handling bass in warm water conditions

[Sac River Jim]

heres a cut and paste for managing your live well during the summer

• Fill your livewell as soon as you launch your boat and turn on the aerator to build up dissolved oxygen levels.
• Run your aerator continuously, no matter what time of year. Fish confined in livewells use oxygen faster than an aerator can replace it.
• Add ice to the livewell. When water surface temperatures are higher than 85 degrees, adding ice will reduce the water temperature in a livewell by 10 degrees.
• Use block ice if possible. It melts slower than crushed or cubed ice, and it cools water more evenly. One eight-pound block will cool a 30-gallon livewell for about three hours. Carry extra blocks in an ice chest to use later.
• Add non-iodized salt, 1/3-cup per five gallons of livewell capacity, to help reduce stress on fish.
• Re-circulate water through your aerator rather than pump in hot surface water.
• Replace at least half of the livewell water two or three times daily to remove ammonia. Add additional ice and salt, and then resume recirculation.
• Commercial livewell additives help calm fish in livewells, helping reduce stress and decreasing their oxygen respiratory rates.