Tournament bass fishing has been a serious passion of mine for over 18 years. Too many times I've struggled keeping fish alive all day, wasting valuable time that I could be fishing. It's not only discouraging killing a fish, but weighing in a dead one hurts us all. I've tried many versions of this clip over the years, and finally come up with one that is very effective.
If you research this issue, you will find that it is a problem at any deep water bass tournament. The general advice given is to do what is called "fizzing", or using a needle to relieve the bladder. Although fizzing works well when done by an experienced person, I'm not comfortable doing it myself, there are too many things that can go wrong. It's a risk poking a hole in a fish if you're not sure.
A misplaced needle can easily puncture the kidney or intestine, which is lethal to the fish. If the bladder is deflated too much, it's also lethal. Bass become weak after struggling all
day, reducing resistance ability, infection at the needle site is also possible.
It's been determined that the air bladder of a bass can inflate to about 7% of it's body mass. The challenge has been to develop the right combination of weight and shape to turn the fish over and not fall off. Too heavy, they will not stay on without tearing the anal fin, too light they don't turn it over. If you have "Bubba" in your well you may need to apply two or more clips, but because of the shape and weight they will all stay on.
Jim Kramer
Founder / Inventor of the FlipClip™
Click Here to Read How the FlipClip™ Works
“Fizzing” can be dangerous if not done properly. Don’t take the chance to permanently harm your fish if you are not comfortable in performing this procedure. The FlipClip™ is a safe, non-invasive solution to keeping deep-caught fish oriented upright in your live-well and prevent the fish from “rollover.”
Click Here to Read More about the FlipClip™