Live Well Temperature Variations Stress Out Largemouth Bass, Study Finds
Newswise — If you’ve ever been on a fishing boat, you might be familiar with live wells – small water tanks, built into the boat, where live fish can be stored. In bass fishing tournaments, these live wells keep fish alive throughout the competition, so that they can be released at the end. Anglers are always looking for ways to keep fish safe and healthy in these wells, since live bass mean higher prizes and more fish spawned for next year.
Researchers at U. of I. studied the effect of live well temperature variation on largemouth bass health and recovery time during tournaments, and shared their results in the North American Journal of Fisheries Management.
Cory Suski, professor of natural resources and environmental sciences, part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, and his former master’s student, Allison Hay, found that live well temperatures are highly variable, in part due to angler’s activities during tournaments. Temperature variations can negatively impact bass’ activity upon release, they discovered.
The largemouth bass angling landscape
Previous studies have found that tournaments can be deadly for captured fish, with mortality rates approaching up to 43% in some events, particularly in warm summer months. Because around 32,000 angling events take place across North America annually, minimizing mortality is crucial to ensure fisheries stay healthy and usable for decades to come.
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