Fizzing instructions from BASS

[Basfis]

Best video instruction I’ve seen in fizzing. How, when and why.

https://video.bassmaster.com/detail/videos/conservation/video/5713863086001/what-you-need-to-know-about-fizzing-smallmouth?autoStart=true

[slothman]

There is another good video on there dealing with fizzing largemouth. The process is the same, but a different location. 

[Browning Guy]

If you watch the video after...... they are using swim noodles, cutting them to fit and float in the tops of the live wells so the fish don't get beat all to pieces in rough water. The noodles float at the top of the waterline in the live well providing cushion. 

[evilcatfish]

I must say this is a pretty good video and very informative. That said, I feel tournaments as a whole are far more detrimental to bass mortality than not fizzing them.

[Sore Thumbs]

Those Pros are a great platform to raise awareness and preservation of bass. They do it right. It’s the local tournaments that I worry about. 

[Smithvillesteve]

Thanks for sharing the video Basfis. Interesting and very informative. If i heard her right if you catch and release right away there is no need to fizz. Correct? I dont fish any tournaments so I shouldnt have to worry about this. Unless I catch a 6 lb smallie during our OA tournament!!!! If we have one angler in a tournament down at Table Rock that catches a nice smallie during a tournament and notices this bass struggling in his/her livewell and can do this to save this fish then we are better off!! The local tournaments are NOT going away boys. Education is the key!!!!!

[Guest]

why fizz a bass that you are going to haul around in the livewell, when you can cool your livewell water 10 to 12 degrees cooler than the water they came out of, and shrink their air bladder back with temperature?  far less invasive and better for the fish.  

i have used this method for several decades of tournament fishing and can not remember having any bass that did not get back to neutral and swim off at release.  i am talking about bass that were at depths of 50 to 70 feet deep.

yes, it is something that requires some time and effort to prepare your livewell ahead of time, but do you value the resource or not?

summer bass caught in deep water, the water temp they came out of will be 70 to 72 degrees (thermocline temp).  winter bass most often come out of water that is in the range of 50 to 52 degrees for our region.  you base your livewell water temp 10 to 12 degrees off of those temps.  you need a thermometer to check the water temp as you add ice.  you can get the water too cold.  as stated, it does take time, and needs to be done before you begin fishing, which means you will be carrying full livewells from the gitgo.

bo

[Basfis]

It’s incredibly common for tournament competitors to arrive at take off from their hotel that is lacking spigots for livewell filling in advance.

I’m guessing fizzing is faster but it’s only a guess.  one can be confident the chemical make up of livewell water pumped from the lake is the same as the fish were in. 

Its a rare day I catch a fish deep enough to worry. 

[dtrs5kprs]

1 hour ago, Basfis said:

Its a rare day I catch a fish deep enough to worry. 

Especially a brown one.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Basfis said:

It’s incredibly common for tournament competitors to arrive at take off from their hotel that is lacking spigots for livewell filling in advance.

I’m guessing fizzing is faster but it’s only a guess.  one can be confident the chemical make up of livewell water pumped from the lake is the same as the fish were in. 

Its a rare day I catch a fish deep enough to worry. 

no, it means arrive at the lake early enough to get the livewells prepared before takeoff.  some of us have access to spring water or water from the creek.  it is simply a matter of whether you care enough about the sport to protect the resources.

bo