Open Letter to tournament sponsors, directors and clubs

[Mike Giusti]

An open letter to all tournament sponsors, directors and bass clubs:

Department of Fish and Game staff working at Diamond Valley Lake over the past few months has observed several problems in regards to the way tournament organizations and their participants are handling bass. As most of you know the bass at Diamond Valley Lake tend to be caught at depths exceeding 25 feet all year. Bass caught in depths greater than 25 feet are not able to adjust to the rapid depressurization associated with being caught by an angler. Often times these fish have not been decompressed and are being released at the launch ramp or are being brought to the release boat floating upside down. Bass which are held in a livewells all day in this condition often do not survive. When fish are released near the launch ramp without being properly decompressed the public’s perception is that the fish are dead and it is the tournament anglers who are responsible. If your anglers do not know how to deflate bass properly you have an opportunity to train them by having them assist at the release boat.

The Department has special conditions which apply to all tournaments and these were provided with your fishing contest permits. Special condition #12 states: “The sponsor shall provide personnel and necessary equipment to decompress bass that cannot swim down to deep water. Decompression can be by hypodermic needle or cage release at 35 feet or deeper.â€

[Bill Hutcheson]

Mike,

Thanks for the update and reminder.

All of these items will be in force at this weekend's WON BASS DVL night event. Multiple weigh bags will be available for anglers who do not already have thier own heavy duty reusable weigh bags.

I might also add that the warmer surface water temperatures that are prevalent during the night events put an additional strain on the fish.

As such, it is recommended to all anglers that they freeze a couple of plastic milk jugs or 2 liter soda bottles and place these in thier livewell with the control on recirculate. Adding rejuvinate or other fish protecting chemicals to you livewell is also recommended.

The WON BASS DVL Night event will be a drive-up tournament with the scales being set near the launch ramp to reduce the amount of time it takes to get fish to the live release boat.

Feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions regarding fish handling at the tournaments. (949) 366-0030 ext 29

Bill Hutcheson
WON BASS

[Jim V.]

Points well taken. I think the local T organizations due a pretty good job of taking care of the fish but there is always room for improvement. NBW was the 1st time I remember that "you weigh-in 3 fish, use 3 bags". That seemed to work very well. But, you are right. You can take up 3 or 4 bags up & you get one back with all your fish in it to go release. That can be remedied immediately very easily.

However, and there is always a but, will the national organizations - FLW and BASS - be held to the same rules? Everyone of those I have fished in CA is a walk-up weigh-in and the fish are in the bags far longer than the 3 minute rule. In fact, it's usually longer than 12 minutes. Perhaps the powers that be should notify them of the rule since their impact can be far greater than the local organizations. It's easy to pick on the little guy. I'm sure we'll do whatever it takes to get it right. Will they?

[Ray L.]

At FLW weigh in's there is an oxygenator in the tubs for every angler to use.
Have you not used them?
I have fished loads of F.L.W. events from Red Man on up and they all had stone's in the horse troughs to first keep your fish cool and also to ad oxygen.
Mike thanks for the info and clearing up a couple of things for me...

[Terry]

Jim,

Thanks for the input and for caring about the resource.

I don't see this set of conditions as "picking on the little guy". The short answer to your question is that all orgs are held to standards where the fish are well treated. At the BASS tourns I have attended, there were troughs with aerated water to replenish the bags while waiting to weigh. This is certainly acceptable, actually preferred, for any org as long as it's used.

The real problem comes from a long line of anglers backed up waiting to weigh in with fish that are held in the same bag full of water for way too long. We are trying to make the angler aware of the problem, although it is ultimately the responsibility of the organization to ensure compliance.

I agree with your assessment of the three minute rule being broken. I haven't seen a tournament where the three minute rule isn't broken either. So we can either cut back the number of fish allowed, not hold summer tourns, not hold tournaments, or some other drastic measure, or keep the three-minute rule and hope that three minutes is the goal for both the orgs and the anglers and that they are doing their best to meet that goal, especially in the summer months when the temp is high and O2 is low.

