Scott, I would fish with an above deck live well. I fished a friends newer 21' model which I believe has the same well as the 23. It was a terrible bait well that we never used. Instead we made a well that could either go in front of the console (21' model has a different console than the 23' allowing for this), or behind the console. I think his motor was mounted too low, or maybe the 21' just never rode quite right, but the boat rode better with the extra weight behind the console. The boat had a tendency to bow steer and the extra transom weight lifted the bow out of the seas a little more. Either way, I would plan on installing your own bait well if you want to have fresh bait (that is if you fish larger baits like macs and pogies).
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