Thread: Keeping Crappie Alive

I don't tournament fish, anymore .... but, I do have a bottle of U2 Pro Formula Livewell Treatment (Conservation - T-H Marine Supplies) that I "inherited" from a buddy that did tournament fish in the Crappie USA tourneys & used it religiously. Knowing him, he probably tried a few different brands prior to settling on this one.

It is currently being sold under the G-Juice label name.

I don't fish tourneys either but try adding ice if hot and use a oxygen bottle set up . Sure keeps our Bream alive for baiting limb lines . They went from dying to jumping out doing this.

Listened to podcast with crappie legend Charlie Bunting and he said uses frozen water bottles/jugs. Prefers this to aeration cause current stresses crappie. 65 degree water is time to get serious about keeping fish and minnows alive he says.


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I know some old timers that do nothing more than put a frozen 20 oz. water bottle in their minnow buckets during the warmer months. Once water temps rise above 70 degrees oxygen saturation starts to drop off rapidly. As far as keeping tournament fish alive, an oxygen set up with a real fine diffuser stone would probably be the best bet. Hardly any turbulence and the process of putting the oxygen in the water actually cools the water too. Better Bait or a similar type water treatment would be a plus too.

What are the weights I see people using on the fins of fish in the live wells?

They’re called fish life fin clips. I made us some.



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Meant to try to keep the fish upright and not floating on there sides.

Originally Posted by slabbandit

Meant to try to keep the fish upright and not floating on there sides.

Yeah just clip this on bottom belly fin and the will float upright. They say it only takes a hour or so


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