FLW Redfish

[Captmikestarrett]

Have you guys seen the new in water weight in system?



This is a very good idea.. Here is a post from another forum (shamefull cut and paste from the striper board)


I am not trying to stir the pot but I was impressed this weekend at FLW Redfish on how they handled there fish. 2 fish per boat 18 to 26 inches

They released all fish alive and used a unique method of clear plastic bins and a slide ramp for the weight in that never pulled the fish out of the O2 rich water till it was time to place on scale. The scale was a large clear plastic water filled bin with O2 pumped in and in total the fish where only a couple of minutes out of water.

Could this be done here?

Or is it too much to win money and not kill fish.. Just TOURNY's I am talking here.

Capt Mike


Well the meat and potatos of the original post seemed to be more about 'could this be done', which refered to the weigh in technique not necessarily the slot limit. It's called the Shimano Water Weigh In System. It's been used before in Largemouth Tournaments, more frequently in Canada. There has only been one published study on its effectiveness and that was with smaller sized bass in Canada. My old roommate actually just completed a study comparing the Water Weigh In to tradiutional weigh ins for bass tournaments held in Tennessee. In that situation you have much higher water temperatures, lower disolved oxygen, much higher fishing pressure, and larger fish. Results should be published in about a year. Here is a link to his projects website Bass .

Can it be done. Yes and quite easily. We (a group of grad students and a few undergrads would preform these with ease) Are local fisherman and tourney groups receptive to it, no not really. They are terrified that their fish won't weigh the same as they would if they were flopping around in a laundry basket when the truth is they are getting a more accurate weight by displacing water via the water weigh in.

As for costs. Well a good scale is quite costly but should already be around if doing the traditional weigh in. The plastic totes are quite cheap but you need alot. The goal is to eliminate lines of people standing with fish in bags. We had 4 of the troughs, which were welded aluminum, and I think (don't quote me if you really want to know as the source) it cost $1,000 to make. Plus you need the compressed oxygen some other things like bubblers a sump pump to fill the troughs etc.






Well any thoughts ??

Capt Mike

[zooker]

though a good idea but not all that practicable. alot of tourny's use the laundry basket idea simply because it saves room and weight..

i belive flw came up with this idea to show the fish on the scales. the clear glass "tank" just makes seeing the fish as it is weighed easier..think about it basicly in the laundry basket weigh in the tv veiwer gets lil to no sight of the fish as it is being weighed..

zooker

[Captmikestarrett]

You know I thought about that too. But if the facilties where to supply the equipment for a small rental fee it would be good for the fish..

Here on the Potomac we have 200 boat tournys each weekend on each side of the river..

Anyway the whole concept I think is good for the sport.

Capt Mike

[lizardsrule]

Originally Posted by Captmikestarrett

You know I thought about that too. But if the facilties where to supply the equipment for a small rental fee it would be good for the fish..

Here on the Potomac we have 200 boat tournys each weekend on each side of the river..

Anyway the whole concept I think is good for the sport.

Capt Mike

Well now I think you just fouind your "NEW JOB". I do think it would be better overall, however I still believe no matter what we do the mortality of some fish is inevitable. I also firmly believe that most of the mortality is from POOR HANDLING OF THE FISH, not from the weigh in line. To many folks throw around, grab tightly, and overall just do a very sorry job of handling the fish. If more effort was put into educating the fisherman, and using the livewells appropriately, the mortality rate would be decreased more than this trough would do IMHO. I also think it should be "MANDATORY", that all livewells should have Rejuvenade, Please Release Me, or some sort of treatment when fish are in them. These products truly do work phenomenally, and there is no excuse of not paying $15 for a bottle that should last all season, when you pay the kind of money you do just to fish these tourneys, especially with gas prices. OK someone else can have the soapbox now.

Lizards