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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