Lane

Matt, I have caught rock snapper in Alaska at depths between 160ft to 180ft, and they were basically dead when they reached the surface. The eyes were popped out and it looked like a bomb had exploded inside them when we opened them up. I have only seen two largemouth bass with this and both were DOA. Both of the bass were caught at Lake Amistad and the angler reported that they were caught in approximately 75ft of water. We dissected one of them and there was massive internal damage to vital organs. Studies have shown that some saltwater species can be fizzed or vented then released, but probably not the ones with protruding eyes, airbladders, etc.

TommyBass, An exact depth in which barotrauma occurs has NOT been scientifically established, but it seems to occur more often at depths below 45 ft. We have documented bass caught at shallow depths that exihibit the inablity to maintain an upright position. This is frequently associated with shock due to a prolonged capture time. Sometimes a fish will go into shock as the result of capture. Before fizzing a fish we recommend that the fish be placed in a cooled, treated livewell for 20 minutes in order to calm and begin the process of stablilizing blood chemistry such as lactate, glucose and cortisol levels. In many cases, if the fish can be quickly stabilized, fizzing is not necessary. As Mattlures mentioned, you can use the weight method to release a bass that is NOT going to be retained for tournament or photos. That procedure works best if done QUICKLY after fish is landed. While infection can occur from fizzing, the risk is low compared to the mortality associated with barotruama and or shock. FourBiz, I miss you too! I wish that we could have attended the Heavy Weight Bass Classic III, but we are just TOO BUSY. I have way too many irons in the fire! Keep sinking your fish, it works! Lane

First off, If you are going to use my statements as quotations, please do it in an accurate manner, and don't skew what I post. I did NOT make any comments about the Bush Administration or their environmental policies, NOR did I post that I agreed with their environmental policies. I printed the political petition that was sent to us by Sierra Club. We do not appreciate receiving any UNSOLICITATED political material, either to the left or to the right! Second, I did not state that global warming was a theory, I CLEARLY stated the HUMAN INFLUENCE of climatic changes is STILL a theory! Global warming is not the, "controversy", the theory that human influence is to blame is, and scientists are divided over this. Accuracy please. If you would like to believe Sierra Club's statement that their organization has a large membership of hunters and recreational anglers other than flyfishermen targeting trout, so be it. I don't buy it for ONE MINUTE! We support habitat conservation for ALL USER GROUPS, not just hikers! Anglers and hunters fund most of those efforts, NOT SIERRA CLUB. Here a breakdown of funding that Sierra Club included: Influencing PUBLIC POLICY 40.2% Information and Education 11.9% Outdoor Activities 8.7% Membership drives 21.1% Chapter support 0.7% Fundraising affliations 3.7% Fundraising Sierra Club 6.6% General Administration 7.1% Looks like their political wheel is WELL FUNDED! Who did you call a political pundit????? As far as endangered species go, maybe you should check out my bio at, www.sure-life.com I was one of only a handful of scientists in the US granted permission to export CITES Appendix II chameleons from Madagascar. I support conservation for habitat of endangered species within reason in conjunction with good science and stakeholder interests consideration. Closing access to a river due to a few albino salamanders without involvement from all stakeholders, combined with good scientific data is RADICAL! I would also like that our company provides FREE OF CHARGE various chemical formulations to US Fish and Wildlife hatcheries for use on endangered species that assist with survival rates during transport and in treatment of disease. There is a lot of lip service about endangered species, but what about invasive species. Invasive species are the number one threat to aquatic ecosystems. Both myself and my husband spend countless hours working with state and federal biologists on these issues. We have flown to various parts of the country on our OWN DIME to assist with some of these problems. I am not the type of person to be railroaded by personal attacks. Nor do I condone the activities of groups or organizations that put their agendas above the HUMAN life and well being.

