I just recently got into tournament fishing and have a question about culling tags. Are they harmful to the fish? I was thinking about getting a set to use in my next tournaments but didnt want to if it risks killing one of the fish.

Thanks

No, not harmful at all. The fish dont swim much in the livewell, the balls just kind of float out of the way.

Nope. In fact, i think they reduce stress levels at the end of the day as you dont have to fish your bass out of the livewell with them jumping and splashing everywhere.

If you're worried about harming the fish, somebody makes a culling kit that utilizes aligator clips so you don't pierce the fishes jaw. I can't seem to find the mfg online, but I may still have them in my garage. You're able to locate the small fish in the well, but still have to lip it to get it out rather than pick up the fish by the ball.

Ive used the clip on type and have since switched to the locking type....alot of times the fish would shake the clips off when they would thrash occasionally in livewell. Also any tension they feel on their lip as your trying to slowly pull ball up just to even lip them they end up shaking off. They stay on the smaller fish alot better.

For the locking type how do you attach it to the fish?

on bigger fish you may have to pierce the lip bc jaw too large for clip around gill plate and through the jaw, smaller fish i usually just go underside of jaw through gill opening back out mouth, just dont hook it in between gills should be fine. I haven't lost a fish yet this way.

Thanks guys for the help

I made my own for less than 10 bucks. I ended up with 6 but could've done more. That was much better for me than paying 30 bucks or more for some of those other systems.

Here's how I did it:

Get some nylon rope (about 1/4" thick), 5 ovular styrofoam corks and a chain style fish stringer with the metal safety pin style clips.

Cut the rope in 16" lengths. Burn the ends to keep them from unraveling.

Ream out the middle of the cork a bit with a drill bit.

Thread the rope through the cork. I actually had to pull the rope through and I forget how I did it exactly but it was a little bit of a tight fit depending on how well I did with the reaming.

Tie a knot before and after the cork so it doesn't slide.

Cut the clips off the stringer and tie them on the other end of the pieces of rope.

Use a file to sharpen the ends of the clips.

Use a sharpie to write numbers on each cork. 1 through 5.

Looking back I think I might've cut each piece of rope after I got the cork on and tied the knots. It doesn't really matter how you do it but this ensured I had the same length markers after I was finished.

As far as the markers hurting the fish. The only thing I've noticed is some redness on the lips of the fish where the clip comes out of the mouth. I may actually start using some Please Release Me to help them out a bit. This happens whether I go through the gills or pierce the lip. I actually prefer to pierce the lip because less of the clip is in contact with the fish this way. They may be a small thing but they're a big help.

I don't like the clips. Not only can the fish shake them off, but they don't look too comfortable on the fish.

I use the pin-type, but I don't pierce the fish if I can avoid it. Just slip it up the outermost part of the gill plate. That's the least invasive method I've discovered. It will fit most fish, unless you have a serious kicker.

Yeah, when I mentioned "clips" in my post I was referring to the pins that look like a big safety pin.