scupper and up into the tank like hobies?
could you take some more pictures of your setup? it looks real clean.

thanks

Thanks, guys.

Yes, it does have a Hobie hatch and the wire goes through the hull to the one 12-volt battery. I really did debate whether to run both the fill and drain through the scuppers. I decided not to, since the scupper pump requires you to pedal forward to prime. The pump must run continuously to stay primed. Thus, you'll need a really big 12 volt battery, or a second 6-volt battery. I don't want to carry more than one battery. Plus, I want to be able to access the inlet if it gets clogged with kelp or eelgrass. A scoop type inlet seems like it wouldn't have enough screen filter area to prevent clogging (to me anyways). Also, knowing me, I would inevitably land with the scoop sticking out below my hull. If I could figure out a way to use the scupper without having a periscope sticking below the hull, with ample filter area, I might do it for Austin's kayak.

I'll try to take some more pics tonight after I get home.

:luxhello:bravo sir...excellent info...b

Here's some pics. I forgot to take a pic of the hole thru the hull, but that's pretty common; just a rubber stopper with a hole in it.

My 12 volt cell is in a Lock-n-Lock box. It's like it was made for this cell with 2 fuse holders:
http://www.getbentsportfishing.com/g...e_well_007.jpg

http://www.getbentsportfishing.com/g...e_well_006.jpg


It's a pretty standard mounting method, except for the dog collar. Yeah, the wiring is sloppy. I will be rewiring this soon. Goop works well, though. My first timer broke, but OEX replaced it, no problem. I think maybe I didn't have it sealed well enough. I gooped up the wire side and put electronics grease on the cap: should be good now.
http://www.getbentsportfishing.com/g...e_well_008.jpg


I bought the Hobie drain to save time, but it turns out that I had to file out the ID of the collar. The tube didn't fit. Better to just buy a bulkhead fitting and 3/4" PVC tube.
http://www.getbentsportfishing.com/g...e_well_002.jpg

Outside view. It does slide up and down to adjust the tank level.
http://www.getbentsportfishing.com/g...e_well_003.jpg


Yeah, it's just a cheap 5 gallon diesel tank. It's sturdy, though. The spout cap really is useful for draining the tank. You really want a large drain. A little fill cap like the kind on a squirt gun won't cut-it when your ling coughs up an octopus or something worse.
http://www.getbentsportfishing.com/g...e_well_004.jpg

One last thing: IMO Hobie kayaks are the best. I've owned 3 and would buy another.

where did you get the locking tupperware?? I need one and I can't find them anywhere!

My GF bought a whole set of them from Costco and I've seen them at Target too.