Here is a link to an official STATEMENT from Sierra Club and other organizations on the Aminal Liberation Front website. www.animalliberationfront.com/AR_orgs/Wildlife%20Organizations%20Positions%20on%20Hunting.htm Here is the condensed version of Sierra Club's position just in case entire link with not print out. "....We should respect the moral right of all creatures to exist, to maintain basic and successful breeding stock, to have essential habitat protected, to be free of unnecessary predation, persecution, and cruel and unduly confining captivity....regulated sports hunting may have a place for those who choose to pursue it, but there are more pressing concerns..." My guess is that those pressing concerns deal with ENDANGERED SPECIES! UPDATE!!!!!!!! I sent an e-mail to the ASA, and the phone rang within 2 MINUTES. It was Gordon Robertson, who is head of Government Affairs for ASA. I worked with Gordon on many issues in the past. He stated that he DID NOT KNOW that Sierra Club was listed as a member and was SHOCKED! He also stated that Sierra Club's position and actions have been in DIRECT OPPOSITION to the sportfishing industry. He stated that ASA DOES INDEED CONSIDER Sierra Club an animal right group, due to their actions, such as closing of coastal marine areas to sportfishing, closure of roads on FEDERAL LAND (NOT NATIONAL PARKS) that restrict access to recreational fishing opportunities. Gordon called me back again, and stated that Sierra Club applied for membership into the ASA in May and their application HAD NOT BEEN APPROVED! He also stated that is would NOT be approved in the future. For some reason both the ICAST Buyer's Guide (Addendum) and the ASA newsletter had them listed as new members, when they were NOT. He was even MORE SHOCKED about the materials that they sent us. They are going to investigate this matter, to see how they obtained our name and address. We believe that they obtained it through the ICAST Buyer's Guide, even though Sierra Club was not listed as a registered attendee of ICAST, many people are able to obtain badges without the proper credentials. Something that will probably change. IMO, Sierra Club is MORE DANGEROUS than PETA!

BINGO! Now they are members of ASA. At the very least, they will fracture the organization. Here in Texas, we are taking matters into our own hands by getting a petition signed for a consitutional amendment that would protect Texan's right to hunt and fish. I am not going to wait for the other shoe to drop!

Here is the VILE petition that they sent. Petition to U.S. House of Representatives Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi Petition to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Having failed to outright destry the Endangered Species Act during their more than seven years in office, officials within the Bush Administration are now attempting to greatly weaken this important protective measure by cutting funding for the Act and delisting threatened species like the WOLF. For the benefit of their special interest friends in the oil industry, the logging industry, and commercial development, they are making it more difficult to protect species, while making it easier for these special interests to exploit the habitat of endangered species. I urge you to act, and do everything in your power to thwart efforts by the Bush Administration to weaken and destroy the Endangered Species Act. Thank You, My husbands name and address Sorry, but using our membership to ASA to gain access to our private mailing address is OFFENSIVE to us! I currently agree with the delisting of several species from endangered to threatened including the wolf. This delisting was based upon sound science from wildlife biologists within the US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE. I agree with firefightn15 links that were provided, they don't even stick to their OWN policies, which they STATE are based upon VAILD BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE! AT least with PETA, what you see is what you get!

When you go to the link, go to the left of the page and click on Policy of sporthunting and fishing. I do not support closure of public access due to endangered species, unless absolutely necessary.

Sorry Paul, I disagree, which is my right! While I do support several of the environmental issues, I do NOT support their stance on recreational sportfishing and hunting. I especially do not support their political agenda, and we don't appreciate being spammed by them. I do not support the closing of access roads on federal lands, nor do I support the reintroduction of wolves in certain areas that surround PRIVATE agricultural ranches. Conflicts that result in casualties on both sides have resulted in some of these introductions. I am a scientist, and I do support good management practices, which include sportfishing and hunting to control populations and provide wholesome recreation. There will always be a few bad apples in every group, but most of the public funding for conservation and management comes from sportfishing and hunting. We are the ONLY user group that provides the majority of the funding to support fishery stocking programs, management, and habitat restoration. I used to be a member of Sierra Club ( back in my young and dumb college days), and I was disappointed to learn that a large amount of their funding goes to political candidates. Here is where you can view their position on sportfishing and hunting. www.sierraclub.org/sierrasportsmen/ As a scientist, I do not support their stance on global warming. They present their postition that human influence is responsible for global warming as fact, and in the scientific community it is still considered a theory. With that being said I do support efforts for curtailing emissions due to human health. The jury is still out on global warming, and I for one am not willing to state theory as fact. Last but not least, I am a member of ASA and I seriously doubt that most of us will support their membership.

We are members of the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) which hosts ICAST. We received our ASA newletter yesterday, and Sierra Club is listed as a new member. Thats not all we received. Tony also received a very disturbing envelope from Sierra Club asking him sign a petition that would protect endangered species ON THEIR LIST. They also solicited his membership, they sure didn't waste any time spamming the ASA membership for the disguisting propaganda! The Sierra Club is against most forms of recreational sportfishing, with the exception of fly fishing for trout. They are against ALL hunting on public lands. They opppose tournament angling, live bait angling,etc. The wolf is in the hen house! Their agenda is to fracture the only influential organization that they sportfishing industry has (ASA) with their membership. IMO, this recent event is major blow to recreational sportfishing and the industry! I AM LIVID! >

Roadwarrior, I don't see why not. There will be some open slots after the first 20 in the standing decide if they are coming to Texas. I know for a fact that Butch Brown and Shuan Bailey will be down at Amistad, there are a few others out in California that are working on coming to Texas. Tony wants to fish it, and I am going to be a VTO for the event.

