Keeping Tournament Fish alive

[Shine Runner]

Ya'll catch mostly white crappie and a lot of you fish tournaments. I figured ya'll would be the best to ask a question about keeping white crappie alive for a tournament weigh-in. Seems all year long no matter how deep or shallow I catch white crappie that I have a hard time keeping the bigger ones alive all day. Even with only keeping 10 fish in the live well it seems the larger whites just give up. They are not hooked deep or stressed in any way. My live well is 30 gallon and I run water in on the timer as long as water temps are below 70 and use ice and a large cooler with air when the water warms up higher. What's the best way to keep those big whites alive till the weigh-in? Heard of some folks using weights clipped to the bottom fin to keep them up right. If you don't want to give away your secrets for tournaments, just shoot me a PM with an idea of what to try. I have thought about adding an O2 bottle, but hadn't wanted to get that extreme yet. Appreciate any tips ya'll can spare.

[DonDon]

KNow the new B & M fish checker has a slot in it to vent fish and that helps them stay upright. Also know some folks have clip on weights that keep them straight as well

[oleblue]

Pure O2 will put more O2 in the water but that's just going to far for me. Ice as it melts will put chlorine in the water so I freeze 20oz bottles of water and put in there on hotter days along with a bubbler and timed pump.

[biggerjigger]

Ok....U listening? Fish dont breathe air......pumping air into water doesnt do much at all. You need an axygen diffusing stone and an axygen regulator. Oh yea and an axygen bottle. if the fish come from deep they will want to float on theit sides. If you dont get them upright thay ate gonna die regardless what you do. Weighted clips work for me. Running the recirc. may be part of the problem not the solution. U need a good livewell additive like Bassmedics or Catch and Release. Put it in and fill the livewell. Put your fish in and turn the oxygen on. If you dont have the right regulator it will nor meter down low enuff and you will burn their gills resulting in death. At this point you need a white towel and soak it with water and lay over the lid of your well. This solves 2 problems. It keeps the box cool and it adds a tiny amount of pressure to the well which keeps the O2 in there. DO NOT ADD WATER FOR A LONG TIME!!!!!

[biggerjigger]

PS......I run pure O2 on my minners too.

[biggerjigger]

This may sound overboard, but then the moneys on the line im a little bit overboard too.

[Shine Runner]

Thanks biggerjigger. I got to get a big white towel (that way I can throw it in when everything goes wrong!) the small O2 tank, pediatric regulator, hose, and diffuser stones. Been pricing everything for a little while now (since all of our fish died during the Crappie Masters Classic last year). Lot of it available on Ebay. Not to bad priced. Just gotta figure out how and where to run all of the hose to get it in the livewell and up front for the minnows. I have a storage box in the rear of the boat I could give up to fit the bottle & regulator. Got a tournament this weekend that I will try those weighted clips on some whites. At least I hope I have some to try it on!

[biggerjigger]

Ive got some part numbers on the stuff I use if u wanna call me. 662-417-1396

[oleblue]

My problem with O2 is
1. Price
2. Run the risk of burning there gills
3. O2 does not carry out the ammonia as well as air does.

Bigger got a question for you, I don't guide or fish as many tournaments as you and am sure you know what your doing but if you seal the live well and don't drain out old water to replace with fresh oxygenated water how do you get rid of the fish pee and crap? How do you get the ammonia and carbon out of the water?

[biggerjigger]

My problem with O2 is
1. Price
2. Run the risk of burning there gills
3. O2 does not carry out the ammonia as well as air does.

Bigger got a question for you, I don't guide or fish as many tournaments as you and am sure you know what your doing but if you seal the live well and don't drain out old water to replace with fresh oxygenated water how do you get rid of the fish pee and crap? How do you get the ammonia and carbon out of the water?

I do circulate water just not on a timed cycle like most livewells are on. I only circulate my water about 3 or 4 times a day. The water addetive removes the ammonia.

Also, O2 isnt that expensive. only costs aboput 12 bucks and it will run about a week.