Livewell care and keeping bass alive have always been special subjects with me. In today’s catch-and-release debate, fueled by recent studies confirming many tournament-caught bass succumb to delayed mortality, the topics remains a central concern.
Twenty-five years ago, I put this to bed in my own fishing. Adapting an oxygen-injection system in my tournament boat, my days of dead-fish penalties disappeared when combined with disciplined care. A generation later, we may finally be seeing similar ideas becoming mainstream.
A few readers here may have had personal exposure to a band of Lake Erie anglers who carried around oxygen bottles a generation ago. Let me start by saying that I didn’t come up with the idea. In the late 1990s, guys like Steve Clapper and Dave Hayward beat me to the punch. Where they got the idea, I’m not sure, but aquaculture and fisheries professionals had been toting live fish around with the aid of oxygen for years, so the livewell adaptation likely started there.
Either way, I ran with the concept, fueled by my college education as a fisheries manager with course work in ichthyology and water studies. By combining oxygen with a few simple practices, the fish held in my livewell left my boat healthier than when they came aboard. Friends and I would joke about this at weigh-in, as tournament officials at the bump tub would struggle to harness my load of flopping smallmouth.
A number of factors created these super bass, as we’ll discuss. But oxygen laid the foundation.
Naturally, then, I was relieved to read of the new Pirnaho2 systems being utilized by B.A.S.S. in their holding tanks. B.A.S.S. does it right when it comes to weigh-ins, utilizing mesh bags and treated water so that once bass come out of a livewell, they’re exposed to the best conditions possible.
The Piranho2 system works by separating the air into its major components, then pumping nearly pure oxygen through a stone and into the water. This is essentially the same program I used back in the day, except the device differs. My system, and those of the early pioneers, utilized a compressed oxygen cylinder, not always the safest object to carry around in a bass boat. The Piranho2 is a simple plastic box containing the separating device. The concept isn’t new, but it’s the first I’ve seen in a form that can be easily transported and without excessive maintenance.
A little more on how proper livewell conditions works. First, it’s important to understand that there are three vital components to transporting fish: oxygen, temperature and waste. Maintain all correctly and you’re on the winning track.
In terms of oxygen, the more the better, for the most part. This is something you can’t really overdo. A standard livewell aerator works to increase oxygen by dumping water on top of itself, thus agitating air into the solution. It’s poorly effective, at best. Remember air contains only 21 percent oxygen, and the only time that air is picked up is when the water is exposed to it during the dump. So we’re agitating in a small bit of air, containing an even smaller portion of oxygen, in the process.
We increase oxygen concentration in the water more by incorporating a bubbler, like in an aquarium or bait tank. Bubblers, with high-porosity air stones, push air into the water column through thousands of tiny bubbles, increasing surface area and the water’s exposure to air and the oxygen contained.
Oxygen injection systems offer the same function, but pump nearly pure oxygen into the water. So, instead of only 21 percent of the gas holding O2 that can enrich the water, now the bubbles are nearly entirely made of oxygen. The increase in concentration is monumental.
Higher oxygen levels have been conclusively proven to offer better survival to transported fish, period. It’s the leading factor. And those same concepts can be applied to stress fished (previously caught); more oxygen allows quicker recovery from stress. Like a linebacker on the sidelines getting a quick hit of O2.
Nearly as important, however, is water temperature. Remember, colder water holds more oxygen than warmer water, so decreasing water temperature immediately helps the cause. But, as shown by studies by famed bass researcher Dr. Hal Schramm and others, decreasing water temperatures also decreases mortality and delayed mortality.
This is likely due to the metabolic rate reduction of bass in colder climes. It’s like oxygen mask and a sedative. Personally, I’ve transported bass and sensitive live bait in tanks featuring drastically reduced water temperatures and found it to be the golden ticket. Cold water can create a hibernation-like state in warm-water fishes.
Ice will get the job done, but you’ll need to carry three or four bags in your boat for a day’s fishing. Find a good soft-sided cooler and devote a compartment to it, you’ll be glad you did when combined with an oxygen system. Key on dropping the water temp 10 degrees or so, and monitor with a thermometer until you get the hang of it.
Still, you can have highly oxygenated, cool water and still kill a load of bass. This is the result of poor water quality, created by the waste products of the bass. When working to create optimum conditions in your livewell, you’ll want to recycle your cooled, treated water. However, after a couple hours, it’s important to flush that water out and fill with new, then re-cool and continue to oxygenate. Bass create an ammonia-like waste product when in captivity, and can die if it becomes too concentrated.
The key to all of this begins with oxygen. The Piranho2 system will expose anglers to the newest concept on that front.
What’s missing, though, are the efforts by the competitors themselves. Sure, weigh-in tubs with perfect conditions will help, but can only go so far to correct damage already done by bass held in inefficient livewells. Hopefully, as these systems come mainstream and are exposed to the tournament-fishing public, they’ll find their way into bass boats, too.
Will the day come when such a system will be a standard feature in tournament rigs? We have a long way to go, but one can always dream.
The bass deserve it.
(Joe Balog is the often-outspoken owner of Millennium Promotions, Inc., an agency operating in the fishing and hunting industries. A former Bassmaster Open and EverStart Championship winner, he's best known for his big-water innovations and hardcore fishing style. He's a popular seminar speaker, product designer and author, and is considered one of the most influential smallmouth fishermen of modern times.)