HBC is going national, so Texas is going to be the first stop.

We are very excited about HBC 3! We attended HBC 1 and 2, now it is coming to one of our home lakes! We are national sponsors, but I am going to be a VTO for this event, and I know somebody in my household that wants to fish in the event. Kudos to Ken Huddleston and Ron Cervenka for putting on a great event dedicated to the trophy hunters.

crazy4bass1, No it can't be transmitted to humans, ONLY FISH. I suspect it will make BIG national news if and when it is found in commercial hatcheries down south. It could devastate the commercial hybid striper hatcheries, etc. There has been an ongoing panic within the USDA and other federal agencies about the arrival of this multispecies strain of VHS. It has already forced many state hatcheries up north to cease the stockings of several fish.

Eddie, The VHS virus is indeed serious. My prediction is that it will indeed reach the Mississippi River system. As scientists we have kept up with the virus and it's spread since 2005. The deadly VHSV is the reason why we introduced a new formula that includes two disinfectants known to kill viral particles in hauling containers such as bait buckets, livewells and hauling tanks. The collapse of the ecosystem in the Great Lakes due to environmental pollution and invasive species make that body of water prime for various pathogens. Many species of fish have found to have lowered immune responses that are linked to changes in the ecosystem. While I don't think we can STOP the spread or even further mutations of the virus, but hopefully we can slow down the spread. This will give biologists and fisheries managers time to strengthen the forage base and ecosystem in public waters. Healthy fish with good immune systems can develop antibodies against the virus faster. Anglers need to do their part by making sure that boats and equipment are disinfected, clean and dry after EACH USE. You are right, the VHSV in fish can be likened to the Ebola Virus in humans.

The chances of survival are probably slim, but this has happened to most all of us at some point in time. As others have suggested, crimping or cutting the barb is the best thing to do. I use a device called the HookEater that cuts the barb. The magnet removes the metal barb. Hooks do not rust out, so it is best to remove the hook. There have been various articles written about this based upon scientific studies. Noted biologist Ralph Manns wrote a very good article on hook removal and why it should be done. Even when we are fun fishing, we always have a livewell ready for emergency situations. If you have a bleeder, place the fish in a cooled livewell with either Catch And Release or Please Release Me. Both of these formulas can be put directly on the area that is bleeding as well. The ice and the chemicals will work together to stop the bleeding. After the bleeding stops, let fish recover for at least 30 minutes before releasing. I like devices that can quickly cut the barb so that the fish does not have to endure the stress of prolonged handling. The HookEater is not a cheap tool, but IMO well worth the cost. Here a link for more information on the HookEater. http://www.hookeater.com

CJ, I would recommend using Catch And Release this time of year. Once it starts to cool off and the water temps drop, you can switch back to Please Release Me at the normal dosage rate. Post spawn and summer are tough on these bass. The thermometer will really help! We have been talking to two boat manufacturers about installing livewell temperature probes as standard equipment. That would really help. Thanks for your concern and taking the time to ask questions, and even more importantly your efforts to conserve the resource!

CJ, "Faulty livewell drain", I was assuming that it failed to properly drain causing metabolic waste to build up in the livewell water. That is a common problem. Didn't realize you were talking about water completely draining out of the livewell. Thank god it was only two fish, could have been worst! As for the red fins and lips, it is not good. In fact abnormal color changes are a sure sign that things aren't good, with loss of coloration being a sign of deep shock and impending death.

