Barotrauma depth for all fish

[Esox pro]

Smallmouth 35 ft

largemouth

muskie

tiger muskie

perch

walleye

pike

lake trout 200ft

rainbow trout 

brown

salmon

 

edits are for fish species depths ive been told

 

[Vilas15]

Are you asking?

 

I know for lakers it's of no concern since they can vent their swim bladders.

[Esox pro]

Yes because some people say lakers it doesn’t matter and others say it does and i want to know when to use a release weight for all fish in what depth 

[roadwarrior]

Hmm...

 

We have almost 70,000 members and you seem to be the only one that fishes in 60' of water.

 

 

[Esox pro]

Live near numerous bodies of water where fish will go in deepwater

especially smallmouth 

[fissure_man]

I’m sure there’s plenty of literature on this. My comments are based on personal experience, anecdotes, and limited reading, so take it for what it’s worth.

 

There’s no hard rule because the pressure change increases gradually with depth and there are other factors that complicate mortality (immediate vs delayed release, temp change, hooking injury, exhaustion). That said, IMO ~30 ft seems like a reasonable guideline for immediately released bass, walleye, and perch, with the latter two being less “hardy” in general and more likely to roll over on you. Irreversible damage can be done by a major pressure change even if a release weight is used, particularly if the fish is not immediately released. I don’t fizz fish, and I don’t catch and release for bass/walleye/perch deeper than about 30 ft.  I’ve caught plenty of walleye and perch in 40-60 ft and would not be confident in a high survival rate even if using a release weight – these fish end up on the dinner table.   

 

The trout and salmon at the end of your list have ducted swim bladders making them far less susceptible to barotrauma – gas can be released as it expands. However, when brought to surface quickly this doesn’t always occur right away, it’s common to hear burping in the net or when handling the fish.  These are cold water fish and temperature change from deep to shallow might be more critical, as well as exhaustion from a long fight. On lake O it’s not uncommon to bring in a salmon or laker from deep water temps in the 40’s – temp change might be 30 degrees or more to surface water. Even if these fish are not affected by barotrauma, a release weight to get them back to their preferred temp range seems like a good idea for summer fishing.

 

Pike seem to be hardy like bass, I can’t recall a problematic release due to what I’d interpret as barotrauma, but I don’t fish for them deeper than about 30 ft. I don’t fish for muskie, but I have the impression that it’s uncommon to target them in very deep water? I think both do have the ability to vent their swim bladders, though perhaps not as easily as trout/salmon.

 

51 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

Hmm...

 

We have almost 70,000 members and you seem to be the only one that fishes in 60' of water.

 

 

I fish 60' of water for certain species, so there's at least two

 

To be fair, this is posted on the "other fish species" board and it is common to target several of the listed species at depths of 60' or greater, in some cases much greater

[WRB]

On September 19, 2020 at 10:37 AM, Esox pro said:

Smallmouth 35 ft

largemouth

muskie

tiger muskie

perch

walleye

pike

lake trout

rainbow trout 

brown

salmon

 

edits are for fish species depths ive been told

 

All trout and salmon have vent valves, heavy scales fish like bass, musky, pike and walleye, perch don't. Consider 2 atmospheres pressure change max.

Tom

[Esox pro]

So the fish with vent valves i dont have to worry about 

[WRB]

58 minutes ago, Esox pro said:

So the fish with vent valves i dont have to worry about 

Fish with vent valves release bladder pressure automatically. It's common jigging for trout or salmon in 100' + of water and the bubbles come to the surface before the fish goes.

Tom

[Esox pro]

Alright for lake trout it seems to be 200ft

Definitely confused as some people say they are fine and others say they aren’t 

[Team9nine]

1 hour ago, Esox pro said:

Alright for lake trout it seems to be 200ft

Definitely confused as some people say they are fine and others say they aren’t 

At that depth, studies show high mortality for lake trout regardless, 40-60% unless surface waters are in the 40s or cooler...and guys making release mechanisms are using small downrigger balls or homemade 6-8 lb weight release devices. 

[Esox pro]

Only trout i get are steelhead or browns when they start their run but i did catch a huge lake trout at summerville pier

It actually looked like it was suffering from Barotrauma but I accidentally snagged it and revived it and i swam off

So they will be fine when ice fishing