bagging fish for auction

[Gav]

with the major auction coming up in March, I just thought it might be worthwhile making a comment based on the last few mini auctions.

there seems to be a lot of people that are not fasting their fish before selling them. usually most people do for majors, but even for mini auctions its well worth leaving it at least one day without feeding if you are thinking of selling. some of the bags last night had red water in them from fish that were well fed on tetra bits. there was others with very discoloured water from waste. these bags never seem to get the same money as the bags with clean water, so its in your own best interest to fast your fish.

another thing is taping fish bags together. without fail, bags tend to get wet, which also tends to stop tape from working. its not much fun trying to lift up a whole group of bags together. the best way is to buy one large bag and put the smaller bags in that. it means the fish are easy to display and sell, but it also means its very unlikely a bag will get dropped.

large fish + small bag = very unhappy fish...... seems common sense but some of the fish last night were in bags way too small for them. its worth going to get a bigger bag, again cos the fish tend to sell better. nobody wants to spend good money on a fish they worry about. in the larger auctions with more time in the bag, you really will have concerns with keeping fish alive. a good way to work is the bag should be around twice as long as the fish you are selling (for large fish).

small fish is the other problem. there was again fish up for sale that were seriously small. small fish don't do well in bags, and don't move well. its not fair to sell under sized fish. if you can't take it to the shop, you shouldn't take it to the auction. dead fish in a bag means you will be very unlikely to sell the bag. you are better off just not taking them. take the effort and grow the fry up, and they will get a better price.

last but not least is set a reasonable reserve. prices at the auctions almost always tend to be lower than what you get per fish at a shop. set your reserve low and you will sell your fish. you might get lucky and get a whole lot, but it depends on the night.

sorry for the essay style session, but its really in your own best interests to use the above as a guide, especially as it will likely give you more in the pocket at the end of the night. it also makes the job of the auctioneers much easier and speeds things up. of course its only my opinion, but an opinion based on what I have seen over the last 6-9 months when auctioning stuff off

[Ducksta]

Just a couple of things I noticed while checking in (but didn't stay for the actual auctioning)

Too much water. Simply put, this equate to not enough air! Especially important in longer auctions, but also for people with a hefty drive home after the auction.

Bags which were almost fully deflated on arrival, it is so easy to open and close a bag with more air in it before trying to check it in. Or if the bag is leaky, you should be carrying spares

Kevin and Dave were doing a bang up job scrutineering. Remember guys, it is hard for them to knock someone back and say rebag or whatever. They dont want to look like the bad guys. So if its done right, their job is easier, checkin is faster and smoother, and nobody has to be upset with anybody

[MikeWs Fish]

Did that fish end up making it after it was dropped?

[BaZ]

Bags which were almost fully deflated on arrival, it is so easy to open and close a bag with more air in it before trying to check it in

Those of us who come down from the dizzy heights of the mountains have to do this every single time anyway with the difference in air pressure. Seriously, a trip down the hill leaves me with some very deflated-looking bags.

So when I get to the school I have to open up every single bag to let that thin Woodford air out and replace it with thick and chunky Moorebank air

Great advice guys

As Gav says, the healthier your fish looks, the more money you will probably get in the end.

[Ducksta]

Baz, the difference is you do it automatically, not wait til you have been rejected at check-in. You also carry spare bags and elastics Go Baz!

[wetfish]

A drop or two of prime in each bag will help relieve any stress on the fish. The colour of the fish will be better especially in electric blues and peacocks (males). Again giving you a better price.

Not esential but a good tip.

Wetfish

[gianniz]

yes that dropped bag fish survived and got sold for considerably more than what I have expected

[MikeWs Fish]

Sweet as... It was probably a good idea to give it a 'breather' and then auction it after it recovered.

[Josh]

As Gav says, the healthier your fish looks, the more money you will probably get in the end.

I dont know about that baz. there was a bag of three electric yellows that went through the other night that were bright yellow. Gav even comented on how nice they were and they got sold for next to nothing, then bags of nearly white fish go through and get $30.... There are plenty of ppl there that dont really care about quality and are after quantity.

[YeW]

Guys -

Sometimes fish get sold cheaply (there were some VERY cheap fish on Saturday just gone).... sometimes they are expensive.

It is true (90% of the time) that better quality fish - sell better.

ps: the yellow looked a bit stressed (not suprisingly, after being dropped)... but after some time out seemed fine to me (and others) and was auctioned. The water after all acts as a bit of a cushion.