Keeping Fish Alive In Hot Weather

With the upcoming ACT at Sardis this is a major concern, all fish weighed in have to be alive. As of late I have caught fish in 3 of the Big 4 in excess of 20 feet deep, some as deep as 27 feet. Normally I have no issues keeping fish alive, running fresh water in on a timer and power bubbles big pumps running into each livewell.
My question is, what tips do yall have for keeping a good fish in good shape on these hot days? I hear of using weights clipped on the fish to keep them upright, how much weight?

Ice packs or frozen water bottles. I have rigged up some 1oz electric lead clamps but have never needed to used them


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Fish Guardian I have this hooked up to both of my live wells. Seems to work.


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Here in Oklahoma we use lots of ice!
Can't remember the numbers but something like every 10 degrees cooler holds x more dissolved oxygen.
We have had them so cold we thought they were dead.
Floating on top, at the end of the tourney, can't keep them still to weigh them.
I do think better bait helps, or a similar product.

Got about 40 pounds of Better Bait so good there. Does anyone try to fiz them?

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I fizz em if they r caught deep, 15 ft +. Ol ledge fisherman taught me that trick.

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What's fizz them? Just curious


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Originally Posted by missed mallards

What's fizz them? Just curious


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Letting the air out of the float bladder in the fish. Use a needle to do this, gonna try it Wednesday on some.

Fill your coolers with froze water bottles. If catching deep you want to keep water cool but not real cold. Remember about 20 ft deep it's probably 8/10 degrees cooler than surface temp. Try as hard as you can not to add water up in the day. Don't O/D them on betterbait use just a little. 1 2 liter bottle should go for a while. I have read where those clip weights holding them upright really helps. I'm to afraid of killing one to try fizzing

OXYGEN!!
If you don't have oxygen..

Keep the water cool. Freeze 2 liters of water.. lots of them. Have a cooler in your boat that has nothing but frozen 2 liters. And put them in one side and your 7 fish in the other.

And I will add on those deep caught ones either deflate them or make you some weighted fin clips to keep them upright until they adjust

John we learned a lot last May in the crappie masters. Our two biggest died. First fill your live well from deeper part of lake for cleanest water. Treat it with your choice of additive. Keep it aerated but do not introduce fresh water. Use a cooler to keep ice in and throw a handful in periodically. The ice adds oxygen to the water where the frozen water bottles do not. But still lowers temps.

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Originally Posted by BAMA S

John we learned a lot last May in the crappie masters. Our two biggest died. First fill your live well from deeper part of lake for cleanest water. Treat it with your choice of additive. Keep it aerated but do not introduce fresh water. Use a cooler to keep ice in and throw a handful in periodically. The ice adds oxygen to the water where the frozen water bottles do not. But still lowers temps.

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Thanks Lee, not introducing new water makes sense.

Make sure your ice is NOT made with chlorinated water. If it is, you must treat the water in the live well with something that neutralized chlorine.


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What temperature should you try to maintain? Seems like I have read somewhere that it would be around 70 for minnows..what temp. For fish?..

Our plans are to use a 30 gallon cooler with treated water and have air pumping to it, 8 or 9 keepers in it is all.

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Interesting subject, I was aware of the air bladder situation and that it causes them to float. The clip on weights is something I never heard of, course I normally don't strive to keep them alive. I understand with tourney guys it would be important. Fish in my small live-well don't make it long in the summer heat. That is a big cooler and a good idea, wonder if you make divider slots with holes in them a tad bigger than the width of a normal fish and place them in there upright would it keep them sucking enough fresh oxygen? In a cooler that size you could have a lot of dividers and slots. Dunno, just an idea, also saw a show where guys were catching deep crappie up north somewhere. They would take and slap them on the sides on the top of the water, said it released the air from the bladders. Of course they were throwing these fish back, but they didn't show any floaters after they slapped them down good. The needle thing sounds risky in that situation, anyway good luck!

Lots of good comments. I think keeping the water cool is the most important. When u add water your defeating the purpose. Just fill your cooler up, put 8 lbs of ice in a bag or a couple frozen milk jugs in it. Turn your oxygen or bubler on, and leave it alone. I've had some stressed fish that a put a clip on and I think it helped. Keeping them submerged and breathing out of both gills rather than only one gill while floating will buy you more time

So.....did we decide it is better to run treated tap water, or lake water, both with oxygen, and ice added???

Get a potable aerator with a long hose put aerator in icechest above ice and bubbler in live well instead of pumping hot outside air you will be putting cold air in the water, this works best if fish are a cooler.

X2 on everything said.was taught by an old commercial fishermen.add a teaspoon of salt before freezing the bottles of water.keep 4 or 5 in cooler.add as needed.

