Thanks for the great feed back everyone! I'm going to forward this thread to Hobie and see what they have to contribute.

The reason I like the Vittle vaults is because of looks. If done right they can look like factory built ins. To each his own i guess. Also there is no reason why you couldn't easily plumb the pump on the inside of the DIY version. Most decent DIY tanks easily address the problems you ran into with that hobie tank.

If I had the scratch to buy one I wouldn't feel bad about it but I'd be a little ticked if I still had to rig a way to prime it or keep it quiet.

I really like the this livewell and think with it being inside the cooler I'd think it'd be a lot quieter. Do you think the water cycling through all day would be ok?

If you are using shad, I don't think that live well will work. If the live well is recirculating the water in the cooler, you need to install a filter system. The scales from the shad will end up suffocating them.

The noise coming from the hobie live well is not because of the pump. It is caused by the drain sucking in water and air causing the gurgling noise just like a toilet.

Dang, I never even thought of that I was more concerned with just keeping enough oxygen in the water.

That cooler design would work as a live well but not a bait tank for shad. If you just plumbed an intake and drain through the wall of the cooler it would work pretty well for either purpose.

Ya that's what it looks like I'm going to have to go with. I was originally liking this as bait tank because I could easily pull the guts out and still use it as a cooler.

Cooler livewell insert combination would
be perfect.
Colder the water longer the bait live.

Something like that would be really easy to manufacture too... take an existing cooler and make an insert that sits in it, 'x' inches above the bottom. Keep ice at the bottom

I like this, room for beer and bait. I just want the pump internal with just a hose into the scupper. You got any ideas Mr. Fabricator??

lets face it, you're going to use either minnows or shad. those corners that separate your bait tank and cooler will beat those shad up. all the shad will swim into those corners and kill themselves.

I was just about to post this one. I wonder how many shad this would keep alive though. I think something like this would work to mount on the inside and run a hose through the cooler into the scupper hole.

i think i missed something from the review. Those Hobie livewells are very well constructed and built like a tank. We are not talking about a 5g bucket. This was molded and design specifically for Hobie kayaks. I can see why they charge $300. There is very little demand for them. So the cost of manufacturing is very high. Hobie is not in the business of building bait tanks, so for them to design one that fits their kayak is actually amazing. no other company has designed a livewell for kayaks, much less design a livewell specifically for their own kayaks.

i know somebody said if it has the name Hobie on it, the price automatically goes up 1000%. its true, but show me another company who doesn't. hell, anything that is made for a kayak the price automatically doubles.


I think we should give Hobie props as a leader in the kayak fishing industry. The amount of kits and accessories you can get for your Hobie kayaks is incredible compared to other kayak manufacturers. it seems like every other person here owns a ride 135, yet Wilderness Systems is only capable of offering a few items like a rudder kit. what other company offers something as hi tech as the evolve or something as basic as a sail kit. many will say most of those accessories aren't needed or overkill. But i have a feeling that if you own a Hobie kayak, you either own one of their accessories or you are saving up money for one.