To modify my live well or just buy the SBTII

[Deleted]

All wise people with experience and knowledge say.."Buy the SBT II!" Here is a comment from the guy who is a big dog in the company who made my boat...Pioneer. His name is Henry Sikes.

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Sorry this has taken so long for me to answer, but it has gotten pretty crazy around here this spring!! Please do not mistake that as a complaint.

As far as bait tank goes, buy a good quality self contained, air injected, filtered and insulated tank. I know they are expensive but they are worth it. I've probably got more time and effort into catching, keeping and KILLING bait than I do in working over the last 15 years (although that seems to be changing very rapidly). Notice I highlighted KILLING bait , because you have to kill a ton of bait to figure out how to keep it alive and in what I call "tournament condition". I'm sure with quite a bit of studying and rigging you could make the "built in" tank work for a half a day, but I've already wasted to many hours of my life trying to "rig" something, to only get at best a bait killing tank.

With all that said, the best Freshwater live bait tank made today in my opinion is the Super Bait Tank II made by Ron Vest. If you can find a used Creek Bank Bait Tank, they are one of the best ever made in my opinion. I have to think that way because I helped design and did most of the testing on that tank. They are just hard to find because the guy's that were making them shut down several years back. Another pretty good tank out there is a Bluewater Bank Tank. They used to be made in Oklahoma so the freight was real high to get one shipped over here, but they were pretty much like the Super Bait Tank II. If I were you the first thing I would do is go see Dewayne Lamb over at The Captain's Quarters Tackle Shop and Marina at Hale's on Smith Mtn. Lake and see what he has available as far as tanks go. He's one hell'uva good guy and a pretty damn good fisherman too. 

Tell him I said he might have won the battle at the Chesapeake this past year, but I'm coming after him in December this year so he better get ready!!! 
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Sigh...how can I continue my madness after that?  Bentrod, I should have just listened to you 3 weeks back. I am off to put my boat back together and order a SBTII. 

I am now interested in seat cushions and just leaving the thing up front year round.

[Pete D.]

Well, my friend Mark has 2 SBT tanks that he ordered and PAID for at the end of last year, and he is still waiting for them. This was not from Mr. Lamb though. Mr. Lamb seems to think it is still going to be quite some time before these tanks are back at it again. Because of this, I am considering a blue water tank. My buddy Dan has a 30 gallon and says it keeps his bait alive all day on the water in the summer time.

[Live Bait JunkEE]

Oh, NO -- Dr. Yammmmy the engineer has taken a step back --- It only took a well written personal note from the creator of his pioneer -- I truly believe you will be happy with your SBT II -- remember that if you do a quick connect for hook up, you can pull that bait tank out in 5 seconds and insert your cooler without breaking a sweat. Get the 35gallon -- it has better dimensions then the 30 and it is only a little bit more -- get your check into Ron ASAP and get on that list!!!!!!!!

[Brian]

Nooo! Don't give up. Just plopping a tank on the floor of your boat won't be anywhere near as entertaining for the rest of us.

I'm going back and forth on the same decision too. The rigged up filter worked OK on my previous boat but I'm tempted to go the easy route this time.

[BentRod]

I heard Ron is behind on his tanks for Dewayne even though he told Dewayne April. It may be June or later now. Ron's behind for everybody so their aren't many out there. A friend in Georgia has/had a new 40gal on Wed. but that's all I know of new.

Yam you may be able to pull off the filter, but you definitely won't be upset with a Ron vest either.

[Deleted]

Those graylines look pretty good too. I like the Yeti type material but the filter area concerns me as well as the obstructions in the well. If you want to get maximum air, a second pump is required. They seem like a great idea in terms of saving floor space being that the filter is above the water line. Hang on....hmmmmm pump water to a filter that hangs down into my existing well? Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Lure fishing was so easy.

[Deleted]

Well it's a done deal. I could get a BlueWater within a week or two but I just don't like the lid (wing nuts, etc.). The SBTII seems better from pictures. I do feel the Grayline material is the best for the tank but 2 pumps and less filtration area probably equals bad over time (more pumps equal more heat and more operating expense). The reason I hesitated was availability of the SBTII. I finally found a company called StriperFun based out of KY and they told me 8-10 weeks so I took them for their word and bit the bullet. Interestingly enough, the SBTII is cheaper than both the BlueWater and the equivalent Grayline. I purchased the 35 gallon because I like the 21" depth dimension.

Thanks Grayline for giving me an awesome idea for my existing tank. I could easily make a filter that hangs above my tank and drains into it. I am simply thinking I can use a thru hull pump to the live well with a split connection where one end goes back into the tank with a Dannco and the other end pumps up to my simple filter. This should hold me over until the big dog arrives and will not require a ridiculous amount of work.

[Pete D.]

Yam, I like the 21" width on the 35 as well. Thats a lot of tank with a nice thin profile. I agree about the grayline material being robust, but I also hate the pump being in the bait area. So frustrating.

[Deleted]

Yep. I'm thinking that Grayline could fix this by simply routing a tube from the bottom of the tank up to the pump(s) externally. Then if a customer requests the extra aeration, the second pump would pump water back down to the bottom and through a Dannco. The mold for the tank could be created in a manner that would make this look nice. End result, nothing in the water and no 25% extra footprint.

Do you know how your friend ordered his SBTIIs? From speaking with the competition, they made it sound like Ron Vest is not doing well at all. From speaking with Ron's distributor, he makes it seem that Ron is kicking harder than ever. Imagine that.

[BentRod]

I have the 35 Yam. It's a nice tank.

You may wanna check with Dewayne too. I know Ron said he was starting construction on Dewaynes tanks on Monday..whether he does or not, who knows? I think Dewayne said he has 12 tanks coming and I'm not sure whether they're all spoken for or not.

[Pete D.]

Apr 25, 2014 21:44:04 GMT -5 Yam said:

Do you know how your friend ordered his SBTIIs? From speaking with the competition, they made it sound like Ron Vest is not doing well at all. From speaking with Ron's distributor, he makes it seem that Ron is kicking harder than ever. Imagine that.

I know right. Well, the guy is re-cooping from prostate cancer so more power to him. I just wish there was more honestly among all of these guys. If he's not doing well and will continue to be backed up, he should just say so. People that want SBT tanks are going to wait as long as they need to anyway. Shoot me a PM if ya want, I have a tasty tidbit of info if you'd like to hear it.

[Gator]

Apr 25, 2014 21:55:13 GMT -5 BentRod said:

I have the 35 Yam. It's a nice tank.

You may wanna check with Dewayne too. I know Ron said he was starting construction on Dewaynes tanks on Monday..whether he does or not, who knows? I think Dewayne said he has 12 tanks coming and I'm not sure whether t    hey're all spoken for or not

I know one that is. Better get on the list if ya want one.