Make Your Livewell Work Better

As a tournament fisherman keeping fish alive is as important as catching them in the first place.  No one wants to show up to the weigh-in with dead fish.  Not only do dead fish give you deductions in weight they are also very embarrassing.  Besides all of us ethical fishermen want to release our catch as healthy as possible so they can be caught again.  Plus those big girls will reproduce so that there are even more fish for us to catch.  So how can we make our livewells better to help ensure our fish stay healthy?  Well you could spend a lot of money on one of those expensive oxygen systems that pump oxygen into the water in your livewell.  They are very expensive to install and then you have to keep buying oxygen for the system.  Also oxygen is dangerous from a fire stand point so who needs the hassle.  So what is a good solutions the average fisherman can afford and once installed it keeps working without having any upkeep or continuous costs?  The answer to that question is the V-T2 vents from New Pro Products.

The V-T2 vents install in the lids of your livewell.  The installation is very easy and yes I think even the average non-mechanical guys/gals can do this if they follow the instructions provided.   They sit really flush on the lid so they don't get in the way or induce a tripping hazard.  The big plus is what they do for you in helping to keep your fish alive.  

There are many factors in the standard livewell that is not good for your fish.  The aeration system even helps to cause the first of these issues.  As your pumps work they actually get hot and that heat is transferred to the water they are pumping.  This isn't a huge issue if you are pumping fresh water into your tanks but if you have switched to recirculate the heat can build up really fast.  There is no place for the heat to go as most livewells aren't vented so the heat will actually start to cook your fish.  It is bad enough when the weather is nice outside but down here during the summer in Texas it will get bad very fast.  Sometimes the fresh water we are pumping into the tank is 85-95 degrees and add pump heat and no where for that heat to excape, what you get is dead fish.   Well the V-T2 vents gives that heat somewhere to go and we all know that heat rises and with these vents in your lids, out it goes.   At the same time as the heat is leaving, cooler air is being pulled into tank to help cool things down and help keep your fish alive.

The next issue we have with our livewells is a reduction in oxygen.  Again our livewells don't come with vents for oxygen to get into the tank.  You could put one of those oxygen pumping systems in at great cost, but you don't need too.  The V-T2s have you covered again.  Remember with the heat problem the V-T2s let the heat out and as it escapes cooler air is being pulled into the tank, well that cooler air also contains fresh oxygen.  That fresh oxygen is then used by your aeration system and put into the water. So now you don't have an oxygen reduction issue anymore helping to keep your fish alive.

Now last but far from least of your problems is a build up of Metabolic Gases.  These gases are byproducts of the fish's natural functions as well as bacterial organism and other living microbes in the water.  Every living thing will produce these gases but even though they are naturally produced a build up of them in your tank is not healthy for your fish.  Well yes I'm sure you have guessed by now that the V-T2s will also take care of these gases.  You are right as these gases are generally lighter than oxygen and become even lighter when heated so the same process that removes the heat from your tank will also remove a lot of these gases helping to keep your fish alive.

So by now you are saying hey these V-T2s sound great but do they really work?  Well I can tell you they do work and I was able to find out just how good they work this past weekend.   Before I tell you that story I have a question to ask; How many saltwater boats have you seen with livewells?   The answer is very few saltwater boats have livewells.  Why don't they have livewells, well that is a very easy answer, saltwater fish are very hard to keep alive.  Most of the saltwater tournaments are either not catch and release or the fishermen spend a lot of extra money to have livewells with those oxygen pumps installed.  For the most part saltwater fishermen take coolers with ice to put their catch in to keep until they get to the weigh-in or where the fish will be cleaned.  I told you this because this past weekend my son and I made a run down the bayou to where the water gets pretty salty so that we could catch some flounder.  My wife had asked for some to eat so my son and I delivered.  However being a bass fisherman first and foremost I forgot to take a cooler with ice for our catch.  So when the first flounder hit the deck I didn't have any option but to crank up the livewell and put him in.  Once we were finished fishing and the boat was on the trailer I switched my system to recirculation and we headed home.  Now I should mention that it was the end of July in Texas and the heat index that day was 105 degrees.  I really expected to have dead flounder when we got home after an hours drive, but I was in for a surprise.  Not only were all the flounder alive, they were so feisty I had to drain the tanks so I could get them out.  I also had to wait a while before cleaning them as they were just too lively to try and clean.  This proved to me once and for all that the V-T2s are a huge asset and I'll be recommending them to everyone I know!!!  For more information or to order your own V-T2s here is the link New Pro Products.

Until next time, Tight Lines and Take a Kid Fishing!!!

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Liquid Mayhem Fish Attractants
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