CJ, Warm livewell temperatures will cause fins to turn red, as will ammonia problems. In your case, it is definately livewell temps. Do NOT pump in freshwater during the warm summer months. This totally defeats the purpose of ice and livewell chemicals. You need to close off your system and aerate. Since your are in KY, I would assume that you catch a fair amount of smallmouth bass. They require cooler water temps and more oxygen. Go buy yourself a floating pool thermometer at Home Depot to monitor livewell temps. Keep livewell temps as close to 65F as possible, and don't let them exceed 70F. You will be amazed at how much ice it takes to maintain proper livewell temps, and you might want to consider using a cooler or ice chest. If you are using Please Release Me you will need to exchange the water every two to three hours. Precool your water in a bucket or spare livewell. Don't pump in hot surface water into the livewell. Our newer formula Catch And Release contains a concentrated amount of ammonia remover, so water does not need to be exchanged but once, if even at all. That depends on the amount of fish in the livewell. Of course we do highly recommend the use of 3% hydrogen peroxide in the summer time as well. It's use could have saved your fish that died due to the, "faulty livewell drain." It's use is controversial with some scientists, but most tournament anglers are quite capable of following safe dosage instructions. You will need to measure the approximate volume of water in your livewell for proper dosing. The safe dosage rates are on our website, DO NOT overdose! Our website contains some good information on warm weather livewell care of bass, including how to determine the approximate volume of water in your livewell. That information can also be found on both the Please Release Me and Catch And Release labels. Last but not least, we suggest that you double the recommended dosage rate of Please Release Me or Catch And Release during the warm summer months. The answer to your last question is, YES!

FishingDaddy, I gave you an update. You stated that you did not know what you were waiting for, so I posted an update. I sent a few pictures to another member, he posted on what he saw. I am NOT sending pictures to anyone else! There was nothing condescending about it. Sometimes I type too fast, sorry! As far as anglers being given information, go to our website and you will find plenty of information on how to properly handle and care for bass. I have been informed that the dates are being changed for next year. I guess we will have to wait and see if they change the format, but that is being discussed. At least some effort is being made on the part of ESPN/BASS. There have been plenty of changes since this unfortunate event occured, and for the good! If you want more evidence, then I would suggest that you contact Falcon Lake Tackle or the Chamber of Commerce down in Zapata. There was a follow up article in the San Antonio Express News, it did mention that mortality rates were higher than originally reported. BTW, Thanks for the kind remarks, hope it makes you feel better!

FishinDaddy, I don't know what you are waiting on either. As I understand it, ESPN/BASS are looking at changing the time of year and format, which is a postive step in the right direction. Another postive step in the right direction is angler awareness, with more attention being focused on better fish handling and care techniques. More and more tournament trails on other lakes across Texas are reducing creel limits to three fish when water temps heat up. I call a very positive step in the right direction.

Here are our recommendations for cleaning and disinfection of livewells: 1. Pour 1 gallon of 100% vinegar into each livewell, slosh then let sit for 30 minutes. Using 100% vinegar will kill bacteria and ALL STAGES of invasive species mussels (quagga/zebra). Remove screens and also let sit in 100% vinegar solution. Rinse. 2. Wipe down livewells with 3% hydrogen peroxide for further disinfection. Rinsing is not necessary since H2O2 will quickly degrade. 3. Leave livewell lids open for several hours to throughly dry out. You livewell will be **** and span!

Fishfordollars is a member of the Texas Association of Bass Clubs. He is familar with Falcon Lake, and is very concerned with mortality. He has witnessed first hand unacceptable mortality rates down there. There are several other members that are very upset by this as well. We are honorary members of a TABC affiliated club, and we have discussed the issue of tournament mortality in depth with our club president.

Bassnajr, Actually I don't mind getting ripped if the final outcome is positive. I sent a few pics to Flechero because he lives in central TX. ESPN and TPW are the ones who NEED to see them the most. We want some answers and not from the ESPN public relations department, but from Trip Weldon and Chris Horton. Actually they need to see the video that was taken by the Zapata Chamber. The rodeo thing was in reference to what 25 years of experience backed up with valid scientific research. We will be sending a formal letter to the CEO's of parent companies, American Broadcasting Company (ABC), Walt Disney World and last but not least ESPN.

