So is the 6 hour max in July and August a bad idea?
Just for the record……I have fished 13 tourneys so far this year. I do know how to operate livewells……just in case some of you were thinking I am a rookie!
I have a 94 Skeeter,My partner has a 02 Skeeter but neither of us has any aditional oxygen cartridges or other kind oxygen adder other than the bubbles.
Nort…
Do Blazers have that technology? 
lol
See you tomorrow bro!!
hey dave..i agree..I had better luck keeping the fish alive on Saturday by running fresh water in all the time…I heard (forget by whom) that perhaps soon the livewell system maybe temperature controlled. Maybe that would help..as if a new bassboat doesn’t cost enough….
Nort, All that writing and high tech. jazz is as simple as leaving the darn thing on. One less high tech. gizmo to have quit on you during the day. Not to mention adding $ to the already high enough priced boats. Its all good.
I agree. If there is fish in the box, run em’. That timer is no good. Just make sure the batteries are charged.
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Do Blazers have that technology?
Slop, the sleek, aerodynamic, sporty, compact dash design of the high performance Blazer does not allow for extra non-needed gadgets like that. Like ER said…just turn your pumps on. 
See you soon…
I fished a tourney this last week on pool 17 and had my limit by 800 am. Although I caught more keepers, those initial 5 stayed alive through weigh in and swam free. My first fish (530 am) was gut hooked and bleeding. I was fishing a backwater area with 88-89 degree water and have a 2001 triton that i ran almost all day on manual. It has a pro-air system that puts O2 bubbles in the water and i used Rejuvenade (sp??) but did not ice down the water. A guy fishing in the current just outside the backwater i was in had a slightly larger limit and 4 out of 5 died. He did not use rejuvenade and has an Astro boat. Not sure what made the difference- I guess as ER and dh stated operator diligence may have some role- hard to say if the stay alive formulas work but something I did helped me leap frog a heavier limit and win the tourney 
. Ill be curious to see how slops experiment goes next week.
I did a little googleing last night and here is a short summary of what I learned.
In one study they had three tests.
1. Just run the livewells and aerators all day.
2. Run livewells and aerators all day along with adding ice and salt every hour or so.
3. Use an oxygen supplement system and flush out the water every hour or so.
The results were about like this. This includes delayed mortality after 6 days as very few bass were actually dead at the end of the tourney.
Test 1. 25% died
Test 2. 20% died
Test 3. 5% died
So basically salt/livewell additive and ice do help….but not that much. However…the Oxygen additive system drastically reduce the numbers of dead bass.
So…I guess that it is possible to keep fish alive in hot weather provided you have a good livewell….that also has an oxygen additive system.
Can anyone recommend a good aftermarket system that I can add to my boat. It sure would be nice not to have to worry about the condition of the fish all day.
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3. Use an oxygen supplement system and flush out the water every hour or so.
I don’t understand how this is any different that pumping in fresh water continually? 
I think it would somehow add more oxygen to the water.
What website did that info. come from? Or was it all splotched together? What were the conditions of testing? What brand of livewell was used etc? Lots of questions. I’m not sold.
As far as an aftermarket system, the one I have seen around is called the Oxygenater or something. I’ll find it and get back to you. Sounds like you reall need one before your next tournament.
http://www.keepfishalive.com
This place is legit and I’ve seen him at some of the bigger tourneys around here. Lets all read up on it.
I think the next big thing should be a climate controlled livewell. One with a thermostat so that you could set the temperature of the livewell to the optimum temp for fish. Being that I’m a “Rangerette” I’m sure that we (Rangerettes) will lead the way with this technology.
Tbass
I’m sure your right Tony. Us “Rangerettes” will think of that first, for others to follow.
Eric and I both have fished alot of tourny’s.I leave my live wells on all the time.When the first fish hit the live well,I turn it on and it runs all day.D-Nort suggested the engineers design a temp sensitive livewell,why do not we as responsible anglers just keep our livewells on?It does not matter what kind of boat you own as long as the livewell system works and works well exspecially in hot weather.Rangers do work awesome though.
Check this web site out:
http://www.aquainnovationsinc.com
Best product on the market from what I’ve seen.
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I’m sure your right Tony. Us “Rangerettes” will think of that first, for others to follow.
I have used the Aqua Innovations “Oxygenator” for 3 years now. I would say you will not have a problem with any fish dead in you livewell if you keep the Oxygenator on all day. I forgot to trun my pumps on one hot tournament day and guess what, the fish where just as happy in my livewell as when I caught them 
This is a great product to have in any new or old boat.
