Trouble keeping my Redfish alive.

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Tombo
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Trouble keeping my Redfish alive.

Post by Tombo »

I try to keep my Redfish alive the best way I can come up with. Lately I have had 5 fish die on me before I got back to shore. Present set up is a stringer with three stainless clips with smaller diameter snap hooks. Trying to minimize invasive entry on corner of the Red ( hooked so the fish can close its mouth).
Any and all ideas would be welcomed.
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Re: Trouble keeping my Redfish alive.

Post by SWFinatic »

With 90 degree water temps in the marsh it's hard to do. I gave up the struggle and went to carrying a fish bag couple years ago. It is a pain because it's extra weight and something else to load/unload, etc. but for me especially this time of year it's peace of mind. I don't have to worry about the fish going bad and I don't have to worry about a gator or porpoise.
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Ron Mc
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Re: Trouble keeping my Redfish alive.

Post by Ron Mc »

Just one of the bitches of fishing summer doldrums inshore.
Josh and Jim reported last year of a South Bay slough filled with dead trout and mullet that got stranded with no oxygen.
Spring or fall, stringers work great, and back at the dock, always have to slam their head on the corner of the cleaning stand 3 or 4 times before filleting.

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Neumie
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Re: Trouble keeping my Redfish alive.

Post by Neumie »

For tournaments I would use a nylon stringer. I tied a knot about 16" below the float, then strung the redfish through the corner of the mouth (top through bottom), and then tie another knot to keep its mouth as closed as possible. I had one on the stringer for 5- 6 hours in the middle of July before I got back to my truck; managed to keep it alive. If you're weighing in multiple fish I would use multiple stringers.

Nowadays, since I don't fish tournaments anymore, I'll string fish up while fishing and when I get to a stopping point (resetting a drift, snack break) I'll throw the fish into a soft-sided cooler I keep inside my kayak through the front hatch. Much better system then dragging a stringer all day with fish (especially trout) potentially dyeing . I'm not sure why I never did this sooner.
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Re: Trouble keeping my Redfish alive.

Post by fangard »

Maybe I am missing something, but shouldn't their mouths be open to get water running through their gills?
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Re: Trouble keeping my Redfish alive.

Post by Fishtolive »

How about this stringer? Just clip on the lips but don’t touch the gills …..then hope it will keep the fish alive longer.
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eyedoc
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Re: Trouble keeping my Redfish alive.

Post by eyedoc »

I’ve given up and going with the ikejime thing. Just pop them with a fish bat, spike their forehead with an ice pick, cut the gills in the water to bleed them out and then in the cooler they go. It’s a little more time, but it doesn’t stress the fish too badly and they taste better.

I had a friend get upended and damned near killed because a pod of dolphins came to snack on his stringer and thought he just wouldn’t let go of those fish (tied to the kayak), so I got out of the stringer business!


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Tombo
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Re: Trouble keeping my Redfish alive.

Post by Tombo »

Fishtolive wrote:How about this stringer? Just clip on the lips but don’t touch the gills …..then hope it will keep the fish alive longer.
I have a similar stringer but with only three clips.
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Re: Trouble keeping my Redfish alive.

Post by Tombo »

I should have mentioned I do not keep my fish but for live weigh in for contest. Typically a half pound is deducted for each dead fish, then I let them go.
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Re: Trouble keeping my Redfish alive.

Post by eyedoc »

Tombo wrote:I should have mentioned I do not keep my fish but for live weigh in for contest. Typically a half pound is deducted for each dead fish, then I let them go.
Well, that changes things. Make a live well or buy one. Lots of YouTube videos on how to do it with a cooler.


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Ron Mc
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Re: Trouble keeping my Redfish alive.

Post by Ron Mc »

spendy, but Engel offers livewells read to go, though the largest 30 qt is 16x12" inside floor.
https://engelcoolers.com/collections/live-bait-coolers
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Re: Trouble keeping my Redfish alive.

Post by SWFinatic »

Ron Mc wrote:spendy, but Engel offers livewells read to go, though the largest 30 qt is 16x12" inside floor.
https://engelcoolers.com/collections/live-bait-coolers
16-1/2" on the interior width. Gonna have a hard time keeping an upper slot red alive in that.

Tombo I watched a video once from Reel Yakkers where he was fishing in a tournament and had a homemade livewell as mentioned above. He fishes in a lot of tournaments (or he did) and this was how he was able to keep fish alive all day. Problem is it takes a good size rear tank well. He was fishing out of a newer Hobie Outback.
Here's the video that shows glimpses of his livewell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2KvfXF ... N&index=16
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