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Originally Posted by KnightShadow10

So.....did we decide it is better to run treated tap water, or lake water, both with oxygen, and ice added???

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I usually have treated tap water in a cooler in the truck the day of the tournament.Its usally just used to transport fish from boat to weighin line.

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I run a oxygen setup,fizz deep caught fish,please release me livewell additive,throw handfuls of ice in livewell periodically,and have weighted clips.I bought my weighted clips,but wished I would have just made my own,1.5oz-2oz would probally be a good weight if you made your own I think.

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when I tourney fished I always brought home lake water during prefishing trips and the froze in 1/2 gallon containers which I removed before putting in a cooler for just ice. the most common problem I've seen is pay attention as to how fish are being tossed around in the live well weather it be wind or boat waves or just a rough ride back to the weigh in.and always have a little oxygen on hand. :twocents

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Originally Posted by ROCK

when I tourney fished I always brought home lake water during prefishing trips and the froze in 1/2 gallon containers which I removed before putting in a cooler for just ice. the most common problem I've seen is pay attention as to how fish are being tossed around in the live well weather it be wind or boat waves or just a rough ride back to the weigh in.and always have a little oxygen on hand. :twocents

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That's a good idea, got a livewell full of lake water right now. Don't like to drain it under my boat cover.

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How long does lake water stay good for? A great idea, I would think freezing it asap would be the best option. Microorganisms feeding on it and such cause it to go stale I would assume? Either way it's free water, and ice after you freeze it!

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Originally Posted by Snubbys

How long does lake water stay good for? A great idea, I would think freezing it asap would be the best option. Microorganisms feeding on it and such cause it to go stale I would assume? Either way it's free water, and ice after you freeze it!

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Opened mine and closed it back, be better fresh and not had fish in it I would think

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Originally Posted by Rees Guide

Opened mine and closed it back, be better fresh and not had fish in it I would think

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That would be my guess, get it fresh and carry it home in pales or buckets. Not the leavings from the oxygen depleted live well water from the day's catch. Them crappie suck up some air, and get just as slimey as a cat if not more so after leaving them on ice for more than a few hours. I know that has no relevance to the topic, but crappie can funk some stuff up too!!

John Thomason has got some of the weights need to get them in the upright position.


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Originally Posted by Slablife

John Thomason has got some of the weights need to get them in the upright position.


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I got my weights fixed up little while ago, test run starts at 5am, will post some differences. Going to put every other one in one box without fizzing and in the other box fizz and weight them, pumping air to both boxes.

What do these weight set UPs look like?

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Originally Posted by KnightShadow10

What do these weight set UPs look like?

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They in the boat, will post a pic in the morning, nothing fancy.

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Originally Posted by KnightShadow10

What do these weight set UPs look like?

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Here's what the store bought ones look like,you have to put 2-3 on a big fish,dont really weigh enough in my opinionhttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...bffe1c21dd.jpg

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Originally Posted by Rees Guide

I got my weights fixed up little while ago, test run starts at 5am, will post some differences. Going to put every other one in one box without fizzing and in the other box fizz and weight them, pumping air to both boxes.

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We usually put weights on the ones we see on there sides.

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I made the weights after reading an article 2 or 3 years ago on MCC.The weights are 3/4 oz attached to an alligator clip.One weight on each lower fin to keep the fish upright.....I'll look for the article for you and let you know.....

This is not the article I was talking about but good just the same ,still huntin for the other one...
B'n'M Fishing Tips'n'Techniques

5 Ways To Keep Crappie Alive In The Heat Of Summer

Phillip Gentry
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Whether you’re using live bait to catch crappie, fishing in a summer tournament, or just looking for some tasty fillets to take home, knowing how to keep fish alive and healthy is an important part of summertime crappie fishing.
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Adding pure oxygen via a small tank with regulator and air stone can keep bait tank or livewell fish healthy even in hot weather and warm water.
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Using B’n’M’s Crappie Saver and a hollow needle to deflate the swim bladder of a fish caught from deep water will help the fish stay alive in the livewell or after being released.
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Crappie soaking in warm water on a hot summer day will turn great tasting meat into mush. Come prepared by bringing extra ice and bring fish to be kept straight from the water to a cooler full of ice.

