Tech Tip - Livewell/Fish Care

Are You Ready to Catch Fish? The title question may seem to have an obvious answer to most of us but, are you really ready to catch fish. Most serious fishermen spend countless hours preparing for the next tournament or other fishing expedition from map recons and fine tuning our tackle to checking the tire pressure on the boat trailer. But the question was not are you ready to go fishing rather are you ready to catch fish. One of the most important things in preparation and unfortunately, usually the most overlooked is, are we prepared to catch fish and properly take care of them to ensure a limit of healthy active fish are returned to the water and more importantly survive the hours after the release from the high stress environment the fish have endured for the last 4 to 8 hours. Further are you prepared for the eventuality that you may have to cull fish on the water? The next few paragraphs will give you some insight and tips on how you can be prepared to catch fish, take care of those fish, and get credit for every ounce of weight you worked so hard to get in the boat. Make preparations for catching fish as diligently as you now make preparations for going fishing. If you’re fortunate enough to own a Triton Boat there is a custom made place for all the materials you will need to maintain a healthy limit of fish and have an efficient culling system. The tray in one of the rear stowage compartments located next to the live wells is a prime place to have everything at your fingertips. The basic items you will need include; a “flat board”/ measuring board, a hand held fish scale, culling tags, Rejuvenade replenishment solution, needle for “fizzing” or deflating the swim bladder of fish caught in deeper water, balance beam, and a bonus would be to carry a bottle of hydrogen peroxide (with a small measuring cup) and a quality weight bag for transporting your catch to the scales. Proper care of the water in your livewell is paramount to keeping a limit of fish alive for the weigh-in (especially in the coming summer months) and more importantly to eliminate post release mortality often reported at tournament sites. Again it starts with preparation, it is just as important if not more important to clean your livewells just as you clean the boat before or after a tournament. Always rinse your livewells and cycle fresh water through your re-circulating pumps and hoses after each event. Wash your livewells thoroughly (soap and water) at regular intervals as well, bleach for cleaning and eliminating mold and fish injuring micro-organisms is key to the cleaning process. I recommend a powdered scouring powder (with bleach) as it has a visual residue so you can ensure you thoroughly rinse all the bleach from the wells. Prepare some fish energy drinks; using empty water or sport drink bottles (16 – 20 oz.) add one cap full of Rejuvenade, fill with water, cap, and place in the freezer (details to follow). When you get to the lake fill your livewells at least half full immediately upon getting to that first fishin’ hole (away from the launch area where oil and fuel accumulate). Immediately upon catching your first keeper get it to the livewell as soon as possible, turn your livewell pump on (manual) to finish filling the well, add one cap full (per 20 gallons) of Rejuvenade and ¾ cup of hydrogen peroxide.

There are two schools of thought on live well water care/circulation; continuous refreshing with clean water and/or re-circulating “treated” water. The goal in either case is to maintain a high concentration of oxygenated water. Under normal circumstances a volume of water will contain a certain amount of dissolved oxygen, the larger the volume the larger amount of dissolved oxygen it will contain, further the colder the water (within reason) the higher amount of dissolved oxygen it can contain as well. Since our livewells contain a limited volume of water the use of the hydrogen peroxide will “cheat the system” and maintain up to 30% more dissolved oxygen in a given volume of water. From January to May (in south Texas) I will normally use the continuous fresh water circulation (I feel it maintains better water quality with a large number if fish in the well), after all the lake is a pretty large volume, this requires re-treating the water as described above several times during the day. After about the first week or so of May water maintenance requires drastic action here in South Texas! I simply reverse the process, by treating the water and only “topping off” with fresh water as required (after running) and use the frozen Rejuvenade (fish energy drink) to retreat the water and lower the temperature, just take off the cap and drop it in the live well. The key at this point is to maintain the livewell water temperature cooler than the lake. Rejuvenade will neutralize chlorine from the water which allows you to add ice from your cooler in order to help maintain lower water temperature. Now that your livewells are ready it’s time to add some fish!

Proper, efficient culling can make or break you in a tournament situation and will also ensure your fish’s survival/healthy release for future events. Limited, careful handling of your catch is important to maintaining a healthy creel and there are several innovations on the market today to help with this. A good set of culling tags is a must there are several types of the new “dial in weight” tags on the market today. These tags let you set the weight of your fish right on the tag/ball which reduces handling of the fish and time wasted on recording information. I highly recommend the Ardent Smart Cull which is easily set one-handed, does not slip (numbers) and have outlasted all dial in weight type cull tags I have used. Clip on type tags are better for the fish and do not damage the fish’s mouth but often slip off in the livewell. However, when using wire “poke through” the lip type tags you can greatly reduce the amount of jaw and lip damage by properly attaching the clips. After boating and un-hooking the fish (always use wet hands) attach the tag first, pierce the bottom lip just behind the thick, cartilage like part of the lip as close to the forward most (center tip) portion of the fishes mouth (next to the little “ball” in the center of the lower lip), this allows the fish to hang straight under the scale and does not rip the lower jaw. Again Ardent Smart Culls use a large oval type stainless steel clip that can easily be opened and closed one-handed. Hook your scale on the attached tag clip (never behind the gills or poke through the lip), dial the weight in on the tag, and immediately get the fish in the livewell. Always double check fish close in weight with the balance beam using the same process (hook the balance clip to the centered cull ball clip). Proper preparation and the right tools are the keys to a healthy limit of fish and keeping the competitive edge on the highly competitive circuits, be ready to catch fish. George Kunkle