Those who watched the day 4 weigh-in at the recent Lanier FLW Series online might have noticed that the fish did not come to the stage in bags. Instead, they arrived in an acrylic box, which was placed inside a similar, larger box on the scale.
The larger box contained oxygen-rich water, which entered the smallar box through holes in the sides and on the bottom. It looked as if the fish were being weighed inside an aquarium.
The in-water weigh-in system, which originated on the Canadian Fishing Tour, was used last year on the FLW Redfish Tour. FLW Outdoors is experimenting with it in the Series. It was used only on the final day because, at this point, it's too cumbersome to employ with a full field of 200 pros and 200 co-anglers (the Series cut doesn't occur until after the day 3 weigh-in).
The accompanying photo shows Tom Mann Jr. placing his box onto the scale. Note the hose at the bottom of the big box, which is connected to an oxygen tank.
"It's a conservation-oriented thing that has a lot of potential," said VP of communications Dave Washburn. "It's very promising, and we'll tweak it as we go.
"There's less handling of the fish involved and it's very good for the crowds. They get to see that the fish are in good condition."
One of winner Tim Farley's fish flopped out of the box and to the ground in front of the stage, but was quickly recovered and placed back into the water. Washburn said there's a solution to that problem, and it shouldn't occur once the anglers have gained familiarity with the procedure.
"The box has a hinged lid, and you just have to make sure it's facing the right direction," he said.
