Delayed bass mortality rate

[agelesssone]

As published in the July 2014 issue, page 10
of In Fisherman magazine, regardless of what treatment tournament fishermen used, (oxygen infusion, ice, salt) bass DELAYED mortality in tournaments held in July resulted in 56%, yes, fifty six percent, of the fish dying within five days of the weigh in.

So to all the high minded tournament fishermen who tout "catch and release", you should at least keep your catch and give it to someone who enjoys eating fresh fish rather than donate it to the catfish and turtles who will feast on it in five days!

*Ostrand, K.G., M.J. Siepker, and D.H. Wahl. 2011. Effectiveness of livewell additives on largemouth bass survival. J. Fish and Wildlife Management 2:22-28

[XxthejuicexX]

Wow, Thats crazy to hear. I guess the stress just gets to them.

[TNBronzeback]

Im surprised i havent seen more dead bass at the Long Hunter ramp than i have seen so far. Either the guys arent doing as well in thier catches, or they are doing better at trying to keep them alive. It was bad there last year...every sunday morning there would be half dozen dead bass around the ramp.

[Alphahawk]

Many times over the years I found dead bass lining the bank the day after a weigh in at Pickwick during summer and early fall. The weigh in spot is at a spot I fish for Gills. They weigh them then release them after weigh in back to the lake. By the next morning many are dead. I assume from riding around for hours in hot live wells...but I don't know. I just know a lot of dead bass show up the day or two after a release. This is a pic of the result of an individual pre fishing a tourney on a Friday a couple of years back. He rode around with this fish in the live well all day. He saw me and asked was I fishing for fun or food...I told him both. He wanted to know if I wanted a nice largemouth that was not going to survive. I usually give most of my fish to elderly seniors here in Columbia and so I told him yes....I don't eat large mouth as I just don't care for the taste. He pulled right up to the bank and went in his live well to pull out the fish....which I just assumed must have been a 4 or 5 pound bass as he kept saying how nice it was. When he lifted that fish out I was shocked. It was over 10 pounds. I walked that fish for a long time in the water but it was not going to make it so I put it in the cooler and brought it home. The shell cracker laying beside the bass are 9 and 10 inch fish...so you can tell how big it was. At least the guy just didn't throw it away.....it fed a lot of folks. Shame a big fish had to die like that though. IMHO I think the kayak CPR method should be used in all tournaments. I have always wondered how many tournament fish survived.......I figured the mortality rate had to be high...especially in summer.


Regards

[XxthejuicexX]

I will tell you what the mortality rate of keeper crappie is in my boat, 100%. when put into my live well and then released to my cleaning table they usually only make it 20-30 minutes at best

[Alphahawk]

Originally Posted by XxthejuicexX

I will tell you what the mortality rate of keeper crappie is in my boat, 100%. when put into my live well and then released to my cleaning table they usually only make it 20-30 minutes at best

Yeah.....crappie mortality rate is pretty high...LOL.


Regards

[creekcrappie]

That is sad to hear. I try to take care of my fish as best I can. I rarely have one die on me, and hopefully they don't die a few day later.

[agelesssone]

Isaac, what kills the fish is the stress of being kept in a livewell all day. Plus the beating and battering that happens when they are slammed around in there all day with the running and gunning most tournament fishermen do.

Bad handling practices can hurt too. Try not to handle any part of the fish's body, and don't hold them by the jaw and lift them to horizontal. If a photo must be taken, let the fish hang vertical. Too many people hold the fish's jaw and then raise it to horizontal which injures the fish.

Lots of catch and release fishermen are well intentioned but ill informed.

And the guys that prefish for tournaments just go in and educate fish that most likely won't bite those same lures a few days later. Another study purports to show fish retain a memory bank of lures for about a week.

Myself, I would disagree with that study, having fish break me off, only to catch it again later it the day with my "lost" lure (plastic worm both times) either stuck in their jaw or swallowed in their belly.

Good handling practices will allow most fish to survive.

[Saltwaterwalt]

A few years back I was on Barkley Lake helping set up for a night bowfishing tournament. When we pulled into the parking lot, a bass tourney had just finished, the fishermen were gone and the officials were just loading up their stand, scales, etc. and pulled away also. Thirty minutes later my buddy pointed out some "white" objects bobbing on the surface. Four really nice bass had rolled up on their side near the weigh-in area. Two were dead, two were almost. I tried to revive the two with no luck. After a few minutes I layed them up on the rocks and did the responsible thing ... retrieved my fillet knife out of my truck.

They ate well.

[SAMBOLIE]

Throwing the fish in a plastic bag while waiting weigh in can't be healthy.
How long do some fishermen keep the fish out of water parading them around (one in each hand) and then they are kept out of water an additional time in a basket to be weighed.

[MNfisher]

I agree on the mortality stuff. But I disagree on prefishing. While it may educate a few fish. It shows you where they are and what they want. When prefishing, as soon as I catch a fish, I leave the area and find more fish. Catching they 1 fish out of a school or structure, just shows you where to fish. And prefishing is also a great way to eliminate water do you aren't wasting your time during the tourney.

[ttitan27]

Originally Posted by agelesssone

Myself, I would disagree with that study, having fish break me off, only to catch it again later it the day with my "lost" lure (plastic worm both times) either stuck in their jaw ore swallowed in their belly.

Some fish, like people just don't seem to get it the first time. I have been guilty of this a few times myself.

[Westwindmike]

I'd like to know if the mortality rate is much lower for a CPR type tourney. The fish I catch, photo and release always swim off at high speed and seem healthy. Wish the big tourneys would go to CPR also.

[nomad60]

Originally Posted by Alphahawk

Many times over the years I found dead bass lining the bank the day after a weigh in at Pickwick during summer and early fall. The weigh in spot is at a spot I fish for Gills. They weigh them then release them after weigh in back to the lake. By the next morning many are dead. I assume from riding around for hours in hot live wells...but I don't know. I just know a lot of dead bass show up the day or two after a release. This is a pic of the result of an individual pre fishing a tourney on a Friday a couple of years back. He rode around with this fish in the live well all day. He saw me and asked was I fishing for fun or food...I told him both. He wanted to know if I wanted a nice largemouth that was not going to survive. I usually give most of my fish to elderly seniors here in Columbia and so I told him yes....I don't eat large mouth as I just don't care for the taste. He pulled right up to the bank and went in his live well to pull out the fish....which I just assumed must have been a 4 or 5 pound bass as he kept saying how nice it was. When he lifted that fish out I was shocked. It was over 10 pounds. I walked that fish for a long time in the water but it was not going to make it so I put it in the cooler and brought it home. The shell cracker laying beside the bass are 9 and 10 inch fish...so you can tell how big it was. At least the guy just didn't throw it away.....it fed a lot of folks. Shame a big fish had to die like that though. IMHO I think the kayak CPR method should be used in all tournaments. I have always wondered how many tournament fish survived.......I figured the mortality rate had to be high...especially in summer.


Regards

Whoa that is a big old bass there Alpha. Shame it had to die.

[nomad60]

I practice catch and release and always try to get the fish back in the water ASAP. I do take a pic or two and if it's a really nice one, I measure it and then back it goes. If a fish ends up in my live well, that means its going in the skillet. I realize it's different for the tournament guys since they have to weigh in but yeah, being in a live well all day can't be good for the fish at all.