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]