OK here is a pdf from BassMedics it talks about their livewell product Rejuvenade but has several good points about when and were to fill you livewell to get the best and coolest water. livewell care for bass
As far as Rejuvenade it is great stuff but since I started using it several fish have rocketed out of the livewell when I opened the lid so open carefully. Sure don’t need the fish getting out. I had to tackle them on back deck.
how much would a really cheap one cost?
Kc gon fishin and i would like to fish some tournaments, but our only livewell is a cooler..so its not very big.
There are at least two types of systems that increase oxygen, bottled compressed oxygen or a system like the Aqua Innovation, which electronically splits the oxygen molecules from the water molecule, the hydrogen evaporates and the nano oxygen bubbles work to saturate the water. Both systems work best if you don’t exchange the water to often. But by not changing the water some slight build up of fish releases toxins occur, but for the most part this isn’t a big concern. The AquaInnovation system is widely available, it can also be purchased through the mnbf.org website. I use one in my boat and have been happy with it. (Most new boats are coming with this system available as an option)
If is very difficult to determine mortality of fish unless of course you keep them out of water and let them die. But, anytime we discuss mortality we need to factor in natural mortality. Just as we see people of all different ages dying, so do fish. Often trying to figure out what combination of stressors lead to a particular fish dying in the livewell will never be known. Low oxygen levels, high temperatures, poor water quality are factors, but so its hooking, handling, and the fishe’s health.
I had the opportunity to work with the fish at the Classic for a couple of years; we did see differences in temp. and oxygen levels between different types of boat aeration systems. But the biggest variable prior to weigh-in was the angler’s knowledge of how to properly operate the livewell aeration systems. Some added the ice we provided, and kept the dials to manual on, and constant exchange. Others used the timers and never exchanged water. My observation is that the anglers who were familiar with the equipment did a better job keeping bass alive.
I agree very much with your last paragraph Buzz. Most systems on newer boats are capable of doing a great job keeping fish healthy during even the hottest of day. I think the two products or systems you mentioned are a good idea as an add on to make these livewells even better, and they are a must for older boats livewell systems.
Last year at the Northern regionals in South Dakota the SD DNR took all of our fish and held them in holding ponds to check immediate and delayed mortality rates. I am almost sure it came out to less than 5% for that whole tournament. Three days, 350 anglers, and normal summer temps.
TBASS, Fishnut, Champman, Crawford, correct me if I’m wrong or add more to it if you can remember.
Seems like when it comes to livewell additives, most guys swear by whatever product they use. After trying them all for awhile, I’ve come to a decision- not to use them at all. Some research that looks a bass physiology seems to indicate that additives might actually slow a fish’s ability to deal with the stress it is under. And while I have heard a number of miraculous stories about bass recovery due to addictives, I think the jury is out on them. Most fish transporters use an additive that sedates, but as far as I can tell this isn’t in most commercially available products. I’m thinking that most are salt based or Garlic based; both of which have a stimulant effect. So, stimulating an organism that is already stressed, likely to be having respiratory issues and is in a crowed/ tight confined space doesn’t seem practical. But then with my catching ability, a bottle of Rejuvenade might actually last me about 50 years if I used it when ever I had fish.
I have a question. For those of you that put ice on your fish and that water is cool do you let the fish body temp regulate back up before releasing them, do they sit in a tank or something? Just curious I know nothing about tourney fishing. Anyways when I put a fish from cool water into my room temp aquarium with out letting the fish regulate its body temp slowy they always die. How do you tourny guys deal with this when Ice is added to the water.
Bigfish, I was at Gander tonight and saw they have the Oxygenator for $99.00.
Does anyone know if that would be sufficient for him. (Bigfish) The oxygenator in a cooler without any pumps. I think it would probably work??
There is a lot on all the post and is not directed at any ones facts.
At high water temps. oxygen can dissolve at a pace that is so fast that just leaveing pumps running i s not enough,you just can’t turn the water over quick fast enough that large fish consume the oxegen,this is were many of the methods talked about above can help through-out the day, I always felt there are good live-wells and great livewells.
There are many other facters that will kill the fish when the angler is dealing with high temps.
But it is my beleif when the angler has brought the fish to the scales healthy it then falls to the director to do there job and stay under the 4 minute rule,once the fish get bagged by the angler,it will receieve fresh water at bump tanks,and after the fish are weighed then get bagged again with water,then realeased into water,this is the most important time to combat delayed mortality.
And I’ll plug you Dave, for Team Supreme. They do a good job at that. Only handing out a limited # of bags is key.
I think tourneys during the hot summer months should only be 5 hour tournaments. That afternoon heat can be so bad and I would think you might get more people to sign-up just because they wont have to deal with that afternoon heat.
Just a thought.
as far as the fisherman go, I agree. I dread these 8-10 hour summer tournaments. Plus it eliminates guys lucking out, stumbling on fish.
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