This is actually a statewide problem that we are trying to address, with the ultimate goal of retaining our bass resource.

I'm positive that the orgs will find these rules acceptable and both the orgs and the anglers will do their best to shorten the weigh-in time.

I hope this explanation helps.

Terry Foreman
Fisheries Program Manager
Fisheries Branch
Department of Fish and Game
Sacramento

[Jim V.]

Well put -

Thanks

[Guy Williams]

Just as a side note from this last weekends NBW tourney I was amazed how fast the weigh-in process went. With 99 boats I thought it would be a zoo but nope, I was in the third flight and we drove right up and it was I that was unprepared for weigh-in. All night, no line at all. At most I seen maybe four teams parked 2 by 2 and they were gone in just a few minutes. Good job NBW!!!! I thank the DFG for the reminder and like most here appreciate your hard work and will try my best to do better.
Guy Williams

[Brian Linehan]

I pretty much watched the entire weigh-in and noticed that many of the guys weighing in just weren't ready in time. NBW did an amazing job and the weigh in was super fast. In fact, they were so efficient that they probably could have had 3 flights instead of 5.

When I'm running my tournaments, I'm so caught up in working that I never quite realize how many guys drive up to the weigh in and bag their fish. Everyone needs to do a much better job of having their fish bagged beforehand.

[Obi-Hub]

Brian,

You hit the nail on the head. By the time I got up in the parking lot and put water in the three bags, I had somebody standing next to my boat asking for my fish. I almost couldn't get them in the bags fast enough

Great job NBW!

Obi

[Guy Williams]

I'm used to a long line so I just wait till I know they are ready so the fish are well taken care for with aerated water in the live well but like I said, I was the one not prepared for the fastest weigh-in in history. Also, I liked the less than 10 min wait after the scales were closed to get the money flowing to the winners. All I know, I was impressed all around, good job NBW!
Guy Williams

[Oldschool]

You are dissussing 3 separate issues; 1. air bladder expansion. 2. water temperture/thermo shock. 3. Low DO levels, that all impact live well survival rates.
1. tournament caught bass from water deeper than 30 feet, you need to needle the air bladder or return the bass down to where it was caught quickly.
2. The water needs to be kept near 70 degrees during summer tournaments. The cooler water is close to the temperature bass can breath adequate DO levels; 3 to 12mg/l.
3. Low dissolved oxygen levels, DO; must be above 3 mg/l or the bass suffocates. One method is to mandate oxygenators in tournament boats. Another is to learn to add DO in your live well before bagging your catch, with 3% (over the counter) hydrogen peroxide; 10-15 gallons of water add: 1/2 cup.
20 gal, add 3/4 cup.
25-30 gal add; 1 cup.
Formula to determine live well capacity; length X width X depth X 7.5 = gallons.
Mixture of 3% hydrogen peroxide above =adds 3 to 6 mg/l DO instantly.
Tom

[propgun]

This is very important for any of our local lakes. It is the anglers resposablity to manage their fish. What I don't undrestand is what I saw DFG doing at one tournament at DVL and that was cutting off one of the lower dorsal fins as a way of marking the fish can someone explain this to me. I was told that theywanted to see if these fish are caught again. I'm sure that there is a better way of marking these fish than this.

Thanks
Ron Licari
Team Liftoff

[propgun]

This is very important for any of our local lakes. It is the anglers resposablity to manage their fish. What I don't undrestand is what I saw DFG doing at one tournament at DVL and that was cutting off one of the lower dorsal fins as a way of marking the fish can someone explain this to me. I was told that theywanted to see if these fish are caught again. I'm sure that there is a better way of marking these fish than this.

