Keepin' Bass Alive During Weigh In

[jglassguy]

Ya know, lots has changed in the BASS world, and then again some things have stayed the same
Back when I was in high school the normal routine for a bass tournament was bringing a stringer of bass in to the scales and weigh them, then nail them to the board and show them off in a picture. Sure, some locals would ask for some to fillet, but during those hot summer months a fish in the sun can be really 'fishy" tasting if your into eating bass.
One big disadvantage to a dead fish at weigh in is BASS will take a ounce off the wieght or will not count dead fish at all (in some cases)
Plus a dry fish looses weight, which doesnt sound like much but you have no idea how many tournies are won by just a few ounces when you are talkin' bout hundreds of anglers wieghing in and the average Joe has 2-3 fish
I guess early 80's I remember the weigh in bag,
Theres nothing better than standing in line with a bag of fish when you see half the field packing up the boat cus of no fish, but even with those bass in the bag and using your live well water, the amount of oxygen in that bag only last about 6 minutes..the result? a brain dead fish that can be released and swims away but prob. wont ever spawn again.
Over time we saw that the better tournies would have water trough tanks to keep the bag in as you stand in line, but even then the bag didnt have any holes to airate the fish.
Now the trend it a bag with holes in it above the water line and then let it soak in the tank as you move along.
Weigh in s can take forever, keep in mind that once a bass is out of the water in your hand or laying in the weigh in basket it can only have oxygen about as long as you can hold your breath.
The new holding tupaware tubs have fresh water and help alot to keeping the fish alive.