livewell health and care for bass safety in summertime

summertime fish care in livewells by dan rice

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cused on one or another. One company made a cleaner, another made a livewell additive, and another made a foam off product.

I found one company that makes an entire system to keep your fish and livewells in tip top shape – Sure Life. While it’s certainly not necessary to just pick one company, I was looking for a way to order all of these products in one swoop. The biggest piece of advice is to take the opportunity to treat the fish no matter which products you prefer. Most, if not all, help reduce stress levels of fish which can dramatically increase their chances of survival post-release.

PRE-TOURNAMENT

Rigging, checking baits and organizing your tournament load is something most of us do week in, week out. Cleaning your livewells should be included in that check list and to be honest, it is very simple to do with Sure Life’s TLC (Tank and Livewell Cleaner). The product cleans stains, slime, hard water deposits, dirt and waste. Mixing two ounces with a half-gallon

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warm water is enough to get the job done. Using a brush and/or a scrubbing sponge to clean the walls of your livewell, along with the bottom and screens makes quick work of the task. Once fin- ished, grab the garden hose and rinse out the livewells with fresh water. A few minutes is all it takes.

DURING YOUR TOURNAMENT

Stress reducing products such as Sure Life’s Catch and Release has distinct ingredients in keep- ing your bass strong and healthy, but what I noticed about this company’s products is how calm the fish remain throughout the day. It calms bass with an all- natural sedative, protects the slime coat and reduces weight loss by preventing stomach regurgitation. Self-injury can be a big deal to bass that are held in livewells for prolonged periods of time and formulas with sedatives can help prevent injuries altogether.

We rarely deal with dangerously warm water here in the Pacific Northwest, but Catch and Release also removes harmful chlorine that can be introduced from manually cooling the water with store bought

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