proper care for bass caught from deep depths

[merc1997]

since summer fishing is going to be here shortly, i would like to talk a bit about caring for bass that have been brought up from deep water and hauled around in our livewells. i so tired of hearing about "fizzing" bass at the weigh tanks. there should be no need of ever "fizzing" a bass. properly ICE YOUR LIVEWELLS!!! gas is expanded by pressure or by temperature. we expand the air bladder of a bass when quickly brought to the surface from as little as 20ft. deep. this will put them on their side in our livewells. also stress will do the same thing. typically bass caught from the thermocline will be in a 70-72 degree temp. range. you can cool your livewell temp 8 to 10 degrees cooler than that. colder than that range can shock the bass enough to harm or even kill it. in the case of an expanded air bladder, the cooler temps will shrink the air back to a manageable range for the bass. colder water also retains more oxygen. most livewells have enough insulation around them to keep your water temps once you get in the proper temp range. the trick to maintain this is to recirculate your water. also, a bubble is great!! this same trick will also work on bass caught in winter or any time of the year. lets quit having to "fizz" our bass, and take care of them properly to begin with. i have weighed in hundreds of bass that have been caught from depths to 111ft., and they have all swam off after weigh in without fizzing. there are other tricks such as using a small amount of hydrogen peroxide, rock salt to name a couple. just remember your livewell water needs to be in the 8 to 10 degrees range colder than the temp of water the bass came out of. i have used this method since the early 70's and know without a doubt it works. one last note, the cooler water slows the bass' metabolism down, and that means it will require less oxygen, and have less stress. when they are in this relaxed state in the livewell, they will often still be on their sides. let them warm up and you will see they will all swim off like they were shot out of a cannon. when we tourney fish, lets make every effort to take better care of our catch so the may be released unharmed.

bo

[Crankbait]

Merc that is a great write up!….. I wanted to add something I do. I would ice my livewell but had a problem with leaving the ice in the livewell too long and dropping the temp too far. I got a temperature probe from pet smart. The temp probe had a high low alarm. Now when I throw a frozen two liter into the livewell an alarm goes off at a pre determined temperature….usually 5 -7 degrees below the lake temp. letting me know to remove the frozen two liter. The alarm also goes off when the livewell water reaches a higher temp alerting me it’s time to drop the frozen two liter back into the livewell. Just a tip I use

[merc1997]

Originally Posted by Crankbait

Merc that is a great write up!….. I wanted to add something I do. I would ice my livewell but had a problem with leaving the ice in the livewell too long and dropping the temp too far. I got a temperature probe from pet smart. The temp probe had a high low alarm. Now when I throw a frozen two liter into the livewell an alarm goes off at a pre determined temperature….usually 5 -7 degrees below the lake temp. letting me know to remove the frozen two liter. The alarm also goes off when the livewell water reaches a higher temp alerting me it’s time to drop the frozen two liter back into the livewell. Just a tip I use

thakks crankbait. one thing to remember it is not the surface temp that we need to know. it is the temp of water that the bass came from to begin with. in the fall when the water turns, the water temp and oxygen will be the same throughout the water column. then you can go by surface temp, and also somewhat by that same rule in the spring when fish are shallower. glad to here that you put effort into taking care of your fish. i wish these bigger tournaments would apply some rules about care for the fish in the livewell. i have never heard of any articles discussing the science of helping a bass in the livewell. it would seem to me that this would help to educate everyone and help the face of tournament fishing. true tournament fishing is catch and release to some extent, but how many die because of not being cared for properly in the livewells, and are fizzed, which is unneccessary.

bo

[MIbasser]

Merc, I think that is great advice, but I'll stick with the fizzing of a fish. I remember a few years ago (maybe even last year) but didn't one of the "pros" put too much ice in live well and actually killed all the fish???

I think what messes with a lot of people is they think every fish they catch in 30' of water they need to fizz. My experience is only do the one's that are in your livewell and not one that is released right away.

The other option is the flip clip or something like that. A weight that clips to the bottom of the fin's and holds the fish vertical in the live well. That has also worked.

[merc1997]

Originally Posted by MIbasser

Merc, I think that is great advice, but I'll stick with the fizzing of a fish. I remember a few years ago (maybe even last year) but didn't one of the "pros" put too much ice in live well and actually killed all the fish???

I think what messes with a lot of people is they think every fish they catch in 30' of water they need to fizz. My experience is only do the one's that are in your livewell and not one that is released right away.

The other option is the flip clip or something like that. A weight that clips to the bottom of the fin's and holds the fish vertical in the live well. That has also worked.

note that i did state a limit to water temp differential. and true this only needs to be done to fish that you plan to keep in the livewell. if you immediately release a fish caught from deep water it will go right back down and be fine. alot more bass die from fizzing them, than from the small amount that die from being in too cold livewell water. i have been using this technique since the early 70's, and my fish always swim right off, or will go right to the bottom of the release tanks swimming perfectly upright. temp control is a much less invasive way to shrink air bladders. plus, as stated, cooler water hold more o2, slows down the metabolism of the bass doing two things. the bass will require use less 02, and being lethragic will have much less stress from being in the livewell.

bo

[Crankbait]

Originally Posted by merc1997

thakks crankbait. one thing to remember it is not the surface temp that we need to know. it is the temp of water that the bass came from to begin with. in the fall when the water turns, the water temp and oxygen will be the same throughout the water column. then you can go by surface temp, and also somewhat by that same rule in the spring when fish are shallower. glad to here that you put effort into taking care of your fish. i wish these bigger tournaments would apply some rules about care for the fish in the livewell. i have never heard of any articles discussing the science of helping a bass in the livewell. it would seem to me that this would help to educate everyone and help the face of tournament fishing. true tournament fishing is catch and release to some extent, but how many die because of not being cared for properly in the livewells, and are fizzed, which is unneccessary.

bo

Thanks Merc I agree I wish more people did proper management of bass…..i even purchased an oxygenator. I purchased I temp probe with a ten ft probe to get different depth temps. Proper bass care I believe is essential for tournaments