Thanks
Ron Licari
Team Liftoff

[Mike Giusti]

Ron,

My staff was conducting a study to estimate the sise of the population of bass larger than 12 inches in Diamond Valley Lake. We have been removing on of the ventral fins for years as these fins are not used by bass for movement. They were actually using a combination of ventral fin clips and punches of the second dorsal or anal fins. This allows us to have a combination of 14 different marks and as many years of population estimation. Most of the time the bass that were marked in the first year are not around by the time we get to year 7. This is do to natural mortality and angler harvest.

Feel free to contact me directly if you need more information (951) 926-7561 or mgiust@dfg.ca.gov

Mike

[Terry]

Ron,

Thanks for your concern about marking fish.

Using a hole punch to create a hole in the dorsal or anal fin which heals into an identifiable knot, or clipping a pelvic fin has long been a standard method in bass population estimation by mark and recapture. An alternative is a tag, which has it's place in growth studies but is much more expensive, and is also invasive. Neither appear to affect the survival of the fish.

The way it works is we mark a number of fish and release them. We then collect a number of fish and examine that sample for marks. The size of the population is estimated from the ratio of number of marked fish returned to the number of fish in the second sample compared to the original number of marked fish to the size of the population. Sounds complex but is fairly simple.

There are other ways of marking, like coded wire tags, which is expensive and requires special equipment to read the tags.

I hope this explains why we do what we do.

Terry Foreman

[jrbasspro]

Mike
well said
I am not a tourmnmeant director but we can all do our part, keep the good information coming
Walt Kondracki

[propgun]

Thanks for the imformation know I'm that much more imformed

[STONEFREE]

AWSOME POST!!!!!!Can someone please put this info. on the NORTHWEST side, thanks . The NORTHWEST SIDE.

[Robert F]

I agree with your assessment of the three minute rule being broken. I haven't seen a tournament where the three minute rule isn't broken either. So we can either cut back the number of fish allowed, not hold summer tourns, not hold tournaments, or some other drastic measure, or keep the three-minute rule and hope that three minutes is the goal for both the orgs and the anglers and that they are doing their best to meet that goal, especially in the summer months when the temp is high and O2 is low.
Terry Foreman
Fisheries Program Manager
Fisheries Branch
Department of Fish and Game
Sacramento

AN OPEN LETTER TO DFG
Sorry to break this love fest but I am a bit offended by a threat of "drastic measures". I am ready to take my beating from the selective readers but please hear me out. I believe us tournament anglers, and organizations to be the most knowledgeable conservationists on the State's waters. We pay a fee just like other anglers. In addition we pay a special permit fee to participate in the sport as a contest. We abide by special rules that the general public is not subject to at the same time we are on the water. We do our best to not loose ONE fish while on the water. I can remember the one fish I lost in years of fishing. I gill hooked a crankbait fish. We are subjected to reduced fishing time during the summer hours. The "public" is out there all day. We only possess the legal limit of fish (allowed to be killed). Calls to DFG for overlimit fishing by the "public"regularly get shoved aside as the DFG does not have the staff to enforce that law. Now we are be threatened with loss of our participation rights because of public perception of fish kill? The same thing they do all day? Maybe it is time for the DFG to get out and educate the public as to the benefits of tournament angling. Maybe it is time for the DFG to educate the PUBLIC as to how to fizz a bass. That's an easy place to start. I am sure the general fishing community would take real well to a reduced fishing day during the summer hours AND a requirement that they fizz any bass caught out of deep water. No? Didn't think so. I think the DFG takes us for granted. They think that we are so enamored with our version of the sport that we will do anything to keep playing. What if we didn't play anymore? What if we melded in to the general fishing public? Maybe there wouldn't be a "Clean and Dry" campaign. Actually coined by one of our tournament people. Maybe we would just go fishing and kill 5 fish a day. Our given licensed right. Maybe a bunch of us wouldn't have boats, buy baits, pay launch fees and worse for you, buy licenses. Maybe we wouldn't need Terry Foreman if there were no tournament permits. I think the DFG should consider what your rules have done to tournament fishing in the State. We now have all of our tournaments stuffed in to a couple of month period of the year. Save for a few night tournaments. Tournament fishing participation is on the decline. I do not believe it is warranted for the DFG to threaten pulling permits. Maybe the DFG would rather not have tournaments? I think not. Tell us how and why we need to act to protect the resource and we are ready to jump. Treat us like second class participants in the sport, be ready for the consequences.

