"Keepin' Bass"
by
"Billy Safeway"

     Billy Safeway here to say, “I am disappointed at our last weigh-in. !”

     Who told you folks to bring your fish to the scales ? I know it wasn’t the TD. He has always campaigned that all of our boats be on trailers before the call to bring your fish to the scales.

     Our president wasn’t even out of the water before multitudes of “sacked” fish were brought to the weigh in area. Shame on you !

     I have an idea. Let’s wait until the call is made by Mr. Fletcher. It seems clear to me that the more time in your live wells with bubbles being generated, and recirculation taking place, the less likely you are to have dead fish.

     Does that have any merit ? I know some of you get exited when you get a big creel of fish, but think about the fish too.

     Thanks for listening to this old fogie. See you at the next weighin !

     HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO FURTHER KEEP YOUR FISH ALIVE !

     1. Minimize handling and air exposure time. Land fish and remove hooks as quickly as possible.

     2. Protect the slime coat. Don't let fish flop on carpet or deck.

     3. When surface water temperature is less than 75° F, aerate the livewell by flushing with fresh water.

     4. Run recirculation aeration continuously when the boat is moving and cannot pump in fresh water.

     5. When surface temperature exceeds 75° F, use continuous recirculation.

     6. Add a block of ice to cool the water.

Surface Water Temp:    Target Livewell Water Temp:
75 - 80° F ……………………………75° F
81 - 85° F ……………………………78° F
     + 85° F ……………………………80° F

     7. When operating livewell in recirculation mode with more than 5 lbs. of bass, replace half of the livewell water with fresh water every 3 hours to remove ammonia. Add ice to lower temperature to the target range.

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     8. When recirculating, add some of our live well green granules to further assist in keeping our bass alive.

     9. At weigh-in, use only bags provided by the tournament officials. Ha ! Fill with at least 2 gallons of livewell water.

    10. Handle fish with wet hands, hold bass vertically by the lower jaw or support fish with 2 hands.

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