Off Topic Fact or Fiction

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EOR

EOR

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The guy at the launch asked how we did. We reported the catch and that we tossed back five smalls. The launch guy commented that we should have just kept them as they would die anyway after hauling them up from 60'. Fish all looked good. No bulging eyes or stress and they just swam away.
As scuba divers we are well aware of depth pressure. However these wee guys would have come up slowly when hauling in 150' of line dragging a dipsy.
So is his comment fact (we should have kept them) or fiction. (Did the right thing by releasing them.)
 
Oh especially after hearing what happens with certain sized small walleyes that are in the commercial nets..
 
I know Ross Robertson from Bigwater fishing has mentioned that releasing fish in the summer due to deeper fishing and warmer water is typically a no-go for him, he's a very reliable source... Personally as someone who has a Masters in Biology I would agree with ross saying that the data points to a high mortality rate of catch and release during the months with warm temps, especially if youre pulling them out of deep water (really anything below 30 is probably a death certificate), and of course they will swim away but a large number of them will still die... but I agree look for the air bladder down throat, buldging butthole, eyes, etc. and if you see any of this I would forsure keep the fish... over where Ross fishes they have a size limit so he has to throw back anything under 15 inches anyway
 
taper said:
No scientist here but I would think with the number of smaller fish being released this year we would be seeing some floaters if the mortality rate was very high. i personally have not saw any.
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they typically only float after decomposition starts, who knows where the current can take them before you see floaters... it's a big ass lake
 
Also, the mortality rate might be like 40% but it's still something, not every fish we release is going to live, it's just reality.


Here's a Scientific publication showing that fish pulled out 10 m deep had a 5% mortality rate, as opposed to fish caught out of only 2 meters deeper (12 m deep) had a mortality rate of 37%... and this was during ice fishing. It's hard to argue that pulling fish from deep water doesn't increase the mortality rate in my opinion.
 
I'd like to see one done with temperatures above freezing, Summer temps and the resulting data some day.

Not saying the results would different but I'd still like to see the data based on the fishing the question was posed on. 🌻
 
There's tons of studies on line that cover this topic with various results but from what I've read, the mortality increases significantly with water temperature, the size of the fish, the depth they were caught in, how fast they are brought to the surface and how long they are kept in tanks or livewells. I really don't think the small fish that are being released immediately are suffering a high mortality while trolling the way we are in 72-75°F water. I seldom see an air bladder and can't remember the last time I saw a small walleye floating. I'm sure some do die but like others, if they are bleeding or have a distended air bladder they go in the livewell otherwise back they go.
 
hvyhaul said:
I'd like to see one done with temperatures above freezing, Summer temps and the resulting data some day.

Not saying the results would different but I'd still like to see the data based on the fishing the question was posed on. 🌻
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Warmer temps are almost always worse for releasing fish though, simply due to the lower levels of oxygen in the water and the fishes increased metabolics... look at muskie fishing, some guys dont even take them out of the net during summer ... I might be able to find an article but I'm at work and didn't dig too deep
 
G.Mech said:
There's tons of studies on line that cover this topic with various results but from what I've read, the mortality increases significantly with water temperature, the size of the fish, the depth they were caught in, how fast they are brought to the surface and how long they are kept in tanks or livewells. I really don't think the small fish that are being released immediately are suffering a high mortality while trolling the way we are in 72-75°F water. I seldom see an air bladder and can't remember the last time I saw a small walleye floating. I'm sure some do die but like others, if they are bleeding or have a distended air bladder they go in the livewell otherwise back they go.
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For sure always a judgement call, Impossible to know for every fish but you have to assume some are dying due the catch and release and again we probably don't see floaters often due to the size of the lake... just trying to put knowledge out there so people know mortality happens.
 
Fishermanpaul said:
I know Ross Robertson from Bigwater fishing has mentioned that releasing fish in the summer due to deeper fishing and warmer water is typically a no-go for him, he's a very reliable source... Personally as someone who has a Masters in Biology I would agree with ross saying that the data points to a high mortality rate of catch and release during the months with warm temps, especially if youre pulling them out of deep water (really anything below 30 is probably a death certificate), and of course they will swim away but a large number of them will still die... but I agree look for the air bladder down throat, buldging butthole, eyes, etc. and if you see any of this I would forsure keep the fish... over where Ross fishes they have a size limit so he has to throw back anything under 15 inches anyway
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Funny how with a size limit you have to throw it back
And if what you’re saying is correct it’s a for sure death certificate
Then the regulations is causing a waste 🤷🏻
 
Fishermanpaul said:
they typically only float after decomposition starts, who knows where the current can take them before you see floaters... it's a big ass lake
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Big ass lake with people fishing out of every port even if the current takes it somewhere else it should float by someone fishing out of one of the ports
 
Derkd9 said:
Funny how with a size limit you have to throw it back
And if what you’re saying is correct it’s a for sure death certificate
Then the regulations is causing a waste 🤷🏻
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funny eh and possibly it's a waste during some months of the year, you can never be perfect with regs, science is always trying to figure out what's best and we will never get anything perfect... but just just off the data, if you're fishing deep, you're likely killing a couple fish.. this is all im trying to say and I'm just trying to spread info and have a civil conversation.
 
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