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February 2009

Save cold weather bass

If your tournament season runs deep into winter, you may need to take some extra precautions to ensure your catch lives to see the weigh-in.

Gene Gilliland, supervisor for Oklahoma’s Department of Wildlife Conservation, says the most important thing to remember in a cold weather tournament is to fizz fish if needed. “Since most cold weather bass are caught deep, there’s a better chance you’ll need to fizz them,” he says.

Fizzing involves taking a needle to a bass’ swim bladder to relieve pressure that results from rapid changes in depth that expand the air inside the fish’s bladder. Because the colder water in the livewell has more oxygen in it, your No. 1 priority is looking to see if a fish needs fizzing. You can tell if fizzing is required because the fish will have trouble staying upright in the livewell; it will be on its side and trying to swim down because it can’t find its equilibrium.

To fizz from the side of the fish, sweep a pectoral fin flush to the fish, then count two or three scales back and remove one scale. Insert the needle where the scale was removed while submerging the fish, and look for bubbles.

We recommend using a new fizzing tool from Team Marine, www.teammarineusa.us . Chris Horton, BASS conservation director, helped design it. This tool has a needle that is the perfect size, is retractable, and locks in place while in use. Purchase one with a BASS shield on it and part of the proceeds will go to BASS conservation.

February 2009

Save cold weather bass

If your tournament season runs deep into winter, you may need to take some extra precautions to ensure your catch lives to see the weigh-in.

Gene Gilliland, supervisor for Oklahoma’s Department of Wildlife Conservation, says the most important thing to remember in a cold weather tournament is to fizz fish if needed. “Since most cold weather bass are caught deep, there’s a better chance you’ll need to fizz them,” he says.

Fizzing involves taking a needle to a bass’ swim bladder to relieve pressure that results from rapid changes in depth that expand the air inside the fish’s bladder. Because the colder water in the livewell has more oxygen in it, your No. 1 priority is looking to see if a fish needs fizzing. You can tell if fizzing is required because the fish will have trouble staying upright in the livewell; it will be on its side and trying to swim down because it can’t find its equilibrium.

To fizz from the side of the fish, sweep a pectoral fin flush to the fish, then count two or three scales back and remove one scale. Insert the needle where the scale was removed while submerging the fish, and look for bubbles.

We recommend using a new fizzing tool from Team Marine, www.teammarineusa.us . Chris Horton, BASS conservation director, helped design it. This tool has a needle that is the perfect size, is retractable, and locks in place while in use. Purchase one with a BASS shield on it and part of the proceeds will go to BASS conservation.