Question About Keeping Fish In Livewell....not In A Tournament Situation

[flyfisher]

I have seen some threads of people catching fish and keeping them in their livewells just for a photo op later on with their stringer for the day.  My question is why would you do that if you aren't in a tournament?  I guess i don't see why it is that important and it can't be good for the fish to sit in a livable all day long.  I know that tourneys do it and the fish mortality rate is pretty low but it still seems like it would put undue stress on the fish.  

If yo pare going to keep them then fine, i get that but just to be able to take a picture with a fish in each hand just doesn't make sense to me.

[OntarioFishingGuy]

Finally someone said it. Putting undue stress on the fish just so you can take a picture a few hours later is somewhat disrespectful to the resource.

[scaleface]

To prove that you are not photographing the same fish over and over . LOL

[MDBowHunter]

To prove that you are not photographing the same fish over and over . LOL

The fact that you feel like you have to prove anything at all is ridiculous, people are way to worried about what someone else might think. Who gives a crap what other people think just go fishing...

I will add that keeping a fish in a livewell is no where as bad as the pics I see with a bass laying in the dirt just so someone can get that all so mighty pic.

[scaleface]

The fact that you feel like you have to prove anything at all is ridiculous, people are way to worried about what someone else might think. Who gives a crap what other people think just go fishing...

I will add that keeping a fish in a livewell is no where as bad as the pics I see with a bass laying in the dirt just so someone can get that all so mighty pic.

I agree. I wasnt implying  thats what I do .

[WRB]

Some anglers are bass pro fans and copy what they see on TV, wearing wanna be cloths and fish like they are in a tournament every time they fish. I see these guys all the time, most are weekend bass club anglers. Keeping the top 5 bass in the livewell is standard practice for this group of anglers, it's a form of bragging rights.

Depending on how skilled the angler is using the livewell combined with the surface water temperature, the bass get over stressed for no reason. Some anglers believe immediate release of a bass can turn off the bite and keep fish in the livewell until they move to another spot and I have done this in the past. I rarely use my livewell to transport bass, instead. I made up a keep alive stringer. The stringer is 10' long with 2 stainless steel sharp clips, the clips slide on the bottom 2' and the stringer has a 1 lb weight to keep the bass down in cool water. When or if I want a picture after the bite stops I can lift the stringer and take a picture before releasing the bass. We don't have any predators to attack the bass on a stringer and the clip is placed through the lower lip. I haven't had any water in my livewell this year, haven't fished any night charity tournaments.

Tom

[the reel ess]

I was taking pics of every fish I caught over 5 lbs, but I realized they all really look alike because the biggest this year was 6.3#. Taking a phone pic from the kayak is difficult and I don't have a GoPro yet. So I just write them down when I get home.

[Big C]

It's good practice for tourney situations.  If you plan to fish tournaments, but never keep fish in  a livewell.  How do you know your livewell is not going to kill/injure your fish?  Or you might need practice using your culling system.  I don't have a boat with a live well, but if I did I would use it every now-and-again to stay in practice and know my livewell.  It would really put a damper on things if your kicker fish died, because you weren't in practice of using your livewell.

[flyfisher]

It's good practice for tourney situations.  If you plan to fish tournaments, but never keep fish in  a livewell.  How do you know your livewell is not going to kill/injure your fish?  Or you might need practice using your culling system.  I don't have a boat with a live well, but if I did I would use it every now-and-again to stay in practice and know my livewell.  It would really put a damper on things if your kicker fish died, because you weren't in practice of using your livewell.

that makes sense as we al want to try out our equipment and know it works.  I am talking more about those who seem to do it every single time out just to get the pics.

 

Maybe because i have never fished a weigh in type tournament since in a kayak it is a big time hassle my perspective is different.  

[Sam]

Hey Fly, hope you are doing well and are getting in some good fishing time between school and home responsibilities.

 

As you know, every bass fisherman has a "real" life. Their "real" lives can be dull or not produce any type of positive feedback or be very successful in their chosen field.

 

Do you remember the picture Saturday Night Fever when John Travolta was a short order cook but he was a wonderful dancer and dancing made him successful?  People on the dance floor were amazed at his dancing talents and admired him for his dancing. The same is true today when we relate bass fishing to the Saturday Night Fever story.

