The present invention comprises a cylindrical baitwell having a circular cross-section with vertical sides attached to a circular bottom producing a water impervious container. Disposed within the cylindrical container is an elevator plate that is perforated to permit the passage of water therethrough but which perforations are too small to allow the passage of any of the live bait. Attached to the perforated elevator plate at two points opposite each other is a handle comprised of two vertical rods and connected at the top with a handle attached to both of those rods. At the top of the container is a lid of s circular configuration with a diameter that matches the diameter of the cylindrical container on which it rests. The lid is perforated by two openings of sufficient diameter to accommodate movement of the vertical rods upward and downward by the use of the handle attached to them. The secular cover also includes a door to open and close which can be used to access the live bait when the elevator plate has been raised to force all of the live bait in the water to nearly the top of the water in the container in which the live bait is immersed. Thus the operator raises the handle with one hand, opens the door with the other hand and reaches into retrieve the live bait after which the handle is released in the secular elevator per perforated plate recedes back to the bottom of the container and the doors closed.
