Me and my fishing partner will be entering some team tournaments this summer for the first time. Looking forward to the competition and fun of it all. With that being said, we understand fishing our strengths and fishing with confidence, but we're looking to know what's necessary and what's not. 

 

Will we want cull tags as time goes on or is that just a professional deal. I feel like for the most part you can figure out who's the smallest fish of the bunch in the live well most of the time, so do we really need it for local tourneys? How about a scale?

 

Speaking of live wells, ice no ice, treatment or no treatment, etc. Also, if fish waste in the live well is such an issue, is there a problem with draining the live well midway through the tourney and letting it refill with clean water? just a thought?

 

Weigh bags. What do you like, dislike, and recommend. Do we want a mesh liner for the inside of the bag so it can be removed and dipped into aerated tubs if they have them, or again is that just a pro deal? 

 

Thanks everyone! Looking to get some of the house keeping stuff out of the way before we start off on the wrong foot.

 

 

Cull tags and scales are incredibly helpful (I absolutely use them 100% of the time during tournaments).  You should always do everything in your power to keep your fish alive and healthy in the well, so yes, bring ice if it's super hot out, get some livewell treatment, and keep fresh water pumping into those wells.  Some clubs provide weigh bags, but you might as well pick one up.  I like ones that zip up at the top like my Fitzgerald Mega Bag.  

 

Good Luck!

Keep hydrogen peroxide on board....youtube it.....

I like disposable bags because the higher quality one all stink eventually.

I think cull tags and scales help efficiency

instead of ice use frozen water in quart containers 

Treat the live well, aerate the livewell, keep the water cool, change the water more often the more fish you have ( half the volume at a time), temp is important,,,keep it cool.

Don't put regular ice in your live well water. Just freeze some Gatorade bottles full of water and throw them in. Scale and cull tags are a must in my opinion. Fishing is a game of ounces.