Whether the fish you’re trying to keep healthy are in the bait tank or in the livewell, there are several tricks that you can use to keep crappie alive (or at least tasty) during the summer and they all boil down to one thing – oxygen levels. Once you understand how to control and manipulate oxygen levels, or at least the fish’s intake of oxygen, keeping them alive isn’t that hard. Here’s 6 tips to do that:
1. Oxygen tanks – Higher water temperatures reduce dissolved oxygen that fish need to survive. By inducing pure oxygen to the water via a regulated flow of oxygen dispersed through an air stone, higher dissolved oxygen levels can be maintained even in higher water temperatures.
A portable oxygen system can be obtained online through retail tackle warehouses or bought at some high end bait and tackle stores. Oxygen refills can be obtained at welding supply houses, medical supply stores, or these same shops.
“A lot of anglers are scared of them, but there’s no need to be,” said pro-staffer Kent Driscoll. “My portable tank has kept bait alive through the hottest summer days as well as crappie in the live well during a tournament.”
2. Fizzing – Aimed at fish in the live well, fizzing entails ventilating the air bladder of a fish caught from deep water so it swims upright in the live well rather than on its side where only one gill can reach the water.
B’n’M pro staffer Ronnie Capps designed a measuring device that even shows the novice how to ventilate a crappie. It’s called the Crappie Saver.
“Take the fish and place it head first into the Saver,” said Capps. “There’s a sliding scale near the head that shows where you would insert the needle. You can get these hollow needles at most veterinary supply places.
“Going in from the tail side, slide that needle under the scale at a 45 degree angle and go straight down,” he said. “You’ll see bubbles come out the other end of the needle and you can even hear the pressure release. Just let the pressure equalize for about 8 seconds, remove the needle and then you can release it or put it in the live well, knowing he’ll survive till weigh-in.”
3. Weighting – A layman’s version of fizzing, some anglers prefer to make fin weights by wiring an alligator clip to a 2 – 4 ounce sinker. The weight is clipped to the fish’s pectoral fin, making it ride upright in the live well.
“If you’re not comfortable with fizzing, or don’t have the needle and stuff, this is a cheap and quick way to keep crappie caught from deep water alive and healthy till weigh-in,” said staffer Rod Wall.
4. Add Ice – Adding ice cools the bait tank or live well water and helps it hold more dissolved oxygen.
“When adding ice, don’t use store bought or any other ice made from chlorinated water which will only remove oxygen, not add it,” said staffer Brad Taylor. “Lake or well water frozen before hand in milk jugs or two liter bottles is a good way to make your own chlorine-free ice.”
5. Straight to the Cooler – Not much use for bait or tournament fish to be released, by putting crappie you intend to eat directly on ice, and lots of it, the fish will chill faster and not marinate all day in a warm soup, making the meat much tastier on the table.
“You can tell when fish have sat in a hot live well all day,” said staffer John Harrison. “The meat gets mushy and the guts will start turning. That gives the fish a really strong taste and it’s a waste of some good eating fish. All it takes is a little planning to bring some extra ice and put your summer time fish right in the cooler.”

Don’t let the heat get you down or keep you off the water this summer. Pick your choice of weapon from our online catalogue at bnmpoles.com then hit the water with the backing of the America’s best crappie specialists . “Wherever fishing takes you, B’n’M has been there.”

Awesome read, thanks

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2 in each livewell so far, one box has straight lake water in it with the pump set on a timer and air going to it. Other box treated water and fish fixed, air and ice

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Lots of great advice here. I have one more tidbit that might help. I fill my Minnow or in this case fish coolers or live wells with tap water that I run through an RV water filter. The filter removes the chlorine and medals in the water. I've used one for a few years now on my minnow tank at the house without any chemicals. It works great. I also use it on long trips where I take 3-5 pounds of Minnows in a big cooler. I take the filter with me on those trips so I can exchange the dirty water after a few days. You can get the water filters at Walmart.

When new, run water through the filter and remove the excess carbon dust in the filter before you fill you tanks, coolers, or live wells.

The biggest key is dissolved oxygen in the water. Cooling the water doesn't keep the fish alive as we've all caught shallow fish in 95 degree water. Cooling the water helps hold a higher concentration of dissolved oxygen in the water. Oxygen is the real key. I used to use a floating Minnow bucket when summer fishing. The minnows were always fine regardless of the surface temps because the lake water has plenty of dissolved oxygen in it for the bait and fish to survive. I think the chemicals work just fine, but may work more to calm the fish than anything else. I also agree with the weights on a weak or deep caught fish to keep it breathing over both sets of gills. I've never fizzed one, but the BnM Capps and Coleman (pink/red) fish checker has a place on it to fizz the fish in the right spot properly. If not done properly, you can kill your fish by attempting to fizz it.


BRM

Please put fresh water in your tanks every night. The slime build up will suffocate your fish if you don't.


BRM

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Originally Posted by KnightShadow10

What temperature should you try to maintain? Seems like I have read somewhere that it would be around 70 for minnows..what temp. For fish?..

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The rule of thumb is 10 degrees below the surface water temp. To low and you shock them.


BRM