Deep Water fish survival

[Guest]

It's nothing new to pull up a fish, usually out of 30 feet or deeper, and have their eyes bulge out of there head and when thrown back to lay on the water with the "bends"...
I have found that I can get the fish to swim back down by working their jaw and mouth a slight bit, but usually see them go down about 10ft and sit.
Catch and release is a good idea, but how many fish really survive when pulled out of deep water? I know that when releasing fish at first ice, they would seem to go down but would float back up under the ice a ways away.
Makes for a quick trip once I have my limit if every fish I release is going to die anyways....I just end up going home...
Perhaps the obvious solution....FISH A SHALLOWER LAKE!
Any ideas on this topic would be appreciated.
thanks
PCG

[Guest]

Your right PCG, alot of these deep water caught fish will not make it, the answer is simple, catch enough for a meal, then stop pulling them up. Go after another species, or move to shallow water, or call it a day. It makes no sense to me to catch and release a bunch more fish after I have enough for supper, the crappie population could really suffer if several folks are doing this all winter long, sure they are fun to catch, but enough is enough, a deep water fish suffers from a distended swim bladder because of the difference in pressure from the bottom to the surface. Sometimes they will be able to adjust, most of the time they suffer from; injury, stress, predation, or simple freeze into the thickening ice because they are exhausted from trying to dive with the distended bladder.

"popping" the swim bladder is not a suitable option, sure the fish will be able to dive, and appears that the problem has solved. but the fish now has a open wound that is more prone to infection, and will be unable to suspend to feed effectively while the bladder heals.

[Guest]

Most of the time, reeling up the fish slowly helps....But have you ever had the fish float up with the bends about 10 feet from the surface?
I have....
PCG

[Guest]

Have you ever tried reeling them up slow? Works for me.

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[Guest]

Just an idea. I wonder if you could hook them onto a small piece of string with a hook that has no barb and a rounded point and a 2oz. sinker to send them back down to the bottem, I'd tthink they would have no trouble getting off. That way you get them back cluse to their pressure zone quickly.

[Guest]

I think D-man is right on this one. You have to reel them up slowly. If you reel them up slowly and they still get the bends, try reeling even slower. When you do get a fish that won't recoop, just keep it, better than dropping it into the lake to die. Good Luck!!

Rusty

[Guest]

In order to pull up a crappie slowly enough for it to adjust the bouyancy with it's swim bladder, brings another survival issue into play, playing the fish for a longer amount of time, contributes to the build up of lactic acid in the fishes muscles, and you run the risk of overly exhausting the fish. Both the change in pressure and the fatigue stress the fish and decrease the chances for survival. It is simpler to just keep a few for dinner, and leave it at that, move to shallow water, or try for a different species. Believe me, it will not degrade your fishing experience, sure it is fun to catch one after the other, boast to your friends about numbers, but it is also fun to be challenged by trying some new water, or going after another species. You can leave the lake, not having to worry about whether the fish you released will make it or not.

[This message has been edited by coldone (edited 12-30-2001).]

[Guest]

I would fish a different species, but everytime I see fish on the locator they seem to be Crappies....J/K
Anyhow.....Have a happy New Year...
And good luck anglers.
PCG

[Piker]

Here is my thoughts... In general the larger the fish the more apt they are to survive being pulled up from the depths. So what I do is if the fish feels light upon the hook set, just reel them up really slow. You know they are not really large so if they fall off, it's no big deal. Reel them up slow, when you get them out of the water remove the hook and see if their eyes are all bugged out and if their swimm bladder is in their mouth. If either of those are true, throw the fish on the ice. If it looks fine, gently release it into the hole. If it's a larger fish on the end of the line you don't have to be quite as careful to reel them up for two reasons, A, you my want to eat the fish, or B, it will probably be more likely to survive due to it's size.

[Guest]

To a certain point bigger fish will survive better....But, they are like humans in the respect that when they get old they tire easily and are more easily overcome by stress.
That means that if they are trophy size they will tire out easier and be more suseptable to dieing from the stress of the battle.
PCG