[ALAKAZAM]

I've been looking for a bait tank for the cockpit of my boat. My choices seem limited to Offshore or Pacific Edge if I want a fiberglass tank.

I kind of like the idea of a double tank like the Offshore 65 OD so I can use one for bait (anchovies mostly) and the other a live well for bass and such. I can also keep mackerel or squid separate. The only thing I worry about is whether the bait has enough room to swim in a divided tank?:

So,does anyone have experience with a divided tank or insight into which brand is better?:tu::td:

I heard one of the Manufacturers has problems keeping commitments. Anyone have experience with this? Don't rag on them, just say the date promised and when delivered, that says it all.

 

[aloharob]

I have had 3 Pacific Edge tanks. I had a 42g square tank on my prior boat - Skipjack 30. On my current boat which is a 35 Cabo Fly I have 2 tanks. A 65g oval tank in the cockpit (since I also have a 40g stock tank in the transom I went with a single cockpit tank versus a split tank) plus a 22g oval bow tank. I very much like the quality of the Pac Edge tanks and have had an excellent experience with them. Speak with Mark or Behdad at the shop and they should be able to give you a realistic view on delivery. I have nothing bad to say about Offshore - several people I know like their OS tanks just fine. For me, I prefer Pac Edge though. Split tanks are great. As you say, you can hold bait in one and use the other as a live well. Or you can seperate squid versus fin bait. Or keep macks apart from other fin bait. Mark has a split tank on his Parker. He has got some cool new tank designs which I think you can see on his website.

This post edited by aloharob 05/13/2008

 

[ALAKAZAM]

Thanks for the feedback, I saw the Offshore tanks at the Fred Hall show and I stopped by Pacific Edge in Huntington Beach. They both have good looking tanks. Pacific Edge has a new 90 gal divided tank with a flush top that would look great on my boat, but now I'm talking $$$.

This post edited by ALAKAZAM 05/13/2008

 

[Steve]

I've had a double Offshore 65 gallon for a few years and have been happy with it. I don't know what you want to put in it as a livewell, but small calicos would fit, but I don't think it would be nice to big ones to make them ride in it. A legal halibut won't fit. Nice on the second day when you can have a whole side of fresh bait that hasn't been touched or chased with a net yet. The tank I have is a popular enough model that you can score them used when guys are refitting boats with bigger tanks.

 

[Whaler27]

1st impressions last a long time with me.

When I was shopping for a tank on my Whaler25 I visited PE & OS.

A certain person from PE had an attitude that turned me off big time. I was in a learning mode back then, and was looking for advice and info to make an educated decision.

On the other hand before Randy sold OS, he was exceptionally helpful, friendly and willing to share his knowledge without talking down to me.

Four boats later, four bait tanks later, and all I can say is the OS tanks have worked flawlessly, jmho. In three of them they were made to order custom with no extra charge.

I always went with the single tank due to cockpit restrictions. IMO, for the times you want to carry two baits vs. keeping the primary bait in the best condition, I prefer a large oval swimming pattern.

 

[flyliner]

I wouldn't go with a split tank unless you get at least a 90 gallon or larger tank. I think it just gives you two smaller tanks. The most important thing is for your bait to be healthy and lively. You want them to have the most amount of room possible.

The divided tanks give you the option of not having to mix bait, such as dines and squid, but once you get live squid, are you really going to want to switch to the dines ever?

Anyway, I have the new version of the 80 gallon offshore tank with the flush mounted top. I love it. A friend of mine had the 65 on his 28 Albemarle and it was a great tank as well.

 

[The Right Kind]

I had an Offshore 65 single in my last boat. I got it before PE made fiberglass tanks but I'm sure they make a good tank to.
The single is an awesome tank but I agree with what others have said, if you want a double get a big one or 2 x 65's.
Some years all they had for bait were horse 'dines. I can't imagine putting 3-4 scoops of those in a 30 gallon tank and running 80 miles off shore in slop and expect the bait to be OK. Some of the guys I fish with treat the bait as if it were in their aquarium and 30gl isn't big enough cull out the bad ones IMO.
We would always have a 5gl bucket on board to put macs or whatever bait in. Dill holes around the top about 4" down from the top for drainage and run the wash down pump into it. It works good.

I had the same type of experience with PE as Rory. Enough said!

 

[ALAKAZAM]

Great Info!

Your replies are really helping me sort it out. I might go out on Friday to make a choice so I can get it in before the season heats up.

 

[Whaler27]

re: Great Info!

You may want to look in the ads section here and over there (BD)!

I saw a new/used OS 60 for sale for about $325-350. That seemed like a great deal to me! Good luck, either way the bait will love you!

 

[aloharob]

re: Great Info!

One point the guys are making that is to me the #1 issue in maintaining bait quality - not overloading your bait capacity. I put a max of 2 scoops of fin bait in my 65g PE tank and usually much less. And never more than 1 scoop in my 40g transom tank which, due to inferior shape and flow, does not maintain bait anywhere near as well as either an OS or PE tank does. Not overloading plus using your tank fill time as a check for proper flow are the 2 big factors assuming you have a decent tank.

 

[tara11]

re: Great Info!

I have a 65 G , see the classfied section, it is a great deal and in almost perfect conditon !

 

[Halibuts Dream]

I agree with flyliner, and would only use a split tank if it was 90 gallons or larger. For what it's worth, I have a Pacific Edge 65 Oval and love it!

 

[NoLDR]

I have the 65 oval offshore and I couldn't be happier. I considered the split tank but decided against it because of the same delema your having ie size. I personally keep fin bait and squid in my oval and as long as I don't over fill it I have no real issues.

Once you go to the 90 you have to consider the extra weight as well, not sure what boat you have but mine is a 28 Baha cruiser. Another thought is how many times do you really have multipule baits available? Considering mackrel and any other fin bait are fine in one tank you really are only talking about the time when squid is available no?

Brad

 

[Wolfpack]

well, sometimes squid is not available locally, and its a hit or miss at catalina, so I usually run two seperate bait tanks just in case. If I get the fin bait in two, I move it to one tank if I can get the sqirts at the island.

I can use the fin bait for chum, or some times when the squid is rare they don't dish out massive scoops, thus I have the fin bait to fall back on when the squid is gone.

As long as you have good water flow (7 minute fill time, with the drain on top((there are tanks on new boats that have a drain pipe with holes all the way down, not sure why???))))) squid will stay alive in any tank you have. So the only real issue is keeping fin bait alive.

The only other senerio that affects me is I like to keep my macs seperate from smaller fin bait over the summer when squid is not available, so I like 2 tanks for that. Macs caught at the barge for one tank and the smaller fin bait for the 2nd tank.

Much of the time at the island I am just staging bait in my two tanks, and fish a 13 whaler with its own tank. I move the bait back at the end of the day so the whaler battery is not being drained.

I used to run 1100 rules for these tanks, but I switched to a 1500 and noticed that last time at the island I did not loose one squid in 3 days from a tank death. Thus, my waterflow for the squid was 6-7 minutes instead of 7-10 minutes. What sucks is the 1500 draws 5 amps per the box (my meter says it is taking 6 amps) vs what is the 1100, maybe 3 amps?

Good Luck in your decision.