Releasing tired out, big fish?

[dan(or)]

Hi!

First let me say that it has been many years since I have kept a walleye over 23". Released every fish over that size. Well today I tried my best and couldn't get the 33" fish to straighten up in the live well.

Bear with me. The conditions were: high wind 30+ mph, strong current going the opposite direction of the wind, (Columbia River with the dams open on both ends of the pool) fishing three ways with plugs, water temp 64. The fish fought very hard, I backed the boat down into the wind to reduce the length of the fight. Netted the fish, observed a slight amount of blood from the gills (not a good sign) but the fish was hooked in the lip. Unhooked the fish and placed it in the livewell, turn the pump on constant pump. Usually the fish right themselves in short order and I'll release them. Releasing them any earlier will mean the seagulls will devour them as the struggle on the surface.

After about fifteen minutes I tried to pump water through the gills by physically moving the fish. Fish was alive but rolled on its side / belly. No change from the first observation in the livewell.

Waited for time and the fresh water to help. Still on side. More effort to revive, no signs of success.

I REALLY hate to keep big fish. Just released a 28" fish last Sunday.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

dan

In Oregon land where the walleyes grow bigger and nobody fishes for them!

[WAeyes]

Sounds like a mounter. I think you gave it every chance to swim away, other than CPR. Enjoy it on your wall now!

[WAeyes]

Forgot to comment on your Oregon walleye statement." In Washington, where the walleyes only bite on nightcrawlers and spinners" or is that the only thing they try?

[Eric]

Dan,

Did you try fizzing the fish? There is a lot of debate over fizzing I know but has worked wonders for me. If a fish goes belly up and stays for more than 1 or 2 minutes, I fizz asap. I haven'
t had a fish die in the live well yet and all have realeased fine. I'm sure they are not all going to survive unfortunatly. Great fishing and agree, doesn't hurt to put one on the wall.

[Fish-on]

Congratulations on catching a tremendous fish. Enjoy your mount with a clear conscience. If you would have let that fish go knowing it's chance of survival was very slim, that should bother your conscience. Nothing wrong with keeping a trophy for the wall. I can tell from your post and your concern that you are not going to keep every ten-pounder you get, but his one wasn't going to make it. No harm no foul.

Remember, it's only a fish.

[Gizmo]

Catch and release only healthy fish or else you will just be feeding the seagulls. A 23" un-revivable walleye should be destined for the fry pan. Make your decision to release or keep a fish when it is still in the net. If a fish goes in the livewell it should be kept for supper. Some states prohibit releasing a fish after it has been in a livewell.

[FROGMAN]

Whenever my partner, and I are fishing tournaments (in warm weather) we always carry a couple of extra bags of ice in a cooler. A lot of times it is very beneficial to throw some ice in to cool the water off, and that way it will take on more dissolved oxygen. Good fishing.....FROGMAN

[Dan(or)]

Thanks for all the responses. I will try the ice next time. Still hate to have not released the fish :-(

Dan
Out in Oregon land where the walleyes are bigger and nobody fishes for them :-)

[ETT]

Frogman, Ice is a godsend for warm weather, but it must be made from declorinated water or the clorine kills the fish (cooks their gills). Good luck

[Frenzy]

Well that would make tournaments illegal then right?

[Chad]

How much ice do you use??? I would think that the shock of cold water could kill the fish too. Especially during the late summer when water temps are high.

Has anyone ever tried the powder in Bass Pro which is for livewells?

[Gizmo]

Frenzy,
Apparently so, at least in some states. It is my understanding that in North Dakota it is illegal to release any fish that has been put into a livewell. If I am mistaken I would indeed like to be corrected on this. Do the Game and Fish people ignore that regulation during fishing tournaments or is there an exception made for tournaments?

[larry g]

There are some fish that will never survive being caught and released. that may sound like a fallacy, but it is true.I do lot of striper fishing, and any striper caught deep in warm water, is more than likely to die, even if it is released as soon as possible.In fact our DNR also says theyshould be kept in waters that are very warm.The only thing that could help is using substantial tackle to horse a fish in as fast as possible, and then immediately release it.Not many of us prefer to fish that way. If I do put a fish into my live well, it is not going to be released later.Now all of this changes in the early spring and very late fall.I guess what I'm trying to get across is catch and release only works 100% of the time if the fish is put back as quick as possile.

[Go_Fish]

What is "Fizzing?" The only suggestion that I have is that when you get a large fish immediately try to revive it. This will give the fish a little better chance than just putting it in the live well, and checking on it later. I realize that it is really disappointing to loose a big fish. I have this problem when I fish for lake trout in the summer months. When you pull them up from 70'of water, the resultant pressure and temperature change in addition to the stess of being caught and decreased O2 is really hard on them. As a fellow catch a release advocate, I understand and appreciate your concerns.

Good Luck!

Go_Fish

[dan(or)]

Larry,

I agree concerning releasing the fish as soon as possible. However, I disagree about placing them in the livewell for two reasons. First, to assess the health / revival rate of the fish. By this I mean like this fish, it was tired and had just swam against the current for some time, it rolled over as soon as it was in the livewell. This fish would have gone belly up in the river just like it did in the livewell. That would lead right to my second reason = seagulls. Seagulls tend to hover waiting to see a wounded, belly up fish on the surface at which time it becomes a feeding frenzy.

So, I place big fish that have fought for some time in the livewell for observation. The river water temperature doesn’t change that much from the bottom to the top of the water column. Therefore pumping surface water, in at least the Columbia where the current can be very swift, is about the same temp as the rest of the water in the river. I would be curious to hear others opinions on this theory, if I am wrong I need to change my process.

Because the Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife doesn’t support walleyes in any way = no hatchery AND increased bag limit to 10 this year. (5 can be under 18” and 5 over 18” with one over 24”) I am very interested in returning any fish over 23”. Thanks again for all of the collective wisdom and suggestions. I look froward to more ……. Sorry to be so long winded….

Dan

[Gunga Din]

Stripers don't last long in a livewell. I caught a bunch of stripers last week at Lake Powell on the surface fishing the boils (big fun). After a few hours in the livewell the stripers were belly-up, while largemouth and smallmouth were still energetic.

[GrbDnet]

You guys crack me up! I would have smacked it over the head to put it out of its mysery. No since loosing sleep over a fish.

[Frank in Pa.]

Go Fish,Fizzing is using a needle to puncture the fishes air bladder to remove air or pressure from a fish brought up from the depths.I have only ever had to do this on fish from depths greater than 30ft.In one particular tourney this year we forgot our needle and we were pulling fish out of 32ft that were turning belly up as soon as we put them in the livewell.Knowing we would get a 2 tenths penalty for each dead fish I rooted around in the boat and found a worm blower and I was able to pull the needle out far enough to reach the bladder.The result was no dead fish and we beat the next position down by 3 tenths. Good luck Frank

[Andrew]

I guess I am confused...you say your a C & R advocate, yet you continue to fish for lake trout when you know the possibility of high mortality.

[Go_Fish]

Andrew,
Who said anything about high mortality? I was making the point that people have to be aware of these stresses on fish, Lake Trout in particular so that we can PREVENT a high mortality rate. If you fish enough, you realize that no matter what you do there is a small percentage of fish that are killed as a result of being caught. So if you learn to recognize when this occurs you can keep the fish that probably won't survive to eat (which usually are very few), and throw everything else back. The only other alternative is to just not go fishing, and who wants to do that! Good Luck.

Go_Fish