Fizzing Fish

[Embrey]

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

[Fishin is life]

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

[sweetwater]

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.

[Fishin is life]

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

[sweetwater]

Shorter tournament hours, lower bag limits, multiple required weigh-ins or better yet an honor system tournament format where you'd weigh the fish yourself then quickly release it. All the above suggestions would give the fish a better chance of surviving than poking their insides with a dirty needle after riding around in a tiny live well for 6 or 8 hours in 80+ degree water would. Like I said, the key to their survival is returning the fish to the water as soon as possible, in the best possible condition without any extra holes in their bodies. (besides the one their mouth of course)

[Fishin is life]

Shorter tournament hours, lower bag limits, multiple required weigh-ins or better yet an honor system tournament format where you'd weigh the fish yourself then quickly release it. All the above suggestions would give the fish a better chance of surviving than poking their insides with a dirty needle after riding around in a tiny live well for 6 or 8 hours in 80+ degree water would. Like I said, the key to their survival is returning the fish to the water as soon as possible, in the best possible condition without any extra holes in their bodies. (besides the one their mouth of course)

I'm not disagreeing with what you're saying, just that the tournaments are what they are and those of us that enjoy fishing them have to do what we have to do....Here's a good example for ya though...Friday night we were out fishing and my friend caught a 5lber out of probably 20ft....Got it in the boat, unhooked it, admired it for maybe 30 seconds, and put it right back in the lake...She flipped belly up and absolutely would not take off...Not the first time I've had this happen...So we picked her back up, fizzed her right there on the side of the boat, put her in the water and she took off like a rocket...No doubt she would have been dead had I just left her laying

[TimE]

Shorter tournament hours, lower bag limits, multiple required weigh-ins or better yet an honor system tournament format where you'd weigh the fish yourself then quickly release it. All the above suggestions would give the fish a better chance of surviving than poking their insides with a dirty needle after riding around in a tiny live well for 6 or 8 hours in 80+ degree water would. Like I said, the key to their survival is returning the fish to the water as soon as possible, in the best possible condition without any extra holes in their bodies. (besides the one their mouth of course)

You have not made a point at all.

"Shorter tournament hours" Fish start suffering from this the minute they are caught

"Lower bag limits" Just kill three instead of five?

"Multiple required weigh ins" Again this would not help with barotrauma at all


"Honor system tournament format" See above, but i don't see how a fish floating on it's belling in 80+ degree water, unable to achieve the depth it was prior to being caught, is better than riding around in a livewell all day.

Most biologist's opinions i have read agree that no long term affect comes from doing this if the fish survive.

[sweetwater]

You have not made a point at all.

"Shorter tournament hours" Fish start suffering from this the minute they are caught

"Lower bag limits" Just kill three instead of five?

"Multiple required weigh ins" Again this would not help with barotrauma at all


"Honor system tournament format" See above, but i don't see how a fish floating on it's belling in 80+ degree water, unable to achieve the depth it was prior to being caught, is better than riding around in a livewell all day.

Most biologist's opinions i have read agree that no long term affect comes from doing this if the fish survive.

I 100% agree. But as long as it is legal to do so there will be fish caught and killed in bass tournaments. My point is that more self regulation could be done to minimize fatalities than is currently being done. I hope that the day never comes that the government will regulate bass fishing the way they have done with grouper and the "endangered" red snapper.