Deep Bass

[Comfortably Numb]

Caught a bass on a drop shot in 32' of water today. Fish seemed almost dead at the surface. I let it go and it flopped for about 5 mins and then finally disappeared. Can their swim bladder get messed up in 32' depth?

 

 

[Shewillbemine]

From the last articles I've read, yes, at 30' deep. You didn't attempt to fizz it?

[Rangerphil]

Learn how to fizz. It is quite easy once you do a few and you will save alot of fish!

[CoBass]

If you bring them up slowly from deep water swim bladder issues won't be a problem. In the summer, we routinely bring walleye up from 50 feet or more and if you bring them up slowly they are fine, horse them to the surface and their swim bladder will be sticking out of their mouth.

[WRB]

The depth change the bass experienced may have been greater than the depth you hooked that bass.

Largemouth bass do not have swim ladder vents so they can't release the gas pressure in the bladder when it expands from abrupt depth changes. If the bass was acclaimated to neutral buoyancy at 45' and swam up to 30' to feed, the depth change was only 15' for example, the bladder expanded within a comfort zone. However you hooked this bass and brought it to the surface and the bass experienced a total depth change of 45' expanding the bladder beyond the point where the bass could easily swim back down into deeper water. Poking a hole in the air bladder with a needle releases the gas and the bass can easily swim down, however the hole must heal before the bladder can hold new digestive gases to refill the bladder and until that happens the can't rest and suspend at any depth. Fizzing isn't good for bass, it's better than letting the bass struggle and staying on the surface belly until birds get to it. You can return the bass by placing a torpedo shaped 8 oz weight that is tied on another line, place the weight into the basses throat and lower the bass down, then reel up the weight, leaving the bass it the depth it was caught.

Tom

[CoBass]

The depth change the bass experienced may have been greater than the depth you hooked that bass.

Largemouth bass do not have swim ladder vents so they can't release the gas pressure in the bladder when it expands from abrupt depth changes. If the bass was acclaimated to neutral buoyancy at 45' and swam up to 30' to feed, the depth change was only 15' for example, the bladder expanded within a comfort zone. However you hooked this bass and brought it to the surface and the bass experienced a total depth change of 45' expanding the bladder beyond the point where the bass could easily swim back down into deeper water. Poking a hole in the air bladder with a needle releases the gas and the bass can easily swim down, however the hole must heal before the bladder can hold new digestive gases to refill the bladder and until that happens the can't rest and suspend at any depth. Fizzing isn't good for bass, it's better than letting the bass struggle and staying on the surface belly until birds get to it. You can return the bass by placing a torpedo shaped 8 oz weight that is tied on another line, place the weight into the basses throat and lower the bass down, then reel up the weight, leaving the bass it the depth it was caught.

Tom

Your post reminded me of this video I saw a couple of years ago. It's a very simple device designed to get fish back to the depth they were caught at to relieve barotrauma  

[Shewillbemine]

The depth change the bass experienced may have been greater than the depth you hooked that bass.

Largemouth bass do not have swim ladder vents so they can't release the gas pressure in the bladder when it expands from abrupt depth changes. If the bass was acclaimated to neutral buoyancy at 45' and swam up to 30' to feed, the depth change was only 15' for example, the bladder expanded within a comfort zone. However you hooked this bass and brought it to the surface and the bass experienced a total depth change of 45' expanding the bladder beyond the point where the bass could easily swim back down into deeper water. Poking a hole in the air bladder with a needle releases the gas and the bass can easily swim down, however the hole must heal before the bladder can hold new digestive gases to refill the bladder and until that happens the can't rest and suspend at any depth. Fizzing isn't good for bass, it's better than letting the bass struggle and staying on the surface belly until birds get to it. You can return the bass by placing a torpedo shaped 8 oz weight that is tied on another line, place the weight into the basses throat and lower the bass down, then reel up the weight, leaving the bass it the depth it was caught.

Tom

 

First time I've heard of this and would like to try it when needed.

