Keep Your Tournament Bass Alive

[FishinMagician]

CHATTANOOGA (WRCB) - The practice of catch and release by today's conservation minded bass tournament angler's has helped conserve our resources on lakes and waters through out the United States.

Released bass have been shown to survive very well when released immediately after being caught, but survival rate may not be as high for fish released after tournament events.

With the ever increasing number of bass tournaments, fish care is more important than ever before. It is especially important for anglers to pay close attention to their livewell management practices during the hot summer months when fish mortality is at it's highest due to the increased water temperatures.

Livewell management and fish care is not a difficult task, it just takes a little time, ice, release additives, and a properly working aeration system.

Both tournament anglers and organizers can play a major role in keeping tournament caught bass alive.

See more about <a href="http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/19144394/keep-your-tournament-bass-alive">Livewell and Fish Care
</a>

 

[Buoy-Master]

Very good article on allot of levels Chris.

I'd say that an decent guess on average here would be the 18 percent give or take. I realize that some fish just don't make it alive to the weigh in but what your article is saying is that well after the release a percentage dies.

Hypothetically.... Lets say 200 fish weighed in and 12 counted dead....now a day or 2 later another "estimated" 18 percent die. That's 36. So in a 200 fish tournament in the heat or even at night, 36 along with 12 actual counted are presumed to not have made it. That's 48 out of 200 or 24 percent correct?

 

[elwestb]

Amen and thank you!

 

[Buoy-Master]

Your welcome Earl. I done good on the math for you.

 

[Jmax]

That is one of the best videos I have seen to explain how to take care of your fish. emoThumbsup I would bet if everyone did that the dead fish at the scales and the after mortality would greatly reduce. I hope a lot of folks will view the video and take it to heart. That is what I have been doing this year and I have had a lot less issues with my fish. I would also add to get a set of fish clips so you do not have to poke holes in the bass's bladder. It does seem to work naturally if they have the time to adjust themselves and can stay upright in the live well. Good stuff right there. emoToast Jmax

 

[FishinMagician]

The chart in this article reflects average mortality rates during summer months based on anglers using different aeration methods. The main purpose of this is to give anglers an insight as to how important livewell care during the hotter months is and that with proper aeration, livewell water temperatures, and use of additives, we can greatly decrease the chance of mortality.

 

[Jmax]

Thanks Chris, I think most on here understand that. There are always a couple or one that seems to want to make something of it here lately. emoDoh Jmax

 

[FishinMagician]

Both tournament anglers and organizers play a major role in keeping tournament caught bass alive for generations to come. Livewell management and proper care and will greatly reduce the chance of mortality in bass kept in a livewell.

 

[derek81]

One thing I will highlight about the article is changing the water every four hours or so, it's a MUST when you have 20lbs worth of fish in the box. Fish release ammonia especially when stressed and too much will kill your fish, maybe not immediately but it will. I can tell you from helping release the fish that you can smell when a livewell hasn't had the water changed out all day and you can usually tell by looking at the fish. It takes two minutes to do and makes a world of difference in the health of the fish. Also, using Stress Coat http://www.apifishcare.com/Products/Product.aspx?ProductID=43 will help a lot with delayed mortalities. It's cheap and a bottle will go along way.

 

[TKbigbass]

In the video, Steve uses store bought ice to get the water temp down. Does the store bought ice have chemicals like clorine etc that may harm the fish????

 

[fishinvol]

It will, but the additives help take the chlorine out of the water.

 

[FishinMagician]

I would be curious to know how many boats have their livewell filled, ice added, and recirculating pumps running prior to blasting off in this CBA event. I would bet not many. This may be a good check for the CBA officers to do as the boats are idling by the dock during blastoff. It is very important to get your livewell water cooled off and start recirculating the water long before you start placing fish in it. I know most anglers are concerned that the extra weight of water in the livewell will slow them down, but it will save you time in the long run and increase the survival rate of a fish you catch on your first stop of the day.

 

[Jmax]

You hit the nail on the head. I think several do not due to weight added and maybe....what.....one or two miles less per hour? emoDoh I do mine before blast off just for the reasons you are giving. When checking live wells as the gang goes by I would say about half of them have water already in them and the other half is dry or with ice bags in them. I think you are right in what you say....do it ahead of time, get the water ready and have it prepared before you ever catch that first one. emoThumbsup Jmax

 

[gobigorange]

He used rejuvenade in the video, I didnt think it removed chlorine? Does anyone know? Catch and release says on the bottle it removes chlorine.

fishinvol - 8/1/2012 1:15 PM

It will, but the additives help take the chlorine out of the water.

 

[Jmax]

gobigorange - 8/2/2012 8:24 AM

He used rejuvenade in the video, I didnt think it removed chlorine? Does anyone know? Catch and release says on the bottle it removes chlorine.

fishinvol - 8/1/2012 1:15 PM

It will, but the additives help take the chlorine out of the water.

I believe it does....the directions on the bottle tells you to do about what Steve does. The words used on the bottle are...and I quote...."Helps remove chlorine from water".....end quote. Jmax

 

[TR20bh]

After reading an article in Bass Times, I am trying to take care not to let fish flop on dry, hot boat carpet & to wet my measure board & measure on a wet,.slick surface like my weigh bag. Taking a picture of a fish on dry carpet can damage a fish too badly to survive.

 

[derek81]

Stress Coat will take care of any problems with there being chlorine in the water.

 

[Jmax]

After what I saw this weekend at Chester, seeing fish floating Friday morning at HBSP and who know where else. I wanted to bring this one back up. Please, please, please....take care of your bass. I did, to the letter, what is on this video. I got the 20 lb bag of ice and put it in there that morning before blast off, I filled the live wells and had the chemical added. I had the water ready before we ever left the park at blast off. My first fish just about froze but they were very lively all day. Derek and I checked the water off and on all day and added ice bottles twice to each side that day. I had brought a ton of ice bottles but starting with that 20 lb bag of ice made it not necessary to use most of it. We never lost a fish, never had any look stressed and all were in great shape when we brought them to the scales. We did have one turn up on it's side after coming up from deeper water. We used a fish clip and it was fine also. With the clip we did not have to poke a hole in it to fiz it. It is a little more work but well worth the efforts. Please again, watch the video, do it and hopefully we can save a few more before the next tournament you fish. emoGeezer

 

[Triton20xHarris]

Great video guys