I am one of those anglers who doesn’t like to release a fish while I’m still fishing a spot. There might be more in the area and I don’t want the fish I just landed to put the others on high alert until I’m done dunking lures in that location. I also like fishing from a kayak and while some of these watercraft have livewells, mine does not. So I use what I call the portable livewell. It was crafted by Dan Nelson, an artist who designed it for his excursions into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness where packing light is a necessity.
The 24-inch diameter livewell is made from a mesh cotton cloth and supported by PVC tubing. The bottom is weighted with stainless washers and the top floats with the addition of pipe insulation which wraps around the PVC. Fully deployed the livewell drops 24 inches into the water and the top of the mesh enclosure closes by pulling on a lightweight cord which is secured with a spring clamp.
Now when I land a few fish I can keep them submerged until I want to head to the next spot—and if I want to keep a few for the frying pan, I don’t need a stringer.