Tactics to revive a fish

[DHost21]

What do you do to revive a sluggish fish i know tipping them back and fourth is there anything else that seems to wake them. Just seeing what people have tried or what normally works in case of emergency

[Dylan33]

I'm no expert, but the best advice I can give is to give them time. Be patient. The fish is sluggish because it is exhausted and needs time to recover.

Also, when moving it back and forth in the water to get water flowing through the gills, do it slowly.

[MuskieJunkie]

This isn't a tactic to revive but when you are giving a fish time make sure you're not doing it wind or current that is towing the fish backwards.

[Mike_Top]

I always used to hold the fish's tail and move the fish back and forth, but I recently read that pulling a fish backwards through the water actually prevents them from breathing.

[RK]

Hiya -

Patience and persistence are the main things. Give the fish time. Most fish take only a couple minutes, but I've worked on a few for a long time...

I'd advise against pulling them back and forth, but you can use a free hand to draw water toward the fish's mouth and over the gills. If you have a fish that seems revived but just won't take off, tap the trolling motor. Usually sends them on their way.

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[50inchpig]

pulling a fish backward is probably the most common mistake, even seasoned anglers do it. just hold them upright and let them recover, give them a little shove off and they're usually ok. follow them until they go down.

not to be preachy, either, but a good revival/release starts with keep the fishes head in the water while it's in the net and limiting time out of the water to a bare minimum.

[DHost21]

Ok awesome!! Everything went good today on my first release I just dont want any mistakes ever I would feel horrible if one went bad

[401TE]

Yeah, pretty much just hold them upright in the water and wag their tail back and forth. Don't tip them on their side unless they seem like they're doing ok. If the fish is ok tipping it on its side will make them shoot out of your hand and swim away. If not, you're just disorienting the fish. When you're wagging the fish's tail back and forth you'll begin to feel the fish gaining strength. When it starts pushing against what you're doing give the fish a shove and let go. One other trick if they just want to sit there is to slap the tail. That works, too.

Don't drag them against the current or pull them backwards if the boat is drifting. If that means turning the boat, that's what you do. Sometimes if it's really wavey I'll put the fish on the opposite side of the boat from where the waves are hitting to minimize the up/down the fish experiences. I've also been told that pulling water backwards through a fish's gills doesn't allow them to breath.

One thing you can do to prevent having a sluggish fish is to unhook them quickly once in the net, especially if the fish's head is out of the water in the net. Get the fish unhooked and let it sit for a minute in the net, with it's head under water, while you're getting everything ready for measurements and photos. Fish really beat themselves up in the net sometimes, especially when they're still hooked.

[CaptainMusky]

I think before you can worry about reviving the fish once they are unhooked you better be thinking about things you can do while you are fighting the fish, netting them, unhooking and snapping photos or otherwise handling them first.

Fight the fish fast. Get them in the net, have a large pen style net and keep it in the water at all times. Unhook fish in the water cutting hooks if necessary. I usually cut the line right away just to keep that out of the way.

Do not keep the fish out of the water long and THEN do all the great suggestions for reviving them. If you dont think ahead while fighting the fish any effort to revive them may not work.

Congrats on the fish BTW!

[bobbymalone]

connect a pair of jumper cables to the pectoral fins and the attach the negative cable to the negative pole on your battery. Just tap the postive cable to the positive pole a couple times and the fish should be good to go.

seriously though, I don't fish muskies but my experience with everything else is just give it some time, a little water flow past the gills, and don't give up too easily. I had a flathead catfish that took about 15 minutes before she was ready.

[fishermusk]

Did anyone read the article in Musky Hunter about using water softener salt to revive fish that are nearly dead? Use 1/2 to 1 gallon of salt with a full large live-well. It was printed nearly a year ago, In the biology section. I have never tried it, but it was an interesting article.

[rugbymn]

connect a pair of jumper cables to the pectoral fins and the attach the negative cable to the negative pole on your battery. Just tap the postive cable to the positive pole a couple times and the fish should be good to go.

Does the positive go on the right pectoral fin or the left pectoral fin?

[HugoBox]

Along the same lines - how many of you have released a fish the looked and felt strong but didn't take off like a rocket or dive to the deep water? I end up doing alot of this in the dark and have had a few fish take off strong and then just hang near the surface for a bit before leaving. I typcially follow them with a spotlight and wait for them to really go but I'm wondering how common this is and if its more of a night thing?

