Catch and release?

| HOOD OUTDOORS

Trying to keep fish alive in the heat of summer can be a difficult thing.

For many species, keeping fish alive may not be an option. If you are a bass angler fishing a tournament, then it is crucial for you to keep those bass alive for the weigh-in.

I do not recommend catch and release for hybrids or stripers due to the high rate of delayed mortality for this species in the summer. Mortality rates are on the order of 50 to 70 percent depending on water conditions in the summer. It is generally recommended that you will better conserve the fishery by catching and keeping your limit of 5 fish rather than catching numerous fish and releasing them.

Now, trying to keep fish alive in an onboard live well is another story. Largemouth bass are obviously more tolerant of the heat than striped bass or hybrid striped bass, but placing them in a live well can be a death sentence.

A study done by Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation has shown that an average 28 percent of bass caught during summer tournaments die within six days of their release. The folks hosting tournaments and the anglers fishing these events are generally concerned with protecting the fishery and they attempt to make sure the fish are handled properly.

I use similar methods to keep bait alive in the summer. As a fishing guide I have to handle live shad in the summer all the time. I generally catch my bait the night before and keep them alive through the next day’s heat using these same methods.

Keeping shad alive is a more difficult task than keeping bass alive. My point here is that it works.

Many bass anglers use similar handling techniques for their live wells. Texas Parks and Wildlife folks transporting fingerlings to stock in our lakes use these same methods as well. These handling techniques take a little time, but they are effective in giving your catch the best chance for survival.

Temperature, oxygen and water conditions are the three most obvious controllable factors that are key in keeping your fish alive. In the summer the main concern is oxygen. It is advisable to keep that aerator running all the time. Warmer water does not hold oxygen as well as cooler water, so aerating the water continuously is extremely important.

The amount of oxygen available in the water is dependent on the temperature of the water, as I alluded too earlier. Do not let the temperature in your live well get too hot. The sun beating on the boat can raise the temperature of the live well water above the surface temperature of the lake.

Many anglers will fill their live well and just use the aerator and add ice periodically to keep the water cool. Cooler water holds more oxygen, but don’t overdo it on the ice. Dropping the temperature 10 degrees will help.

If you use ice made from tap water, add a chlorine neutralizer. I prefer to use frozen water in sealed containers (old soft drink plastic bottles with screw on tops).

Another factor is the build up of ammonia from the fish themselves. Ammonia poisoning will kill fish. Many anglers will change water every few hours to dilute any ammonia build up. You can also add an ammonia neutralizer, which is available at most any pet store, called Ammo-lock or Amquel.

Another tip, which is no secret, is to add non-iodized salt to the water. Salt is a mild sedative and helps to protect the slime coat on the fish.

This salt will help to reduce stress on your fish. Typically I will add about a cup of stock salt for every 25 gallons of water. Of course if you change water frequently, you will have to keep these supplies on the boat.

There are alternate commercially available additives to help calm fish in live wells and many folks use these instead of the salt. TPWD personnel use salt when transporting fingerlings to stock in area lakes.

Some fresh water anglers and numerous coastal anglers in the summer will use pure oxygen to keep fish alive. Some bass anglers use oxygen systems for their live wells also.

This requires an oxygen tank and a regulator or you can purchase commercially available systems as well. Even with pure oxygen, I would still cool the water, add salt and add ammonia neutralizer.

HOOD COUNTY FISHING REPORT

Granbury is mostly stained with some clearer water in the back of sloughs and creeks. The lake is starting to clear and releases from upstream are slowing down.

Fishing reports are slow to come in, except for the good catfish action in the muddy water. Water temperatures are in the low 80s.

Sand bass are good near lighted docks on the lower ends. Largemouth bass are good in the back of creeks near structure on soft plastics and spinner baits.

Striped bass are fair to slow on the lower ends on live bait. Crappie are also good in the creeks where the baitfish are located.

Squaw Creek reports are like a broken record. Largemouth bass are good on soft plastics fished in creek channels and submerged tanks. Catfish are good on cut-bait in the creek channels on the upper ends. Tilapia continue to be good on worms fished under a cork.

Whitney and Possum Kingdom striper limits are common on live bait and on down rigging jigs with curly tail trailers. White bass are also numerous. Whitney largemouth are excellent to 10 pounds fished near cliffs and drop-offs near major creek entrances.

michael.acosda@att.net | 817-578-0023