"IMO, Bad move Lane. That's what Paris Hilton said to her boyfriend before the sex tape got out!!!!" What do you consider a bad move? Keeping this topic alive and on the forefront of every angler's mind? Sending some photos to a BR forum member who not only lives here in Texas, but agreed NOT TO POST the photos on the internet? Putting pressure on ESPN/BASS or any other touranment organization to address mortality issues, and to consider or provide solutions??? I read the article in the San Antonio Express News. In fact we read it on the day it was published since we subscribe to the paper. Yes, in an interview Trip Weldon confirmed that 158 bass died before release. He also stated in the interview that the TWO live-release barges were overwhelmed by too many large bass. If they were overwhelmed on day one, why didn't they make any adjustments down at Falcon? They made an adjustment for Amistad by reducing the co-angler limit. There are too many unanswered questions for many of us down here in south Texas. We would LIKE SOME ANSWERS to these questions. ESPN/BASS has already sent a, "letter of commitment" and a multiyear contract to the Zapata Chamber of Commerce. You are right ESPN/BASS, "is not denying anything". On the flip side, they are not acknowledging anything either, other than the fact that 158 bass died before release and that their barges were overwhelmed. The Zapata Chamber of Commerce has REQUESTED a statement, so far NOTHING! Yes, , "they got caught with their pants down". Is this the first time they have had their pants down, or is it just that they got CAUGHT with them down???? Up until recently, we really thought that BASS had below average mortality rates. That is until I read the Wisconsin DNR tournament mortality summary report. There were flaws with the study/report, and the report for the most part addresses those flaws. With that being said, there is enough information to conclude that there are problems. When problems are not addressed and dealt with, you eventually get caught with your pants down. As a result of the summary report, Wisconsin enacted some pretty strict tournament regulations. Public sentiment was also a factor in the final report. Like I mentioned in my previous post, it is available on the internet. Both FLW and BASS experienced high mortality rates. This ain't our first rodeo so to speak. Tony has been involved with bass tournaments for over 25 years. The sad thing about all of this is that Tony told me today about all of the innovations that he has seen with bass boats, tackle, etc, in several decades. Heck the original Catch And Release formula has been reformulated 5 times since he first started working on it in 1982. Both of us are microbiologists, but Tony has been connected with the sportfishing industry longer than most people can remember. I grew up saltwater angling, so bass fishing and tournaments in general were very foreign to me. In fact when we met I had a pretty negative opinion of tournament angling. It took him TWO years to convince me to at least open my mind. It took him 7 years to convince me that we needed a bass boat and to give bass angling a try. Now we tournament fish as a team, and I can see how you can get addicted to it. It has allowed us to conduct research on bass under actual tournament conditions. Even more importantly for me, it has given me insight into the tournament angler. For the most part anglers want to do their part to conserve the resource. Lack of proper training and education seem to be the biggest problem. That is why we recently did a DVD outlining the proper handling and care of bass for tournament anglers, which includes a segment on fizzing. We are not SELLING the DVD, but rather providing it to clubs and tournament organizations in an effort to educate their members. The true stars of the show are the bass, without them there would be no show. That is a NO BRAINER! With all the money that the big tournament organizations have, you would think that they would do a better job at making sure anglers are educated, the fish are released in good shape and addressing mortality problems when they occur. They blame it on the livewells, anglers, etc. It is true you can't stick 30lbs in a 15 to 20 gallon livewell and expect your fish go be in good shape, but is that the fault of the tournament angler or the tournament organization. Correct me if I am wrong but the tournament organizatons set the rules and creel limit adjustments. They can make livewells bigger, but you ain't gonna be able to outrun that older boat with smaller livewells to your honey hole on tournament day. Adjusting formats and improving care seem like better options. In this thread I have been misquoted as being against co-anglers, but that is NOT WHAT I SAID. I suggested a day with the pro day or pro am day, where the co-anglers have their own tournament and weigh in. I believe Trip Weldon is the person who FIRST stated that co-anglers were the biggest contributors to the initial mortality. I simply stated that C-rigging lead to an increase in mortality due to deeply hooked fish on the co-angler side. I got most of my information directly from co-anglers that experienced mortality due to deep or gut hooked fish. Maybe there would have been less mortality if they had been able to utilize both livewells as Paul Elias was able to do on the last day with a deeply hooked fish. There are plenty of options and solutions, or course first you would have to acknowledge there was a problem. Even the numerous scientific studies have indicated that mortality rates have not improved since the 80's. Of course you can choose to ignore the facts and the writting on the wall, but don't complain to me when tournament angling becomes a thing of the past. It only takes a few to ruin things for the rest of us. Personally, I am not opposed to some form of paper tournament, ESPECIALLY when water temperatures rise. I enjoy tournament fishing, but the overall quality of the fishery is MUCH MORE IMPORTANT to the vast majority of anglers including myself. So IMO, whatever it takes to preserve the quality of the fishery is a GOOD MOVE for EVERYONE including the tournament angler!

Keith saw a small sampling of close up shots, some were washed up dead fish and some were floating fish. Of course these fish did not float up all at once, it happened over a period of several days. The shoreline is very vast so it is impossible to get the good pictures depicting the size of the fish with that large of a shoreline. It is none the less pretty darned disturbing! IMO, the worst picture that I sent Keith was of a large fish still alive and struggling at the surface.