Excellent article, Rob!

The idea is to release the Bass as quickly as possible. But, in relation to aeration where you must "keep" or "rest" a Bass in a livewell or cooler for short periods, an exciting idea may be to use the Aqua Innovations Pure Oxygen Aerator operating on 12V DC (your deep cycle battery).

The Aqua Innovations "Magnum" Aerator http://aquainnovationsinc.com/magnum.html will provide pure oxygen (with an oxygen saturation rate of greater than 80% dissolved oxygen in 7 minutes) to 35 - 120 litres of water. Buy online from: www.cabelas.com or www.basspro.com

Pre-oxygenate your livewell or cooler and switch on again after you get the big one (or ask your buddy to switch on when you are playing the monster ...).

Click here http://www.keepfishalive.com/fieldstaff-pages/johnson/keeping_fish_alive.html
to read an interesting article about the importance of oxygen levels (in relation to other factors such as water temperature and salt balance) in keeping fish alive or helping them to recover. Oxygen level is most definitely the single most critical factor and an aid to recovery. Oxygen is more important than livewell additives ...

Hope this info may "save" a couple more giants to contribute to the Bass gene pool!

Thanks Rob, your site helps to keep me "sane" between fishing trips!

All the best,
Jacques
www.BigBass.co.za