[Brian Linehan]

You made a lot of great points as well Robert and I don't think anyone should flame you on this. I guess the answer lies somewhere in the middle.

[Sean Graf]

You made a lot of great points as well Robert and I don't think anyone should flame you on this. I guess the answer lies somewhere in the middle.

[propgun]

wow you said a mouth full I hope the right people were listening. It's the general public that needs to be educated on these matters I for one agree.

[Terry]

Robert F,

I always like it when I get fan mail. Sorry I rubbed you the wrong way on this. It wasn't my intention.

After reading the quote I see your point. I was NOT threatening tournament anglers, but was trying to point out that we do NOT want to do those things, that we just want you as good stewards to comply with the conditions. Please do not think of this as a threat, because it isn't. As the bottom line, the Department statewide asks that tournament organizations adhere more closely to the three minute rule, so that your resources are protected.

Tournament fishing is here to stay, as far as I'm concerned.

I hope you understand, and I think you do, that some fish that are weighed in and appear alive actually die anyway. Studies back east and here in CA show that, depending on water temps, tournaments lose between 2% and sometimes 80% of the fish released. The actual average over the year is around 20%. The stress associated with fish being in low O2 and loss of slime (osmoregulatory stress) in livewells are the major causes. I've lost fish myself in tournaments for no apparent reason. What I'm getting at is that this is not perceived loss, but actual loss. Most tournament anglers and organizations recognize that. Bass die at a higher rate in the summer heat. That's why the Department made those special summer conditions.

We have had public inquiries as to why tournament orgs don't pay a large fee (many hundreds of dollars) or taxes on the fish for the use of the resource to generate income. We point to the fact that bass tournaments keep the fish alive to be released later, and go through all kinds of processes to assure the fish stay alive.

Please understand that the DFG does NOT take the tournament anglers for granted. Many of us are tournament anglers anyway, and just want to protect the resource more than most because we may more fully recognize the biological and sociological problems that come with the territory.

I think I am correct in saying that our rules have preserved tournament fishing in the state. Public pressure would have killed it years ago if it were not for demonstrating that tournaments can be held without unnecessary loss of the resource and that orgs were complying with the rules. I know that Mike and I have always stood up for the tournament angler, because we both participate in tournaments and see it as a viable activity.

As Mike said, many years ago the So. California Bass Council asked that we limit the number of tournaments held in a month to every other weekend, so that the lakes would have a break from constant effort and members of the fishing public would have a chance to fish without 100 boats running all over them. We did do that in response to their request and other input from the public.

A few years ago, we were asked by tournament organizers to loosen the restriction and allow tournaments on every weekend. We took this chance because we felt the organizations and tournament anglers would do their best to make sure they abided by the rules and did their part in conserving the resource. We are now asking, based upon observation by DFG staff, that anglers and organizers basically stay the course, but try to do things a little more efficiently. I therefore don't see the new conditions as particularly egregious. (I know, you're tired after a day on the water, it's hot/cold/windy, you want to go home. I get it. Just something else to deal with.)

The general public is not as aware nor will likely ever be aware of these issues as tournament anglers are. And they don't catch near as many bass as we do either. By the way, we will consider adding a link on the website to show the public how to properly fizz fish. This worries me, but I'll discuss it with the regional biologists.

John Barron and the others in the "Clean and Dry" campaign did an absolutely wonderful job in getting the word out about quagga mussels and how they would affect both the lakes and access. We wouldn't have the good reputation we (tourn anglers) have without their help.

