Plastics Killing Bass

There is an article in Field and Stream this month on fish that swallow plastic lures and die because they can't digest or pass the lure. I fly fish for trout below the Dix Dam and have caught three trout in the last five years when cleaned had plastic worms and a plastic lizard in them. Two of them you could tell had been in them for a while. The article said a number of companies are going to a biodegradable lure.

That makes sense. I would switch to biodegradeable plastic alternatives if they became available on a wide scale level. However, I don't loose too many plastics, and change my plastics often so I don't loose them. I am now careful that I keep them in the boat to throw away later. I think educating people to properly dispose of their used platics would make a difference.

I have to agree. I hate to say it, but I have been guilty of throwing used plastics in the water, but no more. You can't help when a good fish completely shakes off the plastic, but as you say that doesn't happen that often. At least I have learned to dispose of my lines properly.

I caught a bass two years ago on a Carolina Rig, he pretty well inhaled my bait instantly! It was a heck of strike! After landing him, I got my plastic lizard back, and then tried all that I could to extract the swallowed hook, but didn't have much success. I put him in the livewell to see if he would be able to recover, but he didn't. I took him home for supper so as not to let him go to waste. When I went to clean him, he had a really swollen belly that I though was just some shad he had ate, but to my surprise it was a full size Zoom Brushhawg! I guess he hadn't eaten in a good while, which is why he inhaled that bait of mine! There's no telling how long that thing had been in there, because at first it was so slimy and creamy looking that I couldn't tell what color it was! After it dried out a little, I could tell that it was Watermelon Seed! That Brushhawg is still hanging on a nail in my garage, as a reminder to put used lures where they belong...in the trash.

I learned a few years ago not to throw my old plastics into the water for the very reasons that fish could eat them. I keep a large size coffee can with the plastic lid in my boat. I take the plastic lid and cut a slit in it in the shape of a + and when I change baits, hooks, crankbait, plastic baits and even pieces of line, I just shove them down into the can and when I get home I seperate the baits that I want to keep and throw the rest into the trash. It helps to keep the boat as well as the lake area clean.

I caught a bass a few years ago that had about 1/2 inch of a hot pink worm coming out of his butt.

I got my pliers and very gently pulled on it. It was a whole finesse worm, and it all came out in one piece.

I put him in the live well to see if I had done any harm to him (was fun fishing). He seemed fine the whole time, so I let him go about an hour later. He swam right off.

I was not aware of this but it certainly makes sense so I will keep them in the boat from now on. I am guilty for throwing them in the water when done with them. In fact I probably threw more than 10 in the water both salt and fresh water this past weekend in Florida.
My apology to the Grouper, Trout and Bass that I donated the baits to last week.

Thanks for your honesty. Sometimes it takes someone else to remind us what we are doing that may be harmful. I know it did me.

I caught a decent smallmouth on the point across from the boat ramp in Lilly Creek one morning on Cumberland. It hit a topwater bait and while I was getting it unhooked I seen the tip of something white way down in it's gullet with like a creamy foam on it. I lipped the fish and started gentle pushing upwards on it's stomach and could see the tip of something foreign. I got my hemostats and reached down in there and milked out a large white fluke, it was nasty. I let the brown bass go and it seemed fine, I have to admit though I did throw that nasty fluke overboard, I shouldn't have done that.

Great thread guys. I've learned a lot.
Mark

Good thread.

Are Berkley Power Worms biodegradable? How do I know if the soft-plastic baits I am buying are biodegradable?

This is a good post. I have been guilty in the past also. Lets not confuse Biodegradable with diegestable. Any trash, baits string of any kind shouldn't be thrown out. Since I bought my new boat 3 years ago I have carried along a trash bag in my cooler for my trash. I didn't want to dirty up the boat. I never realized how much trash I had (and what I get out of the lakes) at the end of a day. Lets keep the lakes clean for the fish and our future generations.