Outside Iowa: Hot weather fish (and Angler) care

I know I said it last week, but HOLY HOT WEATHER BATMAN!  
I am deep into the third year of this article and the weather dominates much our discussion, but when we are dealing with the Great Outdoors, which happens by default.  

With this heat streak and the dog days of summer upon us, I felt this week’s topic was very important on a multitude of levels. Not the least of which is for safety.

With heat indices reaching 110-115 during the past two weeks, water temps have skyrocketed in all of our lakes.  

It sounds funny, but when fishing under these kinds of conditions, the welfare of the fish you catch and yourself need to be considered and handled carefully.

Let’s start with the fish.  Bass tournaments take place all summer long, but during June, July and August all tournaments are required to end no later than 1 p.m.  This is to keep the stress the fish experience to a minimum.  What kind of stress?  

Well, when the water hits 80 degrees or higher, fish of all species get stressed through the fight, handling and time in a livewell.  

If you plan on putting some fillets in your freezer for a summer fish fry, there isn’t much to worry about.  

However, if you are fishing a tournament and plan on releasing your fish there are a few things you need to keep in mind.

Fish of all species here in Iowa can handle warm water temperatures, it’s a part of their life and they typically have ample oxygen levels through different depths of Iowa’s waters.  

When you put three to five fish, bass for example, in your livewell the oxygen begins to deplete and water temps inside your livewell can climb rapidly.  

When fish spend time in your livewell they defecate and regurgitate recent meals.  

All this matter put into water increases ammonia levels, which eventually become toxic for the fish.  

Keep your recirculator running during a tournament and continue to put fresh lake water in to keep oxygen levels high and your fish healthy.

Most competitive anglers put an additive in their livewells to help keep the fish alive. Personally, I prefer Catch and Release by Sure Life.  

It’s about $10 a bottle and treats 500 gallons of water, which breaks down to one teaspoon per 10 gallons.  

This stuff calms the fish down so they aren’t banging into the side walls of your livewell, it stimulates and protects the fish’s slime coating, it helps reduce weight loss through stomach regurgitation prevention, it prevents shock and restores electrolytes, and it also instantly reduces harmful chlorine and other potentially harmful chemicals existing in your livewell.

Since I have been using this product, I have not lost a single fish and encourage you to do the same.  

If it is just too hot for you to fish, take that as a comparison to keeping fish in your livewell.  Delayed mortality is a serious issue.  You could “successfully” release fish, but they later die due to the stress they endured while under your control.  

In fact, muskie anglers choose to not even fish with water temps like this as it becomes nearly impossible to revive a fish after a major battle.  

For your safety, take lots of water, but especially sports drinks like Gatorade or Powerade.  

I was a victim of a heat injury years ago and struggle with extreme heat therefore I have to be very aware of how I am feeling and need to take in liquids almost constantly.  

Sports drinks replace electrolytes much faster than water and when remaining active in extreme heat like we are enduring right now, that is absolutely essential!

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me and I’ll help in any way I can!  tha481@gmail.com

Live It Up!

Thomas resides with his wife and two children in Guthrie Center.  He is a professional outdoor writer, photographer, videographer, and outdoor talk radio show host; for more information visit www.outsideiowa.com.