I hope these points will lessen the heartburn about the special conditions and look forward to your feedback. I will be gone on vacation from the office until July 7th and unavailable by email and cell phone starting tomorrow (long range tuna trip), but will look forward to hearing from you when I return.

Sincerely,

Terry Foreman

[AaronAgner]

This was the first year that I have seen FLW require a single bag for any fish over 5 lbs. In the past years it seems like it was only a recommendation. They were really enforcing it this year. But what I find strange is that after the fish are brought to the pre weighing staging area, they all go into one bag and remain there till being brought to the release boat. Seems a bit strange to make all that effort only to half obey the rule: "Once the bass are weighed they should be returned to the angler in the same number of containers or more if the angler did not use enough containers"
If I'm reading this right, and I had 5 fish that weighed 2.6 lbs, I would need 5 bags? That would sure get some strange looks from fellow competitors. haha.

[Robert F]

Aaron, The only deviation from the "5 pounder" rule that I have seen in FLW is that the fish are placed in one bag to go on stage, then water added and taken to the release boat in one bag. I have always seen, and myself taken, multiple sacks from the boat and through the tanks to the weighmaster's hand. Certainly been up to the angler to determine whether you need the additional sacks. I am sure there are many 4 pounders in their own sack as it is a bit intimidating to see your competitor huffing 5 sacks across the Russo's dock.
Terry, Thank you for the diplomatic and thorough response to my post. I am comfortable that you and Mike are even handed with your enforcement and will provide a reasonable solution to this issue. I can imagine your issues with relaying to the public the problems with deep caught bass. I can not expect very much success with a public fizzing campaign. Most of the dock personnel at the San Diego City lakes are not able to do it properly. As far as bass mortality is concerned, it is my understanding that most lakes need more thinning of the bass populations. If this is true, it may be a good idea to keep a certain percentage of tournament caught bass. Maybe we can set up a deal with charities that would use the fish for food. The tournament report to DFG could have an allowance for this dead loss/donation without penalty. I am sure that organizations would happily collect these marginal fish if they knew they were not jeopardizing their permit. The term incidental loss is very vague. I am sure that many TDs release fish that should be kept for dead. When you are required to put a number on the report that could jeopardize your future permits any live fish is put back in the drink. Whether it lives or dies later, they are still living when released by permit standards. One additional point to consider is the logistics of asking tournament anglers to remove their boats for the weigh-in, then release the fish outside the bouy lines. There are many small tournaments that do not have the resources to comply with this requirement without hiring an additional boat to accomodate the release. Maybe this can be waived for tournaments with less than 40 boats? Just a number with no basis. Something to consider. Thanks for your involvement in tournament fishing. As you know we are very happy to assist in any reasonable solution to this issue.

[Mike Giusti]

Hey Robert,

I will try and cover this for Terry while he is out trying to catch tuna. I cannot comment on the way that FLW conducts its weigh-in as I have not personnally observed them. I understand them bring the fish up in one bag for the wiegh-in if they are in multiple bag until just before. Once they have been wieghed it depends on how quickly the fish can get back to the release point. Some of the bigger tournament have hatchery trucks near the stage so it is only a matter of a few seconds before the fish are released. It they have to be carried down a ramp then they should go back into multiple bags. We are going to be working with all the organizations to make sure we minimize the stress on the bass.

I agree with you and Terry that a public fizzing campaign is not likely to be successful. What I have been suprized at is the number of tournament anglers that do not know how to fizz fish. As I said in my orginal post they have an opportunity to learn if they would just take the time to come down to the release boat. The marina staff at DVL and the tournament staff are only to happy to show them how to needle fish. After they do 10 or 20 fish they generally are comfortable enought to do it the next time they are out fishing.

