* The less a fish is handled and the less time it is out of the water, the greater its chances are for survival; this applies to all fish species

* Minimal handling and "air time" translates into less stress and potential damage

* Never drop a fish on the bank or in the bottom of the boat and allow it to flop around; this removes its protective film and knocks off scales

* Don’t hold a fish in the eye sockets because this may blind it

* Use pliers to remove hooks; this results in less damaging hook removal; make very effort to remove deeply embedded hooks

* Return fish to the water quickly--1 minute maximum; release fish gently with the head down

* If a fish is bleeding, carefully remove the hook and return it to the water immediately

* If a fish rolls belly up when released, hold it upright in the water and move it head-first only until it comes to

Research on live release tournaments held throughout a year on Florida lakes has shown that 74% of bass on average, survived after release. When surface water is cool, boats have well-designed and properly-used livewells, tournaments are well-organized, and fishermen are penalized for dead fish, data indicate that more than 90% of the bass survive. If the above conditions are not the case, almost half the fish will die.

The livewell management principles outlined here are for bass but may be applied to any fish. The key factors are water temperature, dissolved oxygen, ammonia, and salt use.

Water temperature: Except when near freezing, cold water temperatures are not stressful to bass, but high temperatures or sudden changes are. The highest water temperature that allows long-term survival of bass is 98 F degrees. On a very hot sunny day, surface water temperatures can rise to near this level, so pumping lake water into the livewell will do little to lower temperatures. Instead, ice blocks (crushed or cubed ice) can be added. A half-gallon block will lower the temperature of 10 gallons of water about 8 F degrees. When fishing in water 80-90 F degrees keep livewell temperatures about 5 degrees cooler than lake water. When lake water is warmer than 90 F degrees, keep livewell water at 86 degrees. On a hot summer day, 8 to 10 half-gallon blocks may be needed for the whole day. Ice can be made at home in half-gallon plastic jugs.

Temperature shock can also occur when fish are taken from cooler water and plunged into a hot livewell, or fish can be taken from a livewell of hot water and released into cooler water. Based on research, a sudden increase of 5 F degrees is stressful and 8 F degrees can cause death. Sudden decreases are also bad, so only cool livewell waters enough to reach desired temperature, oxygen, and ammonia conditions.

Dissolved oxygen: The maximum amount of oxygen that water can hold decreases as water temperature rises. At the same time, because fish are cold-blooded, as water temperature rises so does the need for oxygen by the fish. At 86 F degrees, bass use twice as much oxygen as at 68 F. Oxygen should be kept above 5 p.m. (parts per million). Even at cool temperatures, it takes 15 to 20 minutes of aeration of the livewell to reach 80-90% of maximum levels of oxygen the water can carry. Water cannot be over aerated. In fact, continuous operation is needed with only 7 pounds of bass in an 15 gallon livewell if the water is 86 F degrees.

Ammonia: Ammonia is a waste product of fish, given off through a fish's gills. Their production of ammonia increases as temperature rises. In acid waters, ammonia almost never is a problem, but in alkaline waters ammonia levels can rise to stressful levels in several hours. As a rule of thumb, for a livewell for containing one-half pound of fish per gallon of water, remove about 10 gallons of water and refill with fresh water every two hours when the water is below 80 F degrees and every hour if above 80 F degrees. Remember when changing water, that you may need to add ice.

Salt: Adding a bit of salt to the water in the livewell is a trick that greatly reduces stress. Sea salt, rock salt or uniodized table salt will all work. Dose rates are 0.5% which works out to 1 cup of salt per 15 gallons of water. Dosing is easier if you put marks on the inside wall of the livewell for each 5 gallons of water capacity.