Bucky, remember where you live, bro....the deep south....if the surface water temps up your way are anything like ours, you were prolly gonna lose some of those fish, anyway....a livewell pump only pulls water in from the surface, and does nothing else, except provide some oxygen, via circulation....while it certainly helps, it isn't gonna keep fish alive forever, especially, when it's pumping in 90 degree surface water....those fish had just as well been in an aerating hot tub.

Did you catch any of your fish on the surface???....of course not, they were in the cooler deeper water....then you tossed them into your livewell, which was circulating 90 degree surface water....not a good situation.

In the deep south, this time of year, I NEVER depend on a livewell for over a couple of hours of very early or late fishing....to save room, just put the plug in your livewell, and fill it like an ice chest....in the extreme heat we have down here, you really need to get over your desire to clean a fish, while he's still kicking....put your fish on ice, as soon as he hits the deck, and you might be pleasantly surprised....and, I'll tell ya something else, they are easier to fillet, the slime is greatly reduced, and you can get more fillet meat off the bone, after they are chilled for a while on ice....JMHO.