Page 17 - 2021 Grenada Lake Big Mama Tournament Issue

Magazine
Magnol
Magnolia Crappie Club Adventures Magazine
“Live Fish Rule-Healthy & Alive”
By Stephen Turnerr - Magnolia Crappie Club Weighmaster
The “Live Fish Rule.” While I was very skep-
tical of this rule, I understood the purpose
and supported the members who voted for
the rule change. The live fish rule has caused
some challenges and obstacles to overcome.
I am busy on Tournament day, just trying to
find and catch seven good fish; now a new
factor comes into play. So as all new ideas
come about, research has to occur and im-
plementation on Tournament day has to com-
mence. After reading several articles and
watching several videos on keeping fish alive,
I wanted to share my thoughts and what I
have learned. Even though you may not be
releasing your fish back to the water every
tournament, this is a great way to preserve
your fish as you get ready to put them on the
dinner table.
First and foremost, please
read the rule and keep up
with information sent out
by MCC on check-ins and
how this rule will be imple-
mented at the weigh-in.
Remember, it is each of our
responsibility to understand
the rules of the club. The
last thing I want to do as
the Weigh-Master is to dis-
qualify a member or throw
out a dead fish or penalize
the team, all because the
member did not take the
time to read and understand the rules and
instructions for that tournament. As I said, I
was skeptical of this new rule. Will this stop
the questions that circle the weigh-ins about
fish being caught the same day? Will this
detour the average fisherman from fishing in
MCC’s tournaments? I don’t know, but as the
club moves forward and listens to most of the
members, this is the rule you wanted. Let’s
embrace the challenge, adapt to change, and
make ourselves better anglers for the future.
CrappieNow magazine has an excellent arti-
cle written by Tim Huffman on “Keeping Fish
Alive & Healthy.” A lot of what I will present
17 - Adventures Magazine -Grenada Lake Spring 2021 Issue
ia Cr
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appie Club
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Adv
in this article comes from his research and
experience. “Recreational and tournament
fishermen both benefit from having healthy
crappie in the Livewell,” Tim Huffman. The
Bobby Garland Pro Team of Dan Dannenmuel-
ler and Garrett Steele also gives some insight
into keeping fish alive. See below an insert to
Tim’s article from Dan:
“Oxygen is the first factor for healthy fish
whether fishing for recreation or tournaments,
according to Dannenmueller. Tournament fish-
ermen use built-in livewells or quality coolers
made into livewells to keep fish alive. A simple
addition of a bubbler is the most basic item
that is important. Outside water from pumps
and re-circulation pumps also help with oxy-
gen levels. A product called
Survivor adds fresh water
and Oxygen when the boat
is moving. Serious fishermen
sometimes add medical Ox-
ygen for added support of
the fish. “The second factor
is temperature. Livewells are
insulated, but the water does
heat up substantially, simi-
lar to a cab of a truck in the
sunshine. Fish must be com-
fortable so waters cannot be
allowed to heat up. CoolWell
has an excellent system for
cooling a Livewell. Most fish-
ermen opt for adding ice. I
try to maintain 68 to 70 in the Livewell during
warm and hot conditions. Pushing in freshwa-
ter is great until surface water gets above 70
degrees. Others say 75 degrees is okay. After
that, I prefer to cool the fish slowly using ice.
Water frozen in milk jugs and water bottles
work great for a slow release and keeps chlo-
rinated water and Livewell water separated. I
never use bagged ice directly because of the
chlorine. A third factor is chemicals. Sure-Life,
the maker of KeepAlive, has decades of expe-
rience taking care of fish.
Continued...................page 23