[pinkfloyd4ever]

I always used to hold the fish's tail and move the fish back and forth, but I recently read that pulling a fish backwards through the water actually prevents them from breathing.

anyone watch MH on FSN? I swear thats how they do their release

[SpitnArgueDuckClub*]

What do you do to revive a sluggish fish i know tipping them back and fourth is there anything else that seems to wake them. Just seeing what people have tried or what normally works in case of emergency

In case of emergency and revival is questionable, add fish to hot oil and enjoy!!!

[smeese]

48-50 inch fish = not in my frying pan......gross

In case of emergency and revival is questionable, add fish to hot oil and enjoy!!!

[10,000 Casts]

My buddies 46"er wouldn't swim on Monday so he jumped in the water with her and held her up right until she swam away.

[Fishin_Jacks7]

My buddies 46"er wouldn't swim on Monday so he jumped in the water with her and held her up right until she swam away.

Now that is some effort that I like to see! I have always had good luck with using a needle nose to open the mouth of the fish and move the back and forth or using the trolling motor to move the fish forward with the boat. I understand that moving a fish back doesn't allow them to breathe but it gives you the ability to move them forward which allows water through the gills so I think this is a good tactic. I also like to hold them by the tail and move them in the swimming motion. Lastly, when in warmer weather I feel keeping the fish a little deeper in the water can help them get going. Good luck to all this Musky season!

[10,000 Casts]

BisonThunder, I think the problem may have been that the fish was blind due to the lack of his sun tan That water was cold!

[bisonthunder]

10k beat me to it ... Took me 45 min but it was well worth it and actually a pretty cool experience

[mainbutter]

I once had an aquarium fish incident which ended up with my arm in the fish tank for well over half an hour holding a fish upright until he stopped turning belly up, not doing much besides keeping him upright and in the water. The fish eventually revived and is still alive this day.

Patience is the key and can really pay off.

[TruthWalleyes]

On the river monsters show, that guy didn't give up on the tiger fish (I think, the one with the rediculous teeth caught in some raging rapids) for an hour...that i though was pretty impressive.

I do not fish musky - for lack of nearby waters holding them, but often wonder what i would do if i couldn't revive a large catfish, at least in the river you can just hold their mouth open in the current. Haven't lost one yet.

[KING]

Ok awesome!! Everything went good today on my first release I just dont want any mistakes ever I would feel horrible if one went bad

Its great that you want to do it right, and there has been a lot of good advice.

But...if you stay at this long enough you are going to lose a fish at some point, it does feel horrible but it is one of the risks we all take.

I remember the first musky i killed like it was yesterday, every detail, and how everything went horribly wrong. It was a mid 30" fish that hit a black 10" suick boatside and ended up jumping into the boat (old aluminum lund) when it hit the floor it went crazy, i didn't know [PoorWordUsage] to do, there was [PoorWordUsage] flying everywhere. Not daring to try and grab it i eventually reeled down to it and kind of lifted back to the water where it just sat there motionless with a face full of suick and totally tangled in the fishing line. what a mess. so i got it undone but it was as dead as a nail. all i could do was leave it there and move on. As i slipped away down the point a huge eagle swooped by and took off with it, completed the cycle i suppose.

I still have that black suick and it goes everywhere with me but i have not used it in over 12yrs.

I haven't lost another one since then, but i know I will, its how it works.

[50inchpig]

making the decision to leave one is tough, really tough. mine was a bleeder a few years ago but we still spent some major time with it. felt like quitting and just going home once it was all over. same deal with the other one in my boat that my buddy caught. leaving the fish in the water and knowing we did everything we could to save it was a little consolation but we still felt terrible about it.

[cbrooks]

Fish long enough there will be some fish that won't make it...thats just a fact. As far as I know I haven't lost a fish but I had a heck of a time last year with a 51 incher. Wasn't hook bad or anything( I didn't even take it out of the water just used a floating tape measure on it for the length, fish was a pig fat too)but it just kept going belly up. Spent 45 minutes and finally it swam off and went down. Waited for awhile no fish so I assume it made it. I suppose one of these days I will have a floater. Don't beat yourself up if you tried CPR.