Fishing in HOT weather. taking the fish into consideration

[Hobious]

the fishing paradox.  fishing is fun and addictive.  the bummer part?  we have to pierce its mouth with a hook and yank it from the enviornment it can live in breath in.

summers, i notice the fish come out of the water hot.  warm.  i fish off a kayak so i use a Donkey Leash.  i, as fast as i can, unhook the fish, clip on the donkey leash and put the fish back into the lake.  then i cool off my measureing board in the water, or get my camera or scale ready.  i do what i want to do FAST and let it go.

i remember my friend teling me, "wow my board is hot to the touch (as he laid his bass on it)".  he now wets the board.  no more setting it on the hot kayak deck.

any hot weather bass tips (for the fish) you would like to share?

[D.W. Verts]

Dipping the board in the water is crucial to me. Not only maybe hot, it's also DRY. And dry is not conducive to helping a bass' slime coat preservation. Good post.

Dale

[Smallie_Stalker]

Get them in the yak as fast as possible.

They build up lactic acid during a fight. Too much can be detrimental to their survival and hot weather increases the amount of lactic acid they produce.

Then get them back in the water as quickly as possible.


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[FD]

Like Jim said, speed is the key.  Don't play with them for a half hour like Bill Dance and Gary Klien do on TV.  Snatch.  Photo.  Splash.

If it's a big fish I may put her in the livelwell for a few minutes.  I  run a Mr Bubbles system (fish tank aerator) and Please Release Me.

[Capt. BassinLou]

Bank fishing, I minimize ground contact and fish handling as much as possible. Phone at the ready in my pocket if it's a biggun.

In an online competition tournament, wet the bump board first, take pic, and release. As quick as possible.

On the boat. Land bass as quick as possible. None of that playing the fish stuff unless it's a bfs catch.

Phone or video camera is always at the ready for quick video footage or picture.

With clients. If the bass or peacock is pic worthy. The fish is put in the live well until we are set up for video or picture.

Having a plan and release procedure is very important when handling fish.

[bassmedic46]

Great post, Thank you for sharing. I bank fish and I try and get the fish back in the water as quickly as possible.

[J.W.]

If they're going in the livewell, ICE. And G-juice, and a good aerator.
If it's not a tournament, just get them back in the water ASAP with as little handling of their slimecoat as possible.
When I catch one with sores all over, it makes me think that fish was caught before and probably flopped all over someone's boat carpet and lost its slimecoat. Maybe not, but it makes me want to be careful about it.

[D.W. Verts]

Bass can "Hot Spot", especially during cooler summers. It's a parasite that hurts their hides some, but they rarely die from it.

A note on ICE, and this comes from a lot of years of tournament fishing. If you use ice (and you should) take into considerations where it comes from. There's a lot of chemical additives to most water these days. And while a little Chlorine (bleach) can actually HELP the fish by stimulating slime production (and I understand that at least some of the Catch & Release formulas include BLEACH in their ingredients!) too much will of course burn their gills. So, for most folks, freezing the water in plastic bottles ahead of time is key. I used to use at least on 2 liter bottle of solid ice a day, plus several 16-20 ounce soda/Gatorade-type plastic bottles. We have zero additives to our water, but this is still more efficient than just dumping raw ice in a livewell. But I've seen it done.

Dale

[J.W.]

I used to use at least on 2 liter bottle of solid ice a day, plus several 16-20 ounce soda/Gatorade-type plastic bottles. We have zero additives to our water, but this is still more efficient than just dumping raw ice in a livewell. But I've seen it done.

Dale, I've done both. My preference is also to freeze jugs, like you said.

My wife likes to drink cranberry juice, so I save the plastic jugs and fill 'em with tap water and freeze them. If one was super-concerned about the quality of their tap water and the jugs leaking (mine never have), they could fill them with lake water ahead of time.
During tournaments I usually put two in the livewell in the morning, and keep one or two in reserve in an ice chest in the boat for later in the day.
Just have to remember to take the jugs back out of the livewell if you have a fish in there and need to make a run. You don't want to beat up your fish with the jug bouncing around in there on choppy water and crossing wakes, etc.
I have used bagged ice also with no problems, but the ice melts a lot faster and any reserve bags are going to be harder to keep frozen.

[bigjim5589]

It won't be for everyone, since opinions vary on the topic, but I mash down barbs on all my hooks and try to release any fish while still in the water. I started doing that many years ago with my fly fishing and then with lures. I even do it with circle hooks when fishing for catfish, after hooking several turtles. It sure makes releasing a lot easier. 

I seldom take photos anyway.

[Wizard]

Charger boats had a patented livewell system that cooled the water. Personally, I don't hurt bass because I use the traditional "quick release" method.

Wizard

[Donald Garner]

Great post with great reminders & ideas.. I use 3 methods (Livewell treatment) when I used to fish tournament. I'd put Catch and Release Formula in the livewell on a regular basis.  During the hot Summer Trips I'd also dump ice or put frozen water bottles in there.

Now days its catch and release.  When I do catch one and measure it I make sure the board is wet also.   

[D.W. Verts]

ALSO (this could go for days) we try to keep that water all cool and such, but sometimes you need to quit the recirc and get some fresh water in there. You wouldn't want to take a bath for hours in pee and poop-filled water, right?

It's funny- I talk about this like I know something, yet I haven't done this personally (bass in a livewell in a summertime tournament) since the year 2000. Pretty sad, really.

Dale

[Oldfart9999]

Occasional fresh water, cooling the water, and not playing them to death work wonders. When I fished tournaments on my home waters I would run out to lake Ontario and bring in fresh water, it's a cooler than the bay water.
Rodney 

[J.W.]

If you use some G-Juice you won't have to change/add water. Just keep it recirculating and cool.

I have heard of adding some hydrogen peroxide to the water to help saturate it with oxygen, but never done it myself. It makes sense though since H2O2 breaks down into oxygen and water. I'm not sure how much is too much, so I've never messed with it.

[Bigbass201]

Dipping that board in the water is great one not to forget if you are measuring your fish.