cull tags

[Mcjenson]

i don’t understand why guys dont put the clip through the very front of the gill plate. Doesnt need to be punctured. Works fine on fish up to 4~ lbs

Even if you puncture them in the correct spot it’s not a big deal. I mean we are catching them by driving hooks into them

[Bluesman63]

I tried the Rapala tags. Broke several pretty quick. Sent pictures to Rapala and they sent me a new set. If they don't break they come off. I went back to the old reliable puncture tags. Seriously how many times do we catch fish with holes from being caught and tagged before? I see it myself and hear it from others

[yadkincustomlures]

None of the cull tags with the big bulky clips work well for me. They kill more fish than they save. The fish's mouth needs to be able to close completely.

I have the iCull tags made by JD Outdoors. Looks like they aren't in business anymore but it would be easy to make your own. Basically just a very thin coated cable with a clip up the line a bit and a loop on the end. You feed the cable through the gill plate and clip the loop back to the line. Nothing penetrating and the fish can actually close their mouths. This style was popular on the Potomac for years before it was required by BASS

[BMCD]

been happy with the Gforce cull tags. Course I got several sets of them.

[BUCK65]

MGM work very well.

[Wags]

Cal Coast 2.0

[Skeeter08i]

i don’t understand why guys dont put the clip through the very front of the gill plate. Doesnt need to be punctured. Works fine on fish up to 4~ lbs

Absolutely. I have not had an issue with any fish doing it this way the past two years. I went through 2 or 3 sets of non puncture cull tags that either broke or didn't allow the fish to close their mouths before I pulled my puncture tags back out and started doing it this way.

[FLAbassin]

I use the Accu cul Econ ones with the small clips. They’re just the rope ones. No floats. I like that they small and so far haven’t had problems with them coming off.

[Mark Perry]

i don’t understand why guys dont put the clip through the very front of the gill plate. Doesnt need to be punctured. Works fine on fish up to 4~ lbs

A lot of guys use the tags as a way to lift fish out of the livewell.

[west_tn]

I never had a fish die until I got a set of the original Cal Coast clips. Fished the first tournament with them and had a fish die. The other fish were noticeably not as lively as normal either. Next tournament same thing. Those big clips were stressing the fish out and killing them.

Cal Coast obviously realized this issue and made the new smaller 2.0 version.

Before that version was released for sale publicly I had simply responded to a thread much like this one with my thoughts on the big clips stressing the fish out and doing more harm than good. I wasn't bashing Cal Coast or even really singling them out. My concern was to any of the new style clips at the time negatively impacting the fishes health.

Cal Coast saw my post, reached out to me through PM, and offered me a free set of their new smaller design. They earned my respect there, because they didn't have to do that.

I still don't think any of the clip style cull tags of any brand are perfect because they don't allow the fish to fully close it's mouth, but I can say the new smaller version at least seemed to stop killing my fish.

[Bassin Billy]

In response to one of the other guys, AccuCull tags do not come with anything other than a small rope or replacement tag ONLY to use on your own rope, ball, etc.... Unlike many others the Elite econ do not pinch or puncture a fish. They also allow the fishes mouth to fully close. Been using them for a few years now and have been very happy. Did use someone elses 1.0 tags previously and was issued a refund as I was not satisfied with them at all.

[flipNfrog]

Cal coast 2.0 for me. 3 seasons and holding up great.

[mrdeath]

I've tried a few different ones over the past few years and still haven't found one that I really like.

The Cal Coast and DD26 look to be identical. I had a set of the Cal Coast 2.0's and I found them to be difficult to open. They did, however, stay on the fish consistently.

Tried the Ardent Smart Clips and they worked well initially, but the metal parts on them rusted quickly and they started coming apart.

Bought a set of the TH Marine G-Force tags and wasn't impressed with them right out of the box. Some wouldn't close all the way and some would. Took the metal 'spring' out and bent it a little more on those and they seemed fine after that, but still didn't stay on the fish very well.

Bought the Rapala ones now. We'll see how well they hold up. They don't look too promising to be honest.

The Dobyn's set looks like a good design, so maybe those will be next on my list.

[BassinPaPaw]

I’d pay good money to have a set of the old rubber tubing ones that were designed to run the gill plate. Those were the best in my opinion.

[Bobby Gray]

Cal Coast 2.0

[78Staff]

I've tried a few different ones over the past few years and still haven't found one that I really like.

The Cal Coast and DD26 look to be identical. I had a set of the Cal Coast 2.0's and I found them to be difficult to open. They did, however, stay on the fish consistently.

Tried the Ardent Smart Clips and they worked well initially, but the metal parts on them rusted quickly and they started coming apart.

Bought a set of the TH Marine G-Force tags and wasn't impressed with them right out of the box. Some wouldn't close all the way and some would. Took the metal 'spring' out and bent it a little more on those and they seemed fine after that, but still didn't stay on the fish very well.

Bought the Rapala ones now. We'll see how well they hold up. They don't look too promising to be honest.

The Dobyn's set looks like a good design, so maybe those will be next on my list.

Dobyns are definitely easier to open/handle than the Cal Coast 2.0's. The Floats I'm not sure about...although I suspect they will work fine, they are hard plastic which makes me think they might crack or shatter if they got knocked around a bit, ie running down the lake with empty livewell in the am - but probably not. I do like the simplicity of the CC loop and float setup along with their beam, however. The beam still works with the Dobyns, just drop the wire in the slot vs hanging the loop of the CC. Worst case I merge the two.

I also bought a set of BassWidow EZ-Cull-RZ from TW, they are the old style puncture clips, I was going to try them and compare to using non-puncture style, but I haven't had a chance to use them yet.

[mattmann7]

If you don't catch a limit, you have no need for cull tags. That's how I roll.

Works for me also. Bought 2 different brands and have never had to use them once. Not even sure I know where they are.

[kyfisherman1]

I just got a set of the Dobyn’s Culls and they look great. My first impression however is that they don’t feel well made. The floats are a hard plastic and I have concerns that they will crack over time. It also feels like the fish clips are made of a lite weight plastic material. The connection between the chord and the fish clip is made with a very lite weight plastic opening. I would NOT want to reach in and lift a 5lb bass out just by grabbing the buoy…….I’m not sure that the connection would handle a big bass being picked up by the bobber. These are my first impressions…….I hope I’m wrong.

[Generator]

The horrible horrible puncture tags are still the best.

I have to agree. If these style tags are used correctly they do less damage than the clip on type.

[FrancoCialone]

I use the old style floating ropes and replaced the metal clips with Ardent clips been using this set up for about 5 years no problem....

I did this as well, and I even used one of the clips for my weigh scale for weighing big fish, works for me.