 

So if I understand correctly, take weight and tie it to a line. When you say "place in bass' throat" do you mean just plop it in its mouth or attempt to put the weight into the throat (the part that actually "closes" and looks like a...ahem, body cavity)? 

[WRB]

Your post reminded me of this video I saw a couple of years ago. It's a very simple device designed to get fish back to the depth they were caught at to relieve barotrauma  

That look like a good design and would work great! Thanks for sharing it.

Tom

[WRB]

First time I've heard of this and would like to try it when needed.

So if I understand correctly, take weight and tie it to a line. When you say "place in bass' throat" do you mean just plop it in its mouth or attempt to put the weight into the throat (the part that actually "closes" and looks like a...ahem, body cavity)?

Just put the tapered weight into the fishes throat about 1/2", the air bladder may prevent any it to go further, deep enough so it doesn't fall out. I have used this weight method for at least 20 years and it works good. I have a 16 oz torpo weight for bass over 5 lbs.

The Aussie weight in the Vedio looks good and need to check those out, 20 oz should be good for bass anglers.

Tom

[Comfortably Numb]

_{Caught nine today and brought them in slower. Some were a little woozy but all swam away. Fish are holding to the bottom in a creek channel in 32' water. 45* surface temp.}

 

_{Interesting side note, I watched the Ike video on drop shotting and reduced my twitching and hopping. Just letting it sit and slowly dragging like he suggested worked real well. I also switched from straight 6# Berkley Vanish flouro (awefull twisty stretchy stuff) to 15# braid with a short 6# flouro leader and felt the light bites much better.}

[Loop_Dad]

Just put the tapered weight into the fishes throat about 1/2", the air bladder may prevent any it to go further, deep enough so it doesn't fall out. I have used this weight method for at least 20 years and it works good. I have a 16 oz torpo weight for bass over 5 lbs.

The Aussie weight in the Vedio looks good and need to check those out, 20 oz should be good for bass anglers.

Tom

Tom, do they not spit out the weight before they reach the bottom? And I assume you jerk at the bottom to let them let go of the weight?

[Loop_Dad]

Found a couple of homemade release weight rigs made with downward hook and weight:

 

http://www.pensacolafishingforum.com/f21/weighted-fish-release-110727/

http://fishwrecked.com/image/fish-release-weight

[Loop_Dad]

From the last articles I've read, yes, at 30' deep. You didn't attempt to fizz it?

 

 

Learn how to fizz. It is quite easy once you do a few and you will save alot of fish!

 

I've never knew about this...I'm curious, If you poke a hole on the bladder, they can go down because of no air in the bladder, but can they inflate the bladder okay afterwards?

[PondBoss]

For the first time ever I caught a fish that needed to be fizzed.  Caught him in 27 feet of water, he just swam around the live well upside down for a few hours.  After weigh in he swam off like it was no big deal.  I have heard that fizzing fish is not really needed and that they will acclimate eventually, maybe this was proof?

[Rangerphil]

I fizz bass through the throat and they all swim away with no problems ( to my knowledge ). I learned how to do it for fishing lake Erie. I have seen many smallmouth die as a result of not fizzing them. There are a lot of good videos on how to do it.

[Jig Man]

Our conservation fisheries biologists don't support fizzing.

 

So I made a device several years ago out of a coat hanger.  My hook is rubber coated.  It slips in under the gills and when the fish gets back to its original depth it easily slips out.

 

[jhoffman]

Returning the bass to the depth is all well and good as long as you dont have a weigh in.

[J Francho]

Caught a bass on a drop shot in 32' of water today. Fish seemed almost dead at the surface. I let it go and it flopped for about 5 mins and then finally disappeared. Can their swim bladder get messed up in 32' depth?

You probably held it in the boat a little too long. My experience is that bass taken at depths of 20-35' don't have any problems and no special treatment is necessary, if they are immediately released. Just unhook them, and let them go quickly.

Now, if you have a tournament, and need to keep them in a live well, then you'll have to learn how to fizz them, or avoid fishing from those depths.

[rangerboy]

wow, thank you br members. i will b looking further into this.