With warmer weather, my last 2 tournaments were from 7pm-3am. Water temps 85°. I had one fish die on me friday night. And 2 barely survived saturday night. What do i need to do to keep the fish alive better.
Currently, i filled live well up. Then switch it over to recirc medium. Do i need to keep the fill on auto as well, or add ice. Any help is appreciated.
I have always ran it on fill that way it is always putting freshwater into the livewell. I also rarely put it on auto, I like to run mine on constant on especially in this hot weather. I will switch it over to recirc if I am running to new spots. If you want to use it on recirc I would freeze bottles of water and use a livewell conditioner. I don't usually go that route since my 20i doesn't keep ice longer than 30 minutes it seems. Just my .02 hope it helps
As the day goes on, I will run refill and recirculation on auto. I am a believer in that you can't have too much fresh water or too much recirculation. I also check them regularly to be certain the fish are not stressed.
New Pro Products
I've installed this on my boat several years ago after I was given this at a BBC rally, I will never own a bass boat with out one.
I do run fresh water in my live wells through out the day. Before I go to the weigh in I'll just "recirculate" the water and add chemicals.
Last edited by Rodney Bledsoe; 07-15-2014 at 08:18 AM.
I run my fill pump on auto and run the recirculate pump on constant when the motor is running or on short stops, never an issue unless I have a deep hooked fish or something.
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Neil Eckberg- Cary, NC - 2008 Skeeter ZX250- 250 Yamaha SHO
Kerr Lake Ba$$hole
When the water gets above 75 I put enough ice in to keep it 5-7 degrees cooler than the lake temp, use Please Release Me and run the livewell on recirculate constantly through the tournament. Also plug the overflow so you don't loose any water when taking off.
Jason Ferrell
Virginia
2015 Skeeter ZX250
2015 Yamaha VMAX SHO 250
I don't like the "closed" system with ice and chemicals. Guys obviously use it and do fine, but I like having fresh water added constantly, unless I catch fish deep and then go after shallow warm water fish. Only time I have ever lost a fish in my livewell was when I had the overflow plugged and forgot about it. You don't want the water level above the aerators, otherwise they aren't getting any air to aerate the water. On most days I run my fill on auto and recirc on med or high. If fishing for big smallies in summer I will run it constantly along with the fill (make sure to have a strong battery like a PM1). As an added bit of protection I also installed the V2-T livewell aerators and they seem to do a very good job, I'm impressed. They basically force fresh cool air down into the well and warmer less oxygenated air out. This system works great for me.
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2024 Phoenix 21 XE - Mercury 250 PRO XS Serial #3B429919
2017 Phoenix PHX 21 - Yamaha 250 SHO
2010 Skeeter 20i - Yamaha 250 SHO
1988 Procraft 1780 Competitor - Mercury 100
Thanks for the tips guys. Ill try pumping in more fresh water next tournament.
i had this problem last time out. this time i filled them and added please release me. aereated on a timer every two minutes. i also always freeze 5 or 6 2 liter bottles of water and change them out every hour or 2 depending on heat. a couple fish were in there over 10 hrs ,and the rest 3-8 hrs. when released, they finned me to death and could hardly get a hold of them. will be doing this from now on till it tells me otherwise
V-T2 Livewell Vents are the way to go. You can buy direct from New Pro Products or pm me and I will price them for you.
I looked at the V-T2 vents. I might make that purchase soon. But does anyone have any reviews or information about G-Juice from TH-Marine. I just bought 8 ounces of it and will be using it for my next tournament.
T-H Marine G-Juice Live Well Treatment
Collins Boating Pro Staff - Smithfield, North Carolina
JeffreyDavisFishing.com | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | NC Bass Challenge
Heat is the big killer for me; once the livewell gets over 76 degrees, the smallmouth are in trouble. I freeze 2 liter pop bottles; I can usually drop the temp by 5-6 degrees. I run the recirculator 100% of the time, and change the water every 2-3 hours. I also have a homemade version of the T-V2 vents which does help.
Another thing to consider is to clean your livewells and flush your pumps out. Did mine the other day after not doing this for a few months. You'd be amazed at the stuff that comes out of your pumps and lines.
V-T2 Livewell Vent naturally pull the hot air out of your livewells which helps cool the water, but also the ram air flowing through cools the livewell water too. When this moving air and water meet you have a wet bulb temp that is cooler. As the water molecules cool in the upper layers of the livewell water they become cooler and sink, Taking more dissolved oxygen to the bottom of your livewell. The warmer molecules then rise to the top, are cooled, and then sink again. This inversion provides good mixing of cooler, oxygenated water.Originally Posted by Keevin77
At BASSFest at Chickamauga this year, the BASS biologists came by our booth to tell us at weigh-in they measured the temps in all the Pro's livewells. The Pro with the V-T2's had the coolest livewell water. All he used was the V-T2's. And that was up against the guys using ice, etc.
BASS gave us the big thumbs up!
New Pro Products http://newproproducts.com
You can purchase direct from their website or PM me for a quote. I have been using the V-T2 vents for over 2 years and am very happy with the results.
Last edited by RangerR93; 07-21-2014 at 08:37 AM.
Is there a special substance you use to flush out your lines? Or just water?
2007 Skeeter 20i class, Yamaha HPDI 250 "If the boat does not rock on your hookset, you are not setting it HARD ENOUGH!!" **Common sense is not common, it is a function of experience and training**
Stay away from anything that can harm your fish. I use peroxide and a lot of fresh water.
Use the Oxygenators; fill set to auto and reciculate on medium using the Additive sold by the Oxygenator outfit. I believe it is now called G-Juice. On hot days; take the time to pull into a shaded cove and dump old water then fill with cool fresh. Takes a little time but gives great results.
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