Fizzing Fish

Everyone knows this time of year when the bass push deep that a lot of times when you catch them, they go belly up in the livewell or when you put them back in the lake...The past 3 tournaments I've fished, I've had to fizz fish to get them upright in the livewell...I know a lot of people say you harm the fish when you fizz them, but I personally would rather take a chance with a fish that takes off when i put back in the water than one that floats belly up in front of the ramp....What are you alls opinions on fizzing fish?

fizzing for sure

I fished Green a few weeks ago and came up on a fish that was floating on it's side, still kickin trying to get down. It was about a 15" smallmouth and the side of his body was sunburnt to crap. I didn't have my needle on me and I felt awful.

I always fizz fish if they need it.

Fizz and they have a very good survival chance, don't fizz and they surely die from the gasses that they produce. I read studies that fish actually have a 10-12% better chance of survival if fizzed on the side and not thru the mouth

at what depth caught does this start to happen?

I've actually had it happen as shallow as 8-10ft....but usually once you get down to the 15-20ft range they really start needing it....About half the fish I've caught recently have needed it

hmm...weird. never had that happen. i always thought it was for more like 30-40 ft or more

You can catch 2 fish out of the exact same spot and one will flip up and the other one will be perfectly fine....Has everything to do with how much air they have in their swim bladder

Not fishing in deep water and catching and releasing quickly would be a better alternative than fizzing, also known as venting. Not having tournaments this time of the year would be the best practice, but we all know that's not going to happen.

Like I said I've had it happen in water as shallow as 8ft...You can't very well go out and flip visible stumps and wear em out this time of year and if you want to be competitive in tournaments you have to go deep...So it's not a question of IF I'm going to fish for them deep, it's what gives them the best chance of survival when I catch them

Is there a special needle that you need to get? If so, where? I have heard of this, but have only had the issue once. That was enough for me because it was a great smallmouth. Since I knew it was going to die I just had the thing mounted.

I don't use an actual "fizzing needle"...An EMT gave me one that actually looks more like something they'd use on a horse but it works perfectly...Seems like I heard of somebody finding them at a Tractor Supply one time also...The link posted will get you what you need and at a pretty good price

[URL]http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Bends_Mender_Deflator_Needle/descpage-BMDNP.html[/URL]

Here's another option that a lot of people like

[URL]http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Flip_Clip_Stabilizing_Weights_3pk/descpage-FHCPSWTS.html[/URL]