We haven't made a definite decision on the release of fish outside the wave attentuator at DVL. I am willing to work with the clubs and organization to come up with a reasonable solution to this problem. My main concern was having bass floating upside down on the launch ramp or in front of the shoreline fishing area. While I understand your concern about having boats taken out of the water only to put them back in to release fish it is not as difficult as you think. This has been a requirement at Pine Flat and Clear Lake for years. Not every boat needs to be put back in and release it's fish. What my club has done is put several limits in one boat with a good aerator so that only a few boats had to relaunch. A warden watched us do it a Pine Flat and said this was an acceptable way of dealing with the problem.


There is no penalty for reporting dead fish to DFG. We may look at the way is tournament is run if we start seeing excessively high numbers of dead fish. Most tournaments that I have been at have relatively few dead fish but have 10 to may be 20 that their survival is doubtful. Keep in mind that this may be out of 200 or more that were wieghed in. I would not be comfortable in asking the TDs to make the call on what appears to be a bass that is not going to survive.


One last point to remember my post was focused on Diamond Valley and what applies there may not be workable at other lakes. We realize that this is the case and would not impose the same rules on other lakes.

Mike

[tunaman]

What my club has done is put several limits in one boat with a good aerator so that only a few boats had to relaunch. A warden watched us do it a Pine Flat and said this was an acceptable way of dealing with the problem.

Mike,

Isn't that a violation of posession limits, unless there are enough 'anglers' on board to account for the number of fish? This was discussed some time back, I believe when our club was supposed to perform release boat duties for the Top Stick event last year. Is there a waiver process?

It only makes sense, but unfortunately sometimes the letter of the law gets in the way of common sense.

Roger

[DL]

As most of you know the bass at Diamond Valley Lake tend to be caught at depths exceeding 25 feet all year. Bass caught in depths greater than 25 feet are not able to adjust to the rapid depressurization associated with being caught by an angler. Often times these fish have not been decompressed and are being released at the launch ramp or are being brought to the release boat floating upside down. Bass which are held in a livewells all day in this condition often do not survive. When fish are released near the launch ramp without being properly decompressed the public’s perception is that the fish are dead and it is the tournament anglers who are responsible. If your anglers do not know how to deflate bass properly you have an opportunity to train them by having them assist at the release boat.

During the past four seasons I have worked for Angler's Choice and WON Bass and most tournament guys/gals would be amazed at the amount of fish that come to the release net or dock that need to be needled. One event in particalur was at Castaic in 06'. If I had 200 fish put into the release net, 50 of them needed to be fizzed...and there were a few guys that brought me an entire limit of fish that needed to be fizzed. This is not only wrong, but irresponsible. I asked one of the guys why he brought me 5 fish that needed fizzing and his reply was " I dont know how to do it" and walked off. Until there is a penalty for bringing unfizzed fish to the scales, it will continue. I know it may be difficult at the scales to determine whether a fish is stuffed with shad or is bloated with air, but any suspicious fish can be placed in a water filled tub to determine whether it needs to be fizzed or not.

It comes down to Angler responsibility, and how they take care of their fish during the day...and night. Penalizing a team for its inablility to properly take of its fish may be the only way to solve the fizzing problem

DL

[Mike Giusti]

Hi Roger,

I don't think a waiver is required in this instance. If the Dept. is requiring that fish be released outside of bouys or some point then we understand that not every boat is going to be relaunced to make this happen. We don't issue waivers for release boats and a warden is not going to issue a citation for complying with conditions impossed by the Dept. As long as the person releasing the fish just goes the release point and doesn't stop and fish on the way there shouldn't be an issue.

Mike

[Ray L.]

