Transporting live fish

[birdstrike]

I've had the thought of using some of the fish I catch to help re-stock the little pond I live on. So the question is how long can you keep a game fish alive and what are some techniques for keeping the fishies happy and healthy on the way home?

[MsgMills]

I've kept some alive from Nolin to Mt. Washington before and they were still happy and fresh. I put some frozen bottles of ice inside the live well to help cool the water and made sure I pulled the plug and put in fresh water in the live well before I left the water. Smallmouth Bass are harder to keep alive when contained for longer periods without cooler water it seems to me. But it can be done. Good Luck on restocking the pond...

Maybe you could get some smaller fish from the creeks and some bigger fish from the lakes...Make sure that you get legal size fish no matter where you are coming from. In case you are stopped and checked by a CO, your 100% legal..... Really costly to have short fish....Will cost you $$$$$ in fines.....

[tracker4stroke]

i have also done the frozen water bottles get their stress down and with colder water they will use less oxygen

[jgevedon]

You want to watch out for mixed breed bass when stocking your pond from a lake as these fish will not grow properly. Ice bottles and please release me are good choices.

[know1]

In some states, it's basically illegal to transport them live. I guess KY isn't one of those...

[Danny]

I don't know if it is illegal to stock your own pond this way or not. If so, then I need to quit doing it as well.

One thing though, I use a chemical called "Please Release Me" in the live well, and I leave my live wells running. I've kept fish alive and healthy for over 80 miles. The main thing is making sure you keep your live wells recirculating to keep oxygen in the water. Then by adding the "please release me" you give them a sedative, an anti-biotic, and something to help produce the slime for their slime coat.

I can understand the idea of it being illegal to transfer fish from one public water way to another public water way, but I can see no harm introducing them into my own private ponds and lakes. Also, I guess if caught, I could always say I was taking them home to eat?? You need to make sure you only keep legal sized fish period though.

Good luck,

Danny

[topwater]

I don't know if it is illegal to stock your own pond this way or not. If so, then I need to quit doing it as well.

One thing though, I use a chemical called "Please Release Me" in the live well, and I leave my live wells running. I've kept fish alive and healthy for over 80 miles. The main thing is making sure you keep your live wells recirculating to keep oxygen in the water. Then by adding the "please release me" you give them a sedative, an anti-biotic, and something to help produce the slime for their slime coat.

I can understand the idea of it being illegal to transfer fish from one public water way to another public water way, but I can see no harm introducing them into my own private ponds and lakes. Also, I guess if caught, I could always say I was taking them home to eat?? You need to make sure you only keep legal sized fish period though.

Good luck,

Danny

would wait until fall if possible. 50 degree water temps put very little stress on the fish that you transport. Good luck!

[Moose1am]

I would first recommend that you check with the local game officials to see if they approve of this restocking. They can give you the details of the law.

If this is OK with them then here are some suggestions to help keep the fish healthy:

1: Catch the fish out of shallow water if at all possible. Fish caught in deep water and brought to the surface will have a lower survival rate. And please don't stick any needles in the fish as that's not helpful.

2: Handle these fish as little as possible. I try to hold the bass by the mouth only and I try very hard not to disturb the slime on them. The slime is there to help protect them from bacterial and fungal infections. It's a protective coating that should remain on them at all times.

3: Use a very large water tank. The more water the better. Don't crowd the fish. See #2 above.

4: use a chemical additive to help protect the fish and to promote the slime on their skin.

5: keep the water cold by using frozen water bottles in the live well to cool the water down. Cold water holds much more dissolved oxygen than hot water and it also slows the fish's metabolism down.

6: Aerate the water while transporting the fish. You can get an DC to AC power converter as Walmart and run an regular aquarium aerator off the power inverter or you can buy one of them DC battery operated aerator at the store if your live well doesn't have a aerator or recirculation.

quote=birdstrike;300143]I've had the thought of using some of the fish I catch to help re-stock the little pond I live on. So the question is how long can you keep a game fish alive and what are some techniques for keeping the fishies happy and healthy on the way home?[/quote]

[LarryG]

Becarefull. ever hear of the big head carp, grass carp? ruffee, these are fish that were moved into other areas. the best example is the alewive, and then the zebra mussel.Crappies and bluegill can stunt a pond, and sometimes bass will also, you may wind up with a pond of 7or 8 inch bass, and not much else, I seen that happen to a friensds pond. Why not buy them from a state spopnsered hatchery? I know your small pond wont cause any ecological disasters, but they are happening today. Cat fish farmers brought these carp into this country to help them sell their product, when they escaped, and got into our major water ways, they have the potential to disrupt all the fish in the great lakes. But you cant make the cat fish farmers pay for the cost of containing a disaster they created,maybe a big tax on domestic farm raised catfish would help, not! Look up big head carp on google, its worse than they make it out to be.

[birdstrike]

Thanks for the tips everyone, especially the tank additives and the frozen water bottle ideas. It is legal to transport live fish, and even put them in your home aquarium if you want, as long as they were legally caught. This info from the KDFW. Of course people (including me) have been stocking their own ponds for years and it takes some sense to manage one correctly, that's part of the fun Be carefull crossing state lines as it is against the law to stock some fish in some states, like the yellow perch in KY.

Thanks again, Steve

[DaveR]

cooler water retains oxygen better. Stress is also bad for them, I use something called Rejeuvenade (sp?) That keeps bass alive for tournaments very well. What people said above is correct. Check with Dept of Fish and Game, they are experts at wildlife management, they will provide you all the info you want for free. Might even give you free fish if you open your water to public

[Cobra190]

Another helpful trick that will keep the fish from getting shocky, is to use a bucket and add water from the pond into the livewell at gradual intervals to allow the fish an opportunity to adapt to the different water and water temperature. Just like floating fish in your home aqaurium before releasing them.