Keeping Live Bait - Alive and Active

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Using Live Bait Fishing is the most consistence
 method of catching Stripers and Black Bass.

Keeping Live Bait - Alive and Active
is the key requirements for successful live-bait fishing. 

The best-designed lures or the freshest, most expertly rigged dead baits can’t imitate the action, flash and scent of a natural live bait. This is why many fishermen are turning to live bait.

To help achieve this goal, a growing number of serious live bait anglers have been “supercharging” their baits by injecting pure oxygen into the live-well water. Doing so allows them to keep their baits alive longer, as well as “recharge” the tired ones to where they’ll swim like they’re on steroids.

Oxygen injection

Dissolved Oxygen levels in livewell water can be improved by flowing pure oxygen from a pressurized cylinder into the livewell through an air stone or bubble hose. A regulator or pressure valve controls the flow. The tiny bubbles contain 100 percent oxygen and provide a huge surface area for the oxygen to diffuse into the water. These systems will maintain adequate oxygen levels in the livewell under the most extreme conditions.

Oxygenation systems can be purchased commercially for $300 to $500.

Follow the manufacturer's directions very carefully, as there are
serious safety requirements when dealing with oxygen.

DO NOT install a homemade oxygenation system on your boat without the guidance of an expert. If installation guidelines are not strictly adhered to, serious injury could result.

Before investing in an oxygenation system, anglers must be totally familiar with the safety considerations regarding its use.

Pure Oxygen Systems require the ultmost in Safety when using. Electricity can be a source of ignition and fire, pure oxygen systems should never be routed through the port of any electrically operated aerator or bait-well pump. Doing so could cause a fire if the pump has not been certified for use in an oxygen-enriched environment. Oxygen tank tubing should not be routed, stored or secured adjacent to or close to electrical wiring, switches, batteries, in the bilge, or near petroleum-based products.

U.S. Coast Guard regulations require pressurized gas cylinders to be securely mounted to prevent damage to valves and regulators. The cylinder must be mounted in a well-ventilated location and smoking should be avoided during use.  It should also be removed from the boat after each trip, cleaned and carefully inspected

Never use grease or petroleum-based lubricants on oxygen equipment fittings or connectors. This can cause an explosive fire.

Oxygen Edge is a commercial oxygen-injection system that was designed to help transport and stockpile large amounts of live bait and small game fish.

Capable of delivering a continuous supply of oxygen, it helps maintain the health and energy levels of live bait in even the warmest environments.

By dialing in the precise amount of pure oxygen being introduced to the water, anglers can keep their baits frisky for several days.

The system has proven so effective for some live-bait tournament fishermen that they’ve been trying to keep it under wraps for fear of the competition finding out!

Oxygen Edge Oxygenation Systems of Texas builds a range of oxygen-injection systems. The company has extensive experience in keeping captive live bait and game fish alive and healthy. They also offer advice on all aspects of live-bait and tournament-fish care. For more information on the Oxygen Edge system, contact them at P.O. Box 383, Anahuac, Texas 77514; (409) 267-6458 or (409) 267-3860 (fax); www.oxyedge-chum.com .

It’s important to note that Oxygen Edge is not an aeration system that simply pumps air into the live well, or a flow-through system that is limited by the amount of oxygen contained in the water. Rather, the Oxygen Edge system injects pure welder’s oxygen into the well water. Consisting of a small, lightweight portable-aluminum oxygen tank, a solid-brass regulator, special tubing, and a specially developed diffuser stone that’s lowered into the live well, the Oxygen Edge system can treat up to 200 pounds of baitfish. It’s a very simple and economical system, since oxygen refills cost about 75 cents. The Oxygen Edge systems retail for between $350 and $500, with custom and dual versions available.

To understand the advantages of the oxygen-injection system, you must first consider that the air we breathe is composed mostly of nitrogen (approximately 79 percent) and oxygen (roughly 21 percent). Therefore, a traditional aerator only delivers about 21-percent oxygen into the live-well water. When baitfish are initially captured and transferred to a live well, their stress level skyrockets. In severe cases, they deplete most of the available dissolved oxygen provided by these standard aerators. Depending on the type and quantity of fish in the live well and other stress-inducing factors — such as injury, overcrowding, long runs to the fishing grounds, and warm water temperatures — excess oxygen consumption could kill the baits or make them lethargic.

Doubling the amount of air or water flowing through the live well with multiple aerators or pumps will not significantly increase the dissolved oxygen content much beyond the 21 percent that’s available in air. In some cases, excess water flow will force the baits to swim harder and consume even more oxygen.

Energized live baits help ensure a day of exciting, productive fishing. By comparison, injecting 100-percent pure oxygen into the live well can push the dissolved oxygen content beyond supersaturation concentrations. That’s something mechanical water pumps and aerators can’t do. And since the oxygen consumed by the baitfish can be sustained and replenished at supersaturation levels, gone are the concerns over oxygen deprivation arising from increased respiration, warm water, overcrowding and extended confinement. Furthermore, a bait tank that is supersaturated with pure, dissolved oxygen produces unnaturally high levels of oxygen in the baits’ blood. High blood-oxygen levels help produce higher levels of adrenaline, causing the baits to become more active.

It's with this supercharged action from live bait that fishermen seek to coax stripers into striking.

High concentrations of dissolved oxygen can be toxic when used for extended periods of time. Therefore, the Oxygen Edge system comes with a chart to determine the proper dosage based on the basal metabolism and poundage of the baitfish in the well. Once this is determined, the user simply dials in the proper number on the regulator dial.

Since catching and transferring bait generates high levels of stress and oxygen consumption, the live well should be supersaturated with oxygen before live baits are introduced. The additional oxygen will meet the respiration demands caused by capture and transport stress and keep the baits healthy.

The Oxygen Edge system is easy to install and fits any size live well. Oxygen-tank refills cost around 75 cents. The system is quiet, and produced surprisingly few bubbles.

Safety Concerns:
Safety issues are paramount when using pure oxygen.

Since electricity can be a source of ignition and fire, pure oxygen should never be routed through the port of any electrically operated aerator or bait-well pump. Doing so could cause a fire if the pump has not been Certified for use in an oxygen-enriched environment.

The oxygen tank or its supply tubing should not be routed, stored or secured adjacent to or close to electrical wiring, switches, batteries, in the bilge, or near petroleum-based products.

The oxygen tank must be secured with straps or brackets. It should also be removed from the boat after each trip, cleaned and carefully inspected.

Given the positive reports from anglers who are currently supercharging their baits for striped bass,  as well as those who use the system for keeping tournament fish alive until they’re weighed in and released, the Oxygen Edge system definitely has its merits. This system might be right for you If you are serious about live bait fishing and want to keep your live bait alive and frisky.

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