Because tournaments take a lot of bass out of a lake, the pros make great efforts to return them unharmed. The livewell makes it all possible. It's a large tank on the boat filled with lake water and equipped with an aerator like an aquarium. Any "keeper" bass are placed in the well to help them recuperate from the extreme stress of being caught, and to keep them alive and healthy through weigh-in and release. In the happy event that the angler catches a limit of keeper-size bass, the livewell also permits "culling." This allows the angler to keep fishing and replace smaller fish in the livewell with bigger ones as they're caught.
Tournament rules have helped bass survival by decreasing catch limits, increasing minimum fish sizes, discouraging the use of landing nets (which scrape off the fish's protective coating), and assessing weight penalties of a quarter-pound or more for each dead fish. Avoiding a dead-fish penalty is a big motivator in contests where thousands of dollars are decided by ounces. As a result, more than 95 percent of tournament fish are returned to the lake alive to challenge anglers and record books another day.
Further steps are being recognized as improving bass survival after release, and more tournaments may soon start to require them. One step is to keep livewell aerators running continuously, rather than on timers, to improve livewell oxygen levels. Another is to schedule tournaments in cooler months, or add ice to the livewell anytime lake surface temperatures are over 75 degrees, because warmer water dramatically increases fish mortality. Adding salt or other additives to the livewell can keep the fish calm and reduce the stress toxins they produce when caught. Finally, reducing catch limits in draw and team events helps prevent livewell overcrowding. By doing all they can to reduce long-term bass mortality, tournament organizers and anglers help make sure they will be welcomed back to the lake year after year.
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