Any chance this bass survives?

[BigBassCatcher]

I think I snagged a bass with my lipless and when I went to flip it onto land the gill ripped out of the bass. I eventually released it and it swam off just fine, but I'm still in shock this is the craziest thing that's ever happened to me while fishing and I still feel really bad. I fished for another hour there and I never saw the fish surface so it definitely did not die while I was there. Any chance this fish survives long time?

[MN Fisher]

Chance? Yes - but it's slim. If it doesn't bleed out, it's not going be able to chase down food as well as it did before. Think about your activity ability after loosing part or all of a lung.

[Glaucus]

That's one that should have been made into a meal.

[greentrout]

the bass is amazing ... with recuperative abilities ...i've caught many a bass with disfigured mouths ... you did the right thing ... give the bass a chance ... you must have really jerked the fish hard to rip his mouth like you did... never seen that ...

 

good fishing ... 

[WRB]

Have you ever cleaned, fillet and eaten a bass?

How much blood do you think a bass that size has?

Tom

[MN Fisher]

5 minutes ago, WRB said:

Have you ever cleaned, fillet and eaten a bass?

How much blood do you think a bass that size has?

Tom

Add to that, there's a big difference between a disfigured mouth and losing a good portion of it's oxygen gathering capability. I do agree with @Glaucus...that bass should have been taken home for a meal.

[BigBassCatcher]

I've never eaten a bass before. I felt really bad I thought it might be able to survive so I held it in the water to see if it can still swim and it swam off decently. 

 

I've also read that bass blood coagulates in water, so hopefully it doesn't lose too much blood once back in the water. 

 

I realize that I took probably a 1/6 of the total surface area of its gills, but I figure the bass will still be able to breathe but as you said maybe it won't be able to chase down baitfish anymore. 

[WRB]

Post mortality occurs after the bass is released, they swim off and out of sight out mind thought process kicks in. 

No aminal can survive a loss of over 50% of it's blood supply, the issue isn't loss of DO supply but from stress of blood loss. That bass was a candidate for being kept and eaten because it was mortally wounded. 

Bass die from being caught it's a fact and reason post mortality rates are studied during tournaments. Most tournament bass die from livewell stress, severe temperature changes and low DO levels when anglers intend to keep the catch alive with no signs of bleeding. 

Did that bass survive? The odds are very low.

If you ever cleaned a bass you would know they don't have a lot of blood, most was already bleed out.

Tom

 

[redmexican5081]

These things happen, not much you can do to prevent something like that without stopping fishing completely and there is no enjoyment in that.  Circle of life, you fed a turtle or a bunch of craws. 

[Hammer 4]

Looking at the pic's of the shoreline, it looks like it would have been easy to bend down and lip the bass, without having " flip it". If y'all have access to the water from shore, bend down and lip the fish, imho no need to swing and land on the ground. Please be respectful of the fish you catch..

[CrankFate]

I might survive.

[scaleface]

Not much of a chance . Thats a good  eating size .  I eat all legal fish that are bleeding badly . Even if its a lunker , if I think its going to die there is no sense in letting it go to waste .  

[Luke Keown]

No matter the circumstances... largemouth, smallmouth, or spotted bass should never be eaten. Take care of the fish!

[MN Fisher]

7 minutes ago, Luke Keown said:

No matter the circumstances... largemouth, smallmouth, or spotted bass should never be eaten. Take care of the fish!

We've had this argument several times here...there are those of us who consider them 'just fish'. If it's eating size, then there's a fair chance it's coming home with me and going in the freezer. Others have other opinions, but they're just fish, no different than sunnies, crappies, walleye, trout.

[N Florida Mike]

21 minutes ago, Luke Keown said:

No matter the circumstances... largemouth, smallmouth, or spotted bass should never be eaten. Take care of the fish!

So you would put a bass back knowing it would probably die and be wasted?

As long as bass are kept legally It's fine. If you don't want to , that's fine too. Just don't condemn those of us who do...

[N Florida Mike]

And in response to the original post, I don't think your fish survived. But you should not feel too badly. It'll occasionally happen, even though you take precautions. Fileted bass aren't bad! I am not advocating lack of concern for the fishes life. I will do everything I can to save bigger fish especially, and smaller ones I don't plan to keep.  But at the end of the day, there may be fish that dont make it. 

Like walking into a yard that has dogs, you will occasionally step in the crap.

It goes with the territory.....

 

[BigBassCatcher]

9 hours ago, Hammer 4 said:

Looking at the pic's of the shoreline, it looks like it would have been easy to bend down and lip the bass, without having " flip it". If y'all have access to the water from shore, bend down and lip the fish, imho no need to swing and land on the ground. Please be respectful of the fish you catch..

Usually the bass is hooked in the mouth, so I just flip it into my hand. I make sure to try to not let the fish touch the ground though because of their slime coating. I didn't know at the time that the bass was snagged in the gill.

Lesson learned though, next time I'm definitely not flipping.

[Luke Keown]

Even if the fish died, which it most likely did, if would only benefit other animals in that ecosystem. That just helps the worms, turtles and other fish  to grow and mature. It also helps the soil. 

[813basstard]

Nope.

[J._Bricker]

With what you were working with @BigBassCatcher, a hemostat would have been a better option to remove the hook(s). IMHO, maybe just go with the belly hook if you’re going to use those siwash type hooks on that lure....

[BigBassCatcher]

2 hours ago, J._Bricker said:

With what you were working with @BigBassCatcher, a hemostat would have been a better option to remove the hook(s). IMHO, maybe just go with the belly hook if you’re going to use those siwash type hooks on that lure....

I'm not sure what you mean. Those are the owner single replacement hooks, they are meant to replace treble hooks. 

[soflabasser]

That bass most likely became turtle food.

[Bluebasser86]

It could survive, my BIL caught a muskie several years ago with it's gills having been ripped out and were hanging completely outside it's gillplate but it still viciously attacked his buzzbait at boatside and swam off strong after the pictures. They're hated by crappie fishermen at this lake and it was likely an attempt at the fish's life after an accidental catch. Muskie are, IMO, much more fragile than bass as well.

[Deleted account]

Any chance? sure, but there is also a chance I get a phone call and hear "come on over tonight, alone", and it's Scarlett Johansson on the other end...

[BigBassCatcher]

15 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

It could survive, my BIL caught a muskie several years ago with it's gills having been ripped out and were hanging completely outside it's gillplate but it still viciously attacked his buzzbait at boatside and swam off strong after the pictures. They're hated by crappie fishermen at this lake and it was likely an attempt at the fish's life after an accidental catch. Muskie are, IMO, much more fragile than bass as well.

That's very encouraging! I've gone back to the pond and it isn't very big and I haven't yet seen the bass floating around so I'm assuming it survived so far or something already got to it. Not sure if there are snapping turtles in there though or anything big enough to eat a chunky bass like that.