ACCU-CULL ELITE E-CON TAGS
T-H MARINE G-FORCE CONSERVATION CULL SYSTEM
CAL COAST FISHING CLIP-N-CULL
STAN SLOAN’ S ZORRO BAIT CO. TEDDY’ S TAGGING SYSTEM
4 Punctureless culling systems
1. T-H Marine G-Force Conservation Cull System – Features strong plastic clips and a loop on one end that slides over the included balance beam and lets you connect the cull float cord directly to the balance beam. $ 49.95 thmarine. com
2. Stan Sloan’ s Zorro Bait Co. Teddy’ s Tagging System – A unique clipless system that slides over the fish’ s tail. $ 12 zorrobait. com
3. Accu-Cull ELITE E-con Tags – Features color-coded tubing and locking clips that attach to the lower jaw and hold with zero pressure. $ 27.99 accucull. com
4. Cal Coast Fishing Clip-N-Cull – Newly redesigned to be smaller, lighter and more streamlined than the original, the Clip-N-Cull includes seven clips to a set and comes with a bracket to store them. $ 49.99. calcoastfishing. com
FLW Tour pro Matt Stefan, who has been using punctureless clips for several years, became a convert after analyzing how much dead-fish penalties were costing him in tournaments.
“ For me, fish care is a huge factor,” says Stefan.“ Going back and looking at my stats over the course of a season, it seems that every year I’ ve had one or two instances where, depending on the tournament, that 4-ounce penalty [ per dead fish weighed in ] has affected me.”
According to Stefan, the decision to use punctureless clips comes down to one question:“ What are the things that I can do in my livewell to keep that fish as stress-free as possible? And a punctureless clip is much less invasive than punching a hole in its mouth.”
Beyond stress, there are other biological reasons that should encourage anglers to switch to punctureless clips. According to Adam Martin, a fisheries biologist with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, tears in the membrane of a bass’ s jaw can affect how efficiently a bass feeds and breathes.
“ Some people think that when a bass eats a prey item it simply opens its mouth and swims forward until it’ s able to close its mouth around the prey. This is not the case,” says Martin.“ Due to fluid dynamics, simply swimming forward with an open mouth would have the effect of pushing the prey away from the mouth by a wave of water being pushed in front of the bass. To overcome this, a bass will expand its mouth both laterally and dorsoventrally [ up and down ] to create a suction effect, which pulls water and the prey into its mouth. Having a hole in the soft tissue of its mouth results in a slight decrease in the overall suction force. This likely results in a slightly reduced feeding ability.”
A bass’ s breathing mechanics are also predominantly a result of the suction force created by expanding or contracting its gill flaps, says Martin, and holes from cull clips could also have a potentially negative effect on breathing ability. matt stefan’ s cull clip Tweak
“ One thing I like to do is take off the buoys that come with the clips, and replace them with rubber tubing. The idea behind that is most people put the clip on the bottom lip because it’ s easier, but that buoyancy has a tendency to keep the bottom lip pulling upward and makes it more difficult for fish to open their mouths. It may make it more difficult for them to breathe. I’ ll even use just the clip sometimes so all the fish has is the clip on its lip.”
Although punctureless cull clips are not currently required by FLW, their use is encouraged in the preamble to the official FLW tournament rules. So, are punctureless cull clips becoming a popular trend? Stefan thinks so.
“ In the past there just weren’ t that many good clips out there,” says Stefan.“ But I’ m using the T-H Marine G-Force Conservation Cull System, and I think it’ s the best one out there. Punctureless clips might take a little getting used to initially, but once you get used to it, it’ s just as fast as puncturing a hole in a fish’ s lip.”
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