I feel bad I killed a bass :(

[PressuredFishing]

So I was fishing a drop shot in crystal clear water with ultra realistic shad looking baits with no wind and tight line.  I had caught 5 fish and I gut-hooked one even though I had tight line and felt as soon as they sucked in the bait. I don't know if I imitated the baits too well, or If it is a post spawn thing where they are super hungry. As soon as i saw he was bleeding and tried to revive him but with no luck. I ended up filleting him because I did not want to waste his body Is there any preventatives to this? I was even using a fairly large 3/0 ewg hook too. I have had some fish bleed a little when I hook them on the top of the mouth but it stops very shortly and they are usually lively as ever anyways, but he was bleeding a lot sadly.

[TnRiver46]

4 minutes ago, Socalfishier said:

So I was fishing a drop shot in crystal clear water with ultra realistic shad looking baits with no wind and tight line.  I had caught 5 fish and I gut-hooked one even though I had tight line and felt as soon as they sucked in the bait. I don't know if I imitated the baits too well, or If it is a post spawn thing where they are super hungry. As soon as i saw he was bleeding and tried to revive him but with no luck. I ended up filleting him because I did not want to waste his body Is there any preventatives to this? I was even using a fairly large 3/0 ewg hook too. I have had some fish bleed a little when I hook them on the top of the mouth but it stops very shortly and they are usually lively as ever anyways, but he was bleeding a lot sadly.

The only way to prevent it completely would be to quit fishing. It happens, say a few words and pour some out for a fallen friend. If you ate it, kudos to you because that is the respectful and delicious thing to do 

[AmmoGuy]

Some days, I get upset that I don't get to kill a few more. 

[MIbassyaker]

As long as it is legal, harvesting the bass is a perfectly good --even ideal-- solution.  If you don't want to eat it, you can give it to somebody who wants it, or you could take it home, cut it up, and use it as fertilizer for a garden.

 

If you still feel bad about killing the fish, then give something back: donate some money or volunteer some of your time to the conservation effort of your choice, in proportion to how bad you feel.

[Ravox]

22 hours ago, MIbassyaker said:

As long as it is legal, harvesting the bass is a perfectly good --even ideal-- solution.  If you don't want to eat it, you can give it to somebody who wants it, or you could take it home, cut it up, and use it as fertilizer for a garden.

 

If you still feel bad about killing the fish, then give something back: donate some money or volunteer some of your time to the conservation effort of your choice, in proportion to how bad you feel.

 

If he is like me that feel extremely bad, probably would need to donate all the income

 

[lo n slo]

this is why God made the Osprey 

[TnRiver46]

3 minutes ago, lo n slo said:

this is why God made the Osprey 

And the vulture, and the snapping turtle, and the house fly, and the earthworm, and me! Fish is good food 

[MGF]

13 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

And the vulture, and the snapping turtle, and the house fly, and the earthworm, and me! Fish is good food 

Fish, specifically bass, is really good food. These days I'm almost strictly catch and release...almost. Last night my wife and I fished a new private pond for the first time. It seems to be loaded with bass that are all the same diminutive size. After losing count of the number we turned lose it occurred to me that we'd probably be doing good by taking a meal or two. I almost forgot how good LMB are. 

[Johnbt]

Turtles and bald eagles have to eat, too.

 

"Sixty to ninety percent of a bald eagle's diet consists of fish. The birds generally scavenge dead fish, although they will catch live fish as well. They will take an occasional heron, crow, grouse, duck, gull, or small mammal, especially if fish are not available." - National Eagle Center

[Bubba 460]

Mama Cass of the 60's singing group "The Mammas and the Papas", choked to death while eating a ham sandwich... Stuff happens. I don't think anyone would enjoy unintentionally being the cause of a bass's demise. But for the most part this is usually a rare event compared to how many bass one catches and releases. I'm sure golfers, at times, kill birds flying ~ don't play golf myself... Is that what a birdie is?     

1 hour ago, lo n slo said:

this is why God made the Osprey 

 

Compared to the eagle the osprey is a mere amature at catching fish. An eagle rarely even gets wet and rarely misses ~ the Osprey on the other hand is a dive bomber, crashing into the water at 25 mph and most of the time coming up empty handed.

[PressuredFishing]

2 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

The only way to prevent it completely would be to quit fishing. It happens, say a few words and pour some out for a fallen friend. If you ate it, kudos to you because that is the respectful and delicious thing to do 

Yup I just fried it up tonight and it tasted good lol, I guess one bass wont hurt the fishery

[ironbjorn]

I feel bad when it happens too. But since I don't eat fish, know nobody who would want the bass to eat, and don't carry anything with me to transport a dead fish, I cut it up and throw it to the other animals to eat. And then that's that. It's life, it happens. Whether you take it or leave it, it isn't wasted.

 

 

 

[Mbirdsley]

Unfortunately even C&R bass is a blood sport and killing a fish/bass will happen. Just the nature of the beast.  All anybody can ask is to learn from it, move on, try to minimize it in the future. You did the right thing by eating it or donating to the eagles would be another good idea imho

[schplurg]

Video of a bird stealing the fish my friend had just released. Video should start right at that moment:

 

 

[K1500]

I feel bad when it happens but fish mortality is part of it. Some of the fish you think are healthy die after you release them. And more die if you run them around the lake in your livewell for 7 hours before weighing them in and releasing them. It’s all just part of it. Last fall I had to release a SMB that was about 1/4” short of the length limit on the lake. It sucks because I would have eaten it, but I am sure something in the lake dined well that night. 

[Darth-Baiter]

as a kayak guy, I think I do pretty well sending a fish back healthy.  no live well and such.  no standing bass drop from a bass boat deck.  

 

having said that, I can see a