Most anglers understand the importance of bass boat and outboard maintenance. They take care of their investments to ensure trouble-free days on the water.
One aspect of that maintenance, and a question that Bassmaster Magazine’s “Ask the Experts” column often receives, regards bilge and livewell pumps.
And rightly so. They’re easy to overlook when they’re working, but when they aren’t, it spells trouble for anglers who fish tournaments or big water.
The biggest cause of pump failure is foreign objects getting lodged in the pump impellers. That can stop them from functioning and even cook the motor that drives them.
And believe me, foreign objects can get into those impellers despite the livewell screens and drain covers found in most boats. Something as little as a piece of soft bait plastic, a sinker or even fishing line can find its way through boat openings and into the bilge pump area and shut down the motor.
Livewell pumps are susceptible to crawfish claws, weeds, grime or anything that a fish might regurgitate while spending a few hours in your livewell. That can be disastrous for a tournament angler on a hot summer day.
Pumps aren’t the only problems you can encounter with livewells. Many boats have inline valves the angler can manually open and close with levers near the driver’s seat. Those generally operate with a push/pull cable system that can wear out over time. If you notice yours are getting stiff, you might want to consider replacing them.
We at Phoenix Bass Boats don’t utilize that system for that reason. Instead, our livewells come with rubber plugs that you manually push into the bottom of the livewell to retain water; plug them in prior to fishing and pull them at the end of the day.
We also have three separate pumps on each of the two livewells. One is for pumping in water, one for recirculating it and one for pumping out the water.
If your bilge and livewell pumps are working, don’t worry about them. But if you begin to hear an unusual noise, it means something has gotten into the impeller and you should investigate.
Also, if you have quite a few hours on your boat, it’s a good idea to inspect your pumps and make sure the area is free of debris.
That means opening the bilge compartment and moving batteries so you can access the pumps. It’s easier if you have lithium batteries, but it’s still a project best suited for when the boat is out of the water.
Most of today’s modern bass boat pumps come from Atwood and are cartridge-style pumps, so you don’t have to break a fitting to change the pump motor. We use a wiring snap connector that simplifies the project.
We have a total of eight Atwood pumps in Phoenix Boats. There are three for each livewell and two for bilging out water. Those styles of pumps and cartridges sell for under $50 and often are carried by Walmart.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea for tournament anglers to take time to inspect their bilge area for debris periodically or even carry a spare in case one malfunctions.
Properly functioning livewells will keep your bass healthy come weigh-in time, and working bilge pumps will protect your bilge area from filling up on those rainy days.