 

Now with that written, please understand that the vast majority of bass fishermen are outstanding men and women who find ultra success in catching those little green monsters. When we are on the water we do not care about the financial condition or social ranking or criminal history or what college one graduated or if they own their own business or if they are a dead beat dad or anything else about anyone on the water, even those guys and gals with the big, expensive new bass boats sporting a 300 horsepower four-stroke and two Power Poles, other than about what they caught. (Yep, run on sentence)

 

Bass fishing puts us all on the same level and to view another bass fisherman's successful catch is something we all embrace and enjoy.

 

All of us bass fishermen want to memorialize and show off their catches. This is true for all levels of bass fishermen and we keep the photos on our cell phones or post them on Facebook to show everyone how successful we are when fishing. I show pics of my big catches to my clients and friends, especially the 4.4 pounder I caught last month on the Historic James River. I am very proud of that catch and want to show it off.

 

This is why we go to such lengths to have good photos of our big catches when we are fishing by ourselves. There is no one in the boat to take our picture with that special fish. We want to hold that big baby out towards the camera and smile to show the world how successful we are a bass fishing. And to do this we have to keep the fish alive until we can find someone to take our photo.

 

Please do not be hard on guys who put the bass in their live wells to have a photo taken when they get back to the ramp. The bass will be fine and we get to see some of the best photos of our catches on the Forum and Facebook. We are proud of our bass fishing success that no matter what we do or who we are we managed to fool Mother Nature and nail such a beautiful animal.

 

With all of that said I am a strong believer in photographing your big one and having a replica made of her for your den or office wall while you let her go to be caught and enjoyed by a fellow angler in the future.

 

So one and all, keep those pictures of your big catches coming. And PM me with the technique, bait and exact location where you caught her, especially for all of you Virginia guys and gals. I won't tell anyone.

 

We are all just "Staying Alive"!!!

[Sam]

To prove that you are not photographing the same fish over and over . LOL

 

Scaleface, I did this to a good friend one time.

 

Sent four pics of the same fish from different angles.

 

To this day he still thinks I caught four big ones.

[ww2farmer]

I used to do it, I don't anymore. In fact, it's now become one of my top pet peeves about bass fisherman. Everyone now has to hold up a fish, act like a fool in front of a camera, and put said fish pictures on Facebook so Aunt Mildred can give them a huge pat on the back, and tell them how great they are. It's a plague created by the whole Facebook/social media thing, were a society of "hey look at me,I'm great" attention hogs now. In the future, any fish pictures I have taken are reserved for a new personal best, and/or a worthwhile accomplishment.... Winning the local beer money tournament with 12lbs doesn't quite qualify.... But for those that think it does.... Knock yourself out, just know that I think your an idiot.... Fwiw ..lol

[scaleface]

I used to do it, I don't anymore. In fact, it's now become one of my top pet peeves about bass fisherman. Everyone now has to hold up a fish, act like a fool in front of a camera, and put said fish pictures on Facebook so Aunt Mildred can give them a huge pat on the back, and tell them how great they are. It's a plague created by the whole Facebook/social media thing, were a society of "hey look at me,I'm great" attention hogs now. In the future, any fish pictures I have taken are reserved for a new personal best, and/or a worthwhile accomplishment.... Winning the local beer money tournament with 12lbs doesn't quite qualify.... But for those that think it does.... Knock yourself out, just know that I think your an idiot.... Fwiw ..lol

Nice avatar .

[ww2farmer]

Nice avatar .

Nice reading comprehension skills...that's my personal best. Of which I said I will take a picture of. If I top it, that picture will be replaced with another. I am not immune from dipping into full blown idiocy... Actually, I excel at it.

[stkbassn]

I have seen some threads of people catching fish and keeping them in their livewells just for a photo op later on with their stringer for the day.  My question is why would you do that if you aren't in a tournament?  I guess i don't see why it is that important and it can't be good for the fish to sit in a livable all day long.  I know that tourneys do it and the fish mortality rate is pretty low but it still seems like it would put undue stress on the fish.  

If yo pare going to keep them then fine, i get that but just to be able to take a picture with a fish in each hand just doesn't make sense to me.

 

I wouldn't do it personally but that video of Butch Brown releasing his 5 bass 60 plus pound limit was simply amazing!! If you haven't seen it, go watch it. Awesome!!!

[Bass newb]

That's not nearly as cruel to fish as filleting them alive. I kill my fish first.

[Turtle135]

I take a photo of any decent fish I catch. It is for personal historical data (where, when, caught on what, etc). Then I let the bass go in the same place that I caught it.

 

Transporting bass far away from where they were caught or making another hole in their mouth with a culling device. Those factors will increase the delayed mortality rate.

[Logan S]

Sometimes you just want to take a picture of your limit...I do it from time to time, usually when I'm fishing with another person and we want to see how big of a limit we can get outside of a tournament.  

 

What I don't like is seeing people drop fish by trying to hold too many at once...Or keeping them out of the water for a long time to pose for the picture.  The actual act of keeping the fish for a picture is a non-issue to me as long as you don't drop the fish on the ground or leave them out of the water excessively.  The same thing happens at tournament weigh-ins.  We once had a guy drop a fish onto the dock while trying to pose with his entire bag and the fish died, he got the dead fish penalty since it wasn't released alive despite being alive on the scales.  

 

So for me, I think it's great to get picture of your fish together...Just don't be an idiot about it.  

[gardnerjigman]

The part that is hard for me to grasp is why it is ok when a little money or bragging rights is on the line, but not ok for joe shmo to do it for pictures? 

 

I'm going to assume that a fish sitting in well working (key words "well working") livewell doesn't get anymore stressed out than he was earlier when you crossed his eyes with a jig. The point is to do everything that you can to make sure the fish returns to his natural environment alive and well. Sometimes that doesn't happen, whether that be from a livewell, or the catch. I would hope that anyone who puts fish in the livewell "babysits" them and if they start acting up, the are released back into the deep. 

 

As stated earlier, to each his own. Certain topics will never be agreed upon. 

[poisonokie]

The fact that you feel like you have to prove anything at all is ridiculous, people are way to worried about what someone else might think. Who gives a crap what other people think just go fishing...

I will add that keeping a fish in a livewell is no where as bad as the pics I see with a bass laying in the dirt just so someone can get that all so mighty pic.

 

I lay mine in the grass long enough to snap a pic of the fish along with the bait and tackle I landed it with. I don't think it harms the fish in any way, certainly no more than the fight itself.

[senile1]

Some lunker hunters place the fish in the livewell, and then make sure the camera is ready for the pic.  Then the fish is removed from the livewell, the pic is taken, and the fish is released at the same place it was caught.  From the descriptions I have read, I don't think those fish ever spend more than 5 minutes in that livewell and probably less that that.  (Fish Chris comes to mind.)  With proper livewell preparation, I can't say I have a problem with someone doing this.  

 

Logic would see seem to indicate that keeping a fish in a livewell all day and releasing it back at the dock is probably not the best thing for the fish.  Some other methods of getting the weight for fish have been mentioned elsewhere that allow us to release the fish immediately.  Of course, the "show" aspect of displaying the fish back at the ramp disappears for the really big tournament series and that's bad for business, right?  But I don't think dollars and cents should always be the first priority in deciding what is best.  Keep in mind though, that we are fishing.  Jerking a hook into a fish's mouth and fighting it back to the boat all create stress for fish.  Break-offs leave line, lures, and other hardware in our waters and could cause issues for other species.  No matter how much you try to clean up after yourself, there are always some things you can't retrieve.  Our sport requires us to accept some trade-offs.

[J Francho]

Who cares, they stand a better chance than if we all released them into hot grease. Seems like it's hard enough to figure what is getting them to bite without worrying what your neighbor is up to.

[buzzed bait]

I lay mine in the grass long enough to snap a pic of the fish along with the bait and tackle I landed it with. I don't think it harms the fish in any way, certainly no more than the fight itself.

 

not dogging you by any means man, but laying them on the ground really isn't good for them.  it can take some of their protective slime coating away from the body.  i will not preach to you and say i have never done it, because i have...  sames goes for holding them against your clothes or the carpet, etc.

 

as for the livewell pic thing, i never fish in a boat with a livewell so i couldn't pass judgement nor say anything on the topic.  i'm one who likes to get a pic of a nice one when i catch them, but they quickly go back in the water right where i pulled them out.