Science: Using Bagged Ice in Livewells

So a good part of the country is still suffering under this long term heat wave, and that means bass anglers are still doing what they can to keep their fish alive and healthy for weigh-in. Chances are, you’re buying and using a lot of bagged ice. Yet frequently we here guys mention that using it could be harmful to your fish due to chlorine in the water.

What’s a basser to do? Check out this report from the Maryland DNR concerning a study they did on bagged ice bought from vendors on the way to the lake.

Here are some highlights from the study:

• As little as 0.5 ppm chlorine levels can be deadly to smallmouth bass.
• They tested 4 different brands of ice (Easton Ice, Penguin Ice, Crystal Ice, and Fresh Sparkling Ice) purchased from 4 different vendors (2 gas stations, a grocery store and a convenience store).
• Each bag was opened and emptied completely into a 10 gallon livewell filled with well water, then allowed to melt before testing.
• Using a series of test strips , for all tests, the level of chlorine was essentially 0 ppm. As a result, we found no evidence that harmful levels of total chlorine were present for fish as our vendor supplied ice was melted into water.
• However, because chlorine levels may be much higher in municipal tap water (near 4 ppm), it is possible that frozen tap water could result in harmful levels of dissolved chlorine if chlorinated tap water is used to cool transport tanks containing black bass.

See the full report at the link above for more specifics, along with their recommendations for anglers.