Well if you are lucky your boat has a big enough live well to handle a 50+ LB. fish. If not then you can make one your self. Lots of people use 100 gallon rubber maid stock tanks. As far as a recirculating pump your best off spending the money and getting a keep alive pump. There also a sponsor here on the BOC. Probably the best recirculating pump on the market. It's I know since i have installed mine it has made trying to keep fish alive to more of a set it and forget it. Another product I make sure and use is Rejuvenade.
Actually a rope is pretty hard on fish when in current or what not. A decoy bag works much better. That way you don't have a fish dragging behind the boat by its jaw. Also ropes tend to wrap around stuff pretty easy.
Kevin a rope works no doubt about that. I do know some tournaments are going to a no stringer rule though.
If you're going to be a real tournament fisherman, get a real livewell. If you can't guarantee that the fish you catch will be released alive and healthy, don't enter the tournament. Every reputable tournament trail prohibits the use of stringers of any kind; there's no way to put a fish on a stringer without causing damage to the fish and raising the risk of mortality after release.
One of these would work pretty well, too: http://www.fishermansoutfitter.com/pc-939-24-ultra-cool-ice-box--white-700qt-long.aspx
Welcome to the BOC! Most of us have very large homemade livewells that we use to keep the biguns in. Yes they are bulky and take up an endless amount of space. The good news is that they are typically portable and when no in a tournament; removeable.
I have to agree with Marty on this one fellas, jabbing a hole through the fishes mouth and then throwing it overboard to flop around in the current is NOT the best and is certainly not healthly for the fish, and DO NOT run a rope through the gills of a fish for it will most certainly die. If you're going to be fishing in any tournament, you should have at least enough money to invest into a decent livewell.
IMHO if you are not going to invest the money in a good livewell you should not enter the tourney. You owe it to the fish to have a quality livewell.
???"Every reputable tournament trail prohibits the use of stringers of any kind"??? Mr. T, Thats only one Buddy! None of the other tournament trails have anything in the rules saying you can't use stringers...
Well i have fished at least 4 different tourney trails including Cabelas and they all allowed stringers. I dont think it is the best way to keep fish alive but not everyone can afford a 60 gallon livewell!! To tell someone they should not fish tourneys unless thay have a large livewell is BS!!!! I have caught my share of large fish and they were all released alive and well. And i am confident they stayed alive. Decoy bags work great!!! I have seen people bring in large fish in a livewell i could have taken a bath in and they were dead. Just my opinion and everybody has one!!!!!!!:big_smile:
The greater the volume of water a livewell can hold, the greater number (or pounds) of fish that can be held. With a pressurized oxygen delivery system that will maintain saturated oxygen conditions, anglers should observe a ratio of no more than 1 pound of fish per gallon of water. Be aware that this ratio will tax conventional re-circulating aeration systems and anglers must take even greater care to maintain desirable livewell water temperatures and maximize aeration. When surface water temperatures increase above 75 degrees F, flow-through aeration alone may not be adequate, and may be lethal. 10 degrees F increase in water temperature will cause an almost 20 percent increase in respiration rate. To make matters worse, not only does the fish's oxygen demand increase, the warmer water may hold 10 percent less oxygen. Now by these notes I figure a tournament catch of 150 lbs plus would take a 200 plus gallon livewell in the summer months and at least 150 for temps below 75 degrees. Who can afford or even carry a 200 gallon livewell.??? :crazy:
