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Member
Posts: 1991
| I fished the FLW Bemidji event 0n the 20th, I ended loosing 3 fish out of 5, bummer, they where still breathing and alive but would not stay upright.
It was rough out there, trolling into the wind I washed the top of the bow cap a couple of times.
But the 3 fish I caught early and lost all where beat up on the top of the head, back and sides, I wondered how thet happened? I felt the bottom of the livewell edge and it sharp, it scrapped part of the dorsel fin of one, there should be some edging on there.
Also with that long livewell the water really gets sloshing back and forth with the waves, I think there should be a baffle in the middle like a gas tank in a car to slow down the water when sloshing back and forth.
Edited by moreyes 7/22/2007 6:53 AM
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Location: Rhinelander | I'm sure they can make you a baffle, but the fish will beat up against that as it is a 90 degree corner and will probably be harmed more than in the 52 inch well. It also will have to be fastened in, and if you have a number of large 'eyes, opened, exposing the fish to the edge of the baffle. If it's removable, the hardware the baffle slides into will be worse than the water moving on the fish. Been there and done that one.
Fish in rough conditions in the well all day have a rough time; some days they come through fine and others, not. |
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Member
Posts: 1991
| Steve
What do you think of the sharp lip? Check it out |
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Member
Posts: 265
Location: Lincolnshire, IL | There was a thread on another walleye site in regards to keeping fish alive...one suggestion in rough conditions was to plug the overflow and fill the livewell to the rim when traveling, this would cut down on the water sloshing back and forth. |
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Member
Posts: 273
| I plug my livewell drain about 3/4 of the way. Allows the livewell to fill to the top. Prevents some of the sloshing. Prevents too much water from running out the drain when I have to get on plane & make a run. |
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Member
Posts: 3899
| I plug my livewell overflow on thwe way back to te weigh in. Pack it full, and the fish don't slosh as much. I too agree we need to put some trim in the underside of the opening. I notice quite a few scales after a day of fish in the livewell. |
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Location: Rhinelander | trim lock probably won't work well, perhaps they need to sand the edges down to a soft radius. |
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| Fill the well to its full and put on recirculate before traveling. works well for me |
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Member
Posts: 1991
| I looked at mine some more, that lip is sharp enough to cut your finger, I think edging on the lip like what is on the console is needed |
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| mooreyes, i have a live well bag , made by beckmen, this really helps from the fish getting beaten, also i use oxygen bottle when it is this hot, a little trick we do is clip icefishing depth weights to pectoral fins this prevents fish from rolling on back, they cant breath on there back, this works better than fizzing. that live well bag really saves the fish from getting sloshed around. |
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Member
Posts: 15
| Yes the livewell is an issue with the Tuffy Walleye boats. It could use a baffle. The edge to me is not as big of an issue as needing depth and a baffle. The livewell is definately a very good size, but it does seem to slosh an aweful lot in waves. I think that if it could be extended to the top of the splash well rim and have a baffle added, it would realy improve the life of the fish. It would not interupt the performance of the boats, but would really improve success rates of live releases. We have spoke with Zach on this and he said it can not go deeper due to stringer height. Both on the 1890 and the 2060. I personally have kept the livewell running at every tournament this summer and have not lost a fish. At Otter Street we had our five weighers in the livewell by 9:30a.m. and they were all alive and releasable at 3:30 weigh in. I think that at the "Get Together" this year we can all discuss what each like and disilike about the best riding boat on the water and come up with a fair compromise. I would not trade anything about my 1890 to date. I ran sideways to the waves multiple times this summer and had Skeeter as well as Lund dedicated guys in the boat, that were very impressed with the ride. Props to Tuffy. The input we can all add will build the future.
Thanks,
Mike |
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Member
Posts: 1040
Location: Stevens Point, WI | In my personal opinion and experience with dealing with fish, I think alot of the reason why your fished died moreyes is due to the water temps and how long you had those fish in the well. I'm not saying what your saying about the whole edge thing on the livewell is wrong, but I do know that walleyes are hardier than you think and can withstand more than you think. The warm water in the well puts them under more stress and more likely to croak than say cooler water. I can remember guys bringing in limits of fish alive at the Chamberlain tournament for the PWT last spring where we had solid 25+ mph winds every day but the water was much cooler. Same goes for the Escanaba tournament in late August, guys had problems with keeping fish alive because of the depths they were pulling fish out of and then putting fish in there livewell early in the day but then would sit in surface water in the livewell. There are other livewells very similar.
The edge you are talking about is made of fiberglass. If you want to dull it down, use a large grit sand paper and take off the edge. it will be very easy to sand down. Trim lock won't be any easier on the fish.
Edited by Merckid 7/23/2007 11:25 PM
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Member
Posts: 1991
| I had one fish that the dorsal fin was scrapped back off about a inch. I am sure the waves where we where fishing was the main culprit, but the above mentioned was also a factor.
I had a Oxygenater and had a DO of 7.0, the dnr was testing the water, and my temp was 70.
One thing I would add the ride back thru the waves was quite smooth, you have to like the way these boats ride!!
Edited by moreyes 7/24/2007 5:22 AM
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Member
Posts: 3899
| If I am not mistaken, they have trim lock in the Ranger livewells. There are some sharp edges in there. I've only lost one fish so far this year, at Oconto. |
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Member
Posts: 1991
| My thoughts are, if you can keep your fish more to the center line of the boat the calmer the water, example hold up a a board 2' long, mark the center, put a nail there, now rockit back and forth, what travels further up and down, the center or the ends. That would be side to side. The back of the boat is the smoothest part as far as the ride goes.
Get my drift???
And they dont get any smoother riding than a Tuffy.
Yes both Triton an dRanger put trim lockon their livewell lips inside |
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Member
Posts: 1040
Location: Stevens Point, WI | I still think in my opinion, and from what I have seen with the fish in my livewell, that it's due more to the warmth of the water than anything. Yes, they may take a bit of a beating in the well, but with colder water that will put less stress on the fish and your mortality rate will be less. Your livewell is in the rear of the boat, where the fish are getting the best ride possible. I know guys that were using there front livewells on big water and combine that with big winds, that usually did the fish in. But after a year on the trail and seeing how much these fish truly can take, I don't think having there heads bumped up to the edge is doing them in, it might be a contributing factor but definitely not the main cause. Like someone elsed mentioned, plug your exit holes and fill the livewell to the brim. That will help the fish also. Otherwise, find some rubber tube and cut it, then wrap it around the edge, that might fix your problem.
Stacker, you fish tournaments alot, what's your opinion? You have much problem with fish dying do to that edge?
Edited by Merckid 7/29/2007 6:33 PM
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Member
Posts: 1991
| No I hear you, livewell temps make a huge difference, but I think the raw edge is something that could easely be fixed to help in the overall sceme of things.
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Location: Rhinelander | I believe you were offered a suggestion to fix that edge on your boat, try it. Fiberdome will address it as well, but can't very well on your boat until the 'fix' is designed. |
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| last week on 7/23 we talked to MN DNR staff person at the landing on Bemidji. he had walleyes from the FLW League event from 7/21 that were being kept in 4 floating pens in the lake off Cameron Park. they were studying delayed mortality. i don't know how many live fish were in the pens nor how many dead fish they'd already removed, but i saw one floater in each of 2 out of the 4 pens when i returned on 7/25. everything i've seen about the way these big tourney trails handle fish leads me to believe they have relatively low mortality rates.
it would be interesting to read some actual research (vs speculation) on the impact of transport stresses on fish. if it's anything like what i've read on muskies, i'm sure it's a cumulative effect rather than any single cause, which means that anything we can do to reduce any of the stresses the fish experience will be helpful. muskies are notorious for being less hearty than bass or walleyes, so if someone is fishing a transport muskie tourney these considerations might be even more important than with other species.
as an aside, there were muskies circling the mesh walleye pens like sharks around a survival raft. 
Edited by lambeau 7/29/2007 10:02 PM
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Member
Posts: 1991
| sworrall - 7/29/2007 9:53 PM
I believe you were offered a suggestion to fix that edge on your boat, try it. Fiberdome will address it as well, but can't very well on your boat until the 'fix' is designed.
Yes they did, which was cool, you guys always have a open ear, nice to know that you guys listen to the little guy.
Just trying to make a great boat better
Thanks Steve and Steve |
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Member
Posts: 2445
Location: Fremont, Wisconsin | I have had a lot of experience with fish in a well in the 2060. To tell the truth, I have not lost a fish yet. I do think that the fuller your well is the less a fish slaps around. Thus, keep the pump running while you are. The black plastic even flow on the back of the boat will keep you in contact with water during the trip. As far as sharp edges harming the fish: Well, I just felt mine and its just fine. If what I felt is of concern to harming and even killing fish, well I will agree with the Merckid. Learning how to fizz fish, keeping the pumps on 100% of the time, better care than anywhere is how I like to put it. When I do lose a fish, it is usually because it was gilled when hooked or something of the like.
Moreyes, try keeping the well full, I think you will see a major difference. Also, I would not plug the overflow line. just let it all work like it is supposed to.
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Member
Posts: 3899
| If you don't plug the overflow, you lose 3-4" of water on the top, and that is what causes the water, and fish, to slosh around. I only plug it before I make the run back. This packs the water in the livewell, and it then overflows into the boat. Then, well out from the weigh in site, I switch to Recirc, still leaving the overflow plugged. The keeps the maximum amount of water in the livewell. More water equals more O2, and cooler water. More water slows the temperature rise when waiting to weigh in.
I've only lost one fish this year, and that was at Oconto. It was just fine when I left for the weigh in, but had a hard time keeping itself upright by the time we hit the scale.My water temp was the coolest that the survey guy measured up to that point. Only 1 degree above the lake temp I measured, and 6-7 below the water in the river. |
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