I have a Nautic Star Hybrid with a bait tank /live well. I need the recirculating pump to run more than it currently does to keep the water filtered properly to keep shad alive. Is there any way to adjust it to run constantly or to increase the cycle time? Is the adjustment on the pump or the control switch?

Does the boat have a filter system? I can't keep shad alive in my livewell running constantly. I have to use a filtered shad tank. My boat live well I added one of the variable livewell timers in line with switch to control the pump. It is great for everything but shad. It looks like the Rig Rite Variable Livewell Timer.

If you are wanting to keep shad alive it should probably be running constantly instead of cycling on and off. Check if it is a cartridge style pump. If so you should be able to easily replace the pump cartridge with a higher gph pump to flow more water.

I DIY’d a filter on the pickup for the record pump that works great. I can keep shad all day now. I’ll try to take some pics of it.

I'd like to see those pictures for a future project.

The pump is adequate to run enough water. It’s a brand new Atwood Tsunami. I just need to find out if there is an inline delay or if the delay is in the switch so I can buy a new switch and have the pump run non stop. I would LOVE to see your pickup filter. I actually spent some time this afternoon trying to design a pickup filter myself. I really feel that if I can get the recirculation pump running nonstop and figure out a filter then I won’t have to buy an after market shad tank. I’ll be happy to share my idea if I can get it to work.

Thanks for all the help!!

On my Nautic Star there is a little timer module wired inline between the switch and pump. You can eliminate that or run a manual bypass on it to get full run time. I played around with a few filters I made and had some decent success. In the end, the capacity of the live well was not enough, and I ended up putting the Grayline back in the boat. I keep Shad in the Grayline, and Bluegill in the live well.

Bait well on my Champ is the same. If I wanted to run full time it would be simple to swap wires. Highest setting on timer works fine for me. I dont fish all day in hot weather. Once the water temps drop I have no problem keeping shad alive.

I run my Grayline bait tank all day and rotate water changes and salt Every 2 hours and have lively baits all day.

Here is the filter I made for the livewell. It’s just a Tupperware container with a hole cut out in the bottom. I heated up a nail with a torch to melt all of the holes. The intake pipe fits in the hole and it’s secured with the screw-on wire screen filter. I made lots of small holes (1/8-1/4” approx) in the Tupperware container, making sure to put a bunch towards to bottom to pick up all the poop and scales that settle to the bottom. I just fill the container with polyfill and put the lid on. I also use two to three cups of rock salt and keep the pump on recirculate. I’ve had no problem keeping shad alive and healthy for 5-6 hours.

Clever ideal I will have to try. Thanks for the pictures.

Thanks so much for sharing your idea! I came up with something directionally similar that I am trying out this weekend and will let you know if it is successful. If its not I will be setting up the same thing you did. How much salt / gallon are you using?

You can use up to 1 cup per 10 gallons. Make sure it is non-iodized salt. I don’t use that much tho. I have a 50 gallon tank. And I usually started with about 2 cups. If you over crowd them they get stressed and need more. If you start noticing their noses are red and a little more.

I have two livewell/baitwells that are about 20-25 gallons each. I put approximately 2 cups in each. Doesn’t need to be exact. Be sure you fill the baitwell and keep it on recirculate before you put the salt in.

I fished with a man down in Austin in the 90's who built a bait tank for shad, he said the most important thing he has found is you cannot have any abrupt corners. It needs to be round and smooth, the darn things just keep swimming into the corners and die. The livewell on the picture posted would be a good candidate. Lots of flow, filter, a really good air bubble system, and a way to keep them cool. It is amazing how much they can slime in such a short time. Our baitwell for the coast was round with all the same things, except we constantly input ice. The only thing that was our achilles heal was the ice supply. My champion has a square tank in the back, and the front is pretty much useless IMO for shad. We fill the rear livewell and use them dead or alive. I think shad is better than most anything (dead or alive) than most any bait. We use the shad for catfish when it floods, and that's it. The filter you posted is a great idea, i used to keep a bottle of fish saver which turned the water green in the boat. It helped with bait and i used itduring tournaments.. Have not seen that stuff for a long time, but I am sure there is something similiar out there..

Long live the Shad, "Heck" we need a "Save the shad" bumper sticker..

Prosise