Deep Water Crappies

[minnow_03]

I was wondering how deep a crappie can come up from and still be released. I fish crappies from 25 to 35 feet down. When I catch a couple of smaller crappies, I usually will keep them because I am not sure if they will live. I do not think it would be right to kill more fish by releasing them and wasting them, if in fact it kills them. Any thoughts.

[ole matty]

correct me if i m wrong try to reel them slowly i think if u reel them too fast the air sacs wld popped out of mouth.

[Bob Horn]

Ditto on reeling them up slowly. Sometimes there is nothing you can do though. Sometimes they will lay in the hole after you release them but they will eventually go back down.

[TimBuck2]

My buddy about fell out of his chair when i did this last year. I had a small 8 inch crappie that I brought up from around 20 feet and did not want to go back down the hole. I scooped him back up blew into it's mouth and put back down and away it went like a rocket. It's like CPR for them to get their air sac's back where they belong. That or it could have been my breath. Anyway I figure if Jimmy Houston can get intimate with the fishes, why not. You dont have to blow hard either. They don't have lungs you have to fill.

[The Donk]

Reel em up slowly, and if they still lay on their side, squeeze slightly on their sides behind the gills. You should be able to feel if it is a small fish you don't want to keep, so if you lose a few reeling up slow, its no big deal. If you get the 14 incher on, though, horse him

[Only Eyes]

Reel slowly and if they don't go down sometimes it helps if you close their mouth. I'm not kidding it works.

[slick814]

Another thing that I've done in the past is to have a 5 gal bucket with some fresh water in it. Put the smaller ones in there for a while, and many, if not all will adjust to the pressure and be able to be released later. Bad if you're keeping some since they'd count against your limit as long as you have them, but better than killing them.