With all the dead fish stories I have been reading about I thought I would post this link. With summer upon us and temperatures quickly rising, it is now more important than ever to take care of your fish. I'm sure some of you have seen these, but I think that more have not. Tony and Lane Gergely from Sure Life have made a few videos that every tournament angler should watch...
http://www.youtube.com/user/SureLifeProducts

For more information about the products in the videos, visit their website... www.sure-life.com

Good stuff dude...thanks for the info!!!

Thanks for posting this. I hope people will appreciate this info. There is a lot of information on these videos that don't make Sure-Life a dime of money, but are tools that truely will help your fish survive before and after weigh-in. The catch and release mentality that bass anglers have is outstanding, but absolutely wasted if your fish is released and dies later.
What folks have to understand is that our boats livewells, and I MEAN ALL OF THEM are not adequate in the heat of summer with a big sack of fish. Sometimes they are not adequate enough to keep one fish alive. For those that saw Cameron's post about the big fish being brought in that die, you can see that this issue is real. A Choke Canyon 15 pounder is likeley only a few years away from State record size, but it will never get there if it dies after being release. Despite the fact your fish are wet, there is a significant chance that in the summer, disolved oxygen levels are just to low to keep them healthy. In addition, the stress of confinement and the beating they take in the weigh-in process will likely cause bacterial and fungal infections that they will later succome to.

Using ice (not one bag, but many bags throughout the day) increases the water's holding capacity for D.O. and reduces the consomption of DO by the fish
H2O2 or hydrodgen peroxide increases the DO in the water
Sure-Life products further reduce the fish's metabolism causing them to consume less oxygen and they have ingredients that will reduce or eliminate the chance of bacterial or fungal infection and it stimulates the cells that produce the slime coat.

HERE IS THE ABSOLUTE FACT ABOUT AERATORS, OXYGENATORS, AND PRESSURIZED OXYGEN SYSTEMS.
Throw all the marketing Pro staff BS aside and look at the only fact that is important. Your aeration system must produce disolved oxygen at a faster rate than the fish consume it. Nothing else matters. The water tempurature and the size and number of fish deturmine not only how much DO the water will hold, but how much and how fast the fish consume it. What works fine in 65 degree water will not work as good in 85 degree water. 10 pounds of fish consume less that 20 pounds of fish.
How do you know if your livewell is sufficient? Short of a DO meter, it is open to speculation, but if your fish have rapid gill movement, and are lethargic, there is a good chance they are starved for DO. If they are gulping at the surface for air, it's time to look for the filet knife. Follow the tips on Sure-Life's video, and you will be fine. Incidently, I use a pressurized pure oxygen system which is my choice. May not be for everyone.

Despite having their logo on my signature, they don't pay me to promote their product. My opinions have been formed by reading the studies, evaluation the research, using the product, and even keeping bass for days after weigh-ins to evaluate the claims. The stuff works. When was the last time you heard about BassChamps killing a bunch of fish? IT HAS NOT HAPPENED. Both FLW and BASS have had fish kills and neither use Sure-Life products. Not every product on the market provides the same benefits. I'll leave it at that.

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Good info and good looking out. However, there are not to many people around here that are worried about conservation or keeping bass alive. Alot of people around here will put a 8 lber straight into the frying pan! Seriously!

seriously???

Seriously! I don't know where "around here" is but I dont know anybody that bass fishes that would. Must be referring to yourself.

Great info. I saw the DVD the other day. Very educational on how to fizz.

I'm looking into getting a D.O. meter, but they are expensive...... I found one for 179 made by Milwaukee something or other. Do aquarium supply shops have more affordable ones?

D.O. Meter would be nice, not just for the livewell, but fishing holes as well. It'll tell ya what depth oxygen starts to deplete etc.... Which cove is depleted, etc..

A good and accurate DO meter will run $300-$400 unfortunately. YSI is a top manufacturer.

Got the chance to meet the great people from Sure Life at the Classic this past year. Lot's of great info, I learned a great deal from them!

I'm glad I don't live near corpus then..

thanks for the post, im just wondering though: how do you know how much peroxide to put and how often?

Red Raider 09
Watch the Sure-Life video on Hydrogen Peroxide. It will tell you. These suggestions are for a closed loop system running a recirculating pump. Continuosly pumping lake water will dilute H2O2, PRM and C&R, and make ice useless.