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Fall 2022
page 22
It is a balancing technique – you do not want to overcool, but you need to keep ahead of the rising temperatures. Its optimal to keep the livewell at or a few degrees cooler than your surface water temp first thing in the morning.
DISSOLVED OXYGEN
One of the quickest ways to increase stress and risk mortality is to reduce oxygenation – it is also one of those parameters that can deteriorate in a very short period of time.
Let’s say you filled your well first thing when dissolved oxygen (DO) levels are often at their lowest due to natural algal cycles – fishing is a bit slow in the morning, then you get into a run of nice fish and toss them in the well.
You are determined to get a few more bites and are laser focused on that next fish – but those five fish you just tossed in the well have elevated respiration levels due to being caught and they have further reduced the DO levels. That coupled with some increased temperature and lower saturation levels - you have a quick recipe for disaster.
In order to maintain and or improve DO levels there are several means by which to do so. The easiest is to circulate fresh water and not rely solely re-circulate; however,
ambient conditions may not permit, and you may want to avoid pumping in stagnant or low DO water.
If you are restricted to recirculation, make sure your pump is running sufficiently to maintain or improve DO with the mechanical agitation alone. Knowing your system and its capabilities will ensure you know what, if any, additional measures may be necessary.
Depending on your boat – the functional capabilities of your aeration systems may vary.
First- make sure the system you are using is operating properly. There are systems that can be added to improve aeration.
I recommend a system that creates fine bubble aeration. The finer the bubbles the more oxygen is infused into the water. The more bubbles breaking on the surface, the more CO2 is being carried out of the water.
I strongly recommend against using straight oxygen for various reasons. Unless you are constantly monitoring DO levels, you have a good handle on safety, fish physiology and water chemistry, you could easily super saturate oxygen levels. Further – if you are focused on tournament day, you do not want to be focused on monitoring water chemistry.
There are a variety of inexpensive meters on the market to measure DO, if you are in a situation where you are concerned about low DO levels.