Mike,
First off thanks for taking my call and discussing the different issues I brought up during our conversation.
DL just brought up something that many clubs and some tournament organizations do not have in there weigh in process. A release net at the dock when fish are to be released. The finger dock at Castaic is a prime example.
Great spot to release fish since it is main lake and the fish are let go in an area that is a deep water area. The problem is a release net for fish that need to be fizzed. Most not all clubs do not have a release net.
I do think that maybe at least the tournament organizations should think about having a release net at all there tournaments. I myself will be making one for this off season to have at all my events next year. It is a great way to make sure you do not have floaters going down the bank after your event has ended.
I also think that all organizations should have 1 type of needle to fizz fish. I myself use the best one I have seen and that is the bends mender.It is awesome for going through the mouth of the fish. I have never lost a fish since I started going through the mouth. Many anglers feel it is to tricky to go through the side of the fish. This makes it tough for guys to learn but if they were to learn to go through the mouth in the throat area I think you may see more anglers taking the time to learn that technique.
See you at the Jamboree
Ray Leyerly

[wccjanel]

Lots of great info here guys. Thank you all for bringing this to our attention Mike.

I get paid nothing for this, so keep that in mind.
If you guys haven't yet tried the FlipClips out, I think you should give them a consideration. Often times when I'm guiding, I like to put schooling fish in the livewell until the school stops producing. I then let them go before we go to the next spot, maybe pausing for a picture or two. In that short hour or so, sometimes those fish are bloated, and the old needle has to come out. This can really gross out a lady from Nebraska in a heartbeat - trust me, I know. Recently, I tried the FlipClips out that Jim Kramer was so nice to offer. They worked very well.
www.flipclipfishing.com

Another old trick is to rig a dropshot with the hook upside down. Crimp the barb, and use a 1 ounce weight. Loosely place the hook into the topside in of the fishes upper lip. As you drop the line down slowly, the fish goes with it. When it reaches the bottom, the weight acts as a hook remover. You reel up, the fish swims away. It's archaic at times, but it works.

FLW uses cages, and I know WON quite often needles as needed. But, we have to do something.

As for me, I'm now hooked on the FlipClips.

Peace,
James

[Lane]

I agree with Wccjanel on the FishClips. Mr. Kramer sent us several
clips to distribute to some participants before the BassChamps
Falcon event late last April. I observed the fish brought to the staging tanks, and CLOSELY inspected the FishClip fish. I was pleased with the initial results.

In fact I was pleased enough to point him in the right direction for
further independent scientific studies dealing with barotrauma.
A post graduate student attending a university in Ontario Canada
will be conducting research on the clips this summer as part of
his research on barotrauma.

In my professional opinion, at the very least these clips can assist
fish suffering from the associated stress of struggling to position
themselves upright.

Future studies may indicate that the FishClips can be used as an
effective method of treating barotrauma in the livewell. The clips
can be used my most anglers with ease. Many anglers are not trained in proper fizzing techniques, and this can be an alternative
until fish can be properly fizzed by the experts.

[Oldschool]

My 2 cents; when a bass is caught from water over 40 feet deep, the fast pressure change has a major impact the survival from brain damage. The fact the air bladder expands, causing the bass to roll over, the loss of equilibrium is only an indication of the stress the bass is going through.
Bass that roll over, barotrauma, require fast and expert resusitation to prevent permanent brain damage. Fizzing allows the bass to swim upright, the clips may also help the bass to swim upright, however when released a bass with brain damage may not be able to forage for food and eventually dies.
Tournament anglers really need to think about how deep they can catch bass, place them in a livewell for several hours and expect the bass to survive. Fizzing helps, lowering back down with a weight is better, putting stressed bass in a cage and lowering them down...who knows out of sight out of mind.
40 feet is my maximum depth limit. If a bass is severly stressed, keep it and take it home for dinner.
Tom

[flipclip]

Thanks for the words of support WCC and Lane, I hope the ones I sent out to all of you are being put to good use. I'll make sure I post the results of the research work done by Dr. Tuft's lab here. The graduate student's (Matt DeMille Queen's University, Department of Biology) assignment is barotrauma, he should have detailed information not only related to the use of the FlipClip, but on deep caught fish care in general. I hope this information will help us all learn more about this subject and keep more fish alive. The deep water season here in the north is just getting started, so it may take a few months to hear anything.
Jimmy Kramer
http://www.flipclipfishing.com