My nephew is having trouble with fish dying in a 2006 z20. high school tournament water was only 70 degrees. He ran livewell on high all day. any help appreciated.
My nephew is having trouble with fish dying in a 2006 z20. high school tournament water was only 70 degrees. He ran livewell on high all day. any help appreciated.
Teach him how to fizz….sometimes they just die. Could be tongue hooked, gill hooked, who knows. Maybe the livewell needs to be cleaned and sanitized.
Get him some Please Release Me. I've had that stuff bring fish back from the dead. And clean the livewell really good before the next tournament. Make sure pumps are working and don't just recirc all day, pump new water in also.
1. Learn to fizz fish if caught in water over 10', either through the mouth or under a scale on the side. (I prefer through the mouth)
2. Clean the live wells, flush with clean water, put on recert and pour a bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide in each well and run pumps for a few minutes, then flush again.
3. Install the VT-2 vents to keep the toxins from gathering in the wells especially during the hotter months
Last edited by wmitch2; 05-01-2025 at 04:25 PM.
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As was already stated, make sure he’s running the aerators and not just recirc.
Cleanliness. Please Release Me.
Clean and use an additive.
I was a big fan of please release me, but had a tournament on the 1000 islands where the granules didn’t dissolve properly and it clogged one of my live well pumps so we had 8 fish in one box..
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Good info here.
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Make sure both fill and recirc pumps are working, the ranger wells will still function with just recirc if there is water in the well. Also check sprayer head ,it can get turned up and wont spray into the water. I've experienced both these issues over the years that killed fish All above mentioned is good advice as well. Fish shouldn't be dying at 70* WT.
Something that has worked for me, I added a TH Marine Riser in my overflow that adds so much more water and keeps it from splashing out when running. The ranger overflows are way too low. One thing to note, you may notice more bilge action because of it.
have a link?Originally Posted by gofishloop
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Start using ice (bags or frozen bottle), please release me or gjuice and run the pumps on recirc all day long. As we head into summer I start the day with livewell 1/4 full and a bag of ice. Fill it all the way when I catch fish #1, add gjuice and run it on recirc. Every 1-2 hours I'll throw a frozen gatorade bottle in there to keep it cool.
If he is truly running the pumps all day long and not on a timer he should have no trouble keeping his fish alive. I alternate between pumping freshwater in and then recirculating that water and do not have fish die unless they need to be fizzed or are deeply hooked and bleeding. I just fished a tourney Saturday and water temp was 74. Ran one livewell all day long and at the end of the day had both going. My fish were frisky at the end of the day. The key is to take it off the timer and run it constantly. If your battery is worth a shit it won’t run it down which is why most people use the timer. Those timers in anything above 70 degree water are fish killers. Dissolved oxygen levels quickly fall without constant aeration.
if you really want the ultimate for fish care then install a pure oxygen system. I have one but rarely need to use it. If I fished more summer events I would use it a lot but we are mainly done tournament fishing here in Texas by May. No events until fall, at least for me.
Last edited by Amistad Tackle; 05-13-2025 at 09:49 AM.
If you keep the pump on recirculate all day long the heat from the pump will heat up your water. You need to flush the livewell with fresh lake water several times during the day. It will eliminate any heating from the pump and flush out any ammonia. In my 492 when I run I switch to recirculate. When fishing I turn the valve, not the timer, to auto which brings freshwater in. The only time I wouldn’t want to bring freshwater in is if I’m in an area where the water is stagnant or full of debris (like duckweed) that could clog the pump. Anytime I’m fishing in open clean water I bring freshwater in. Always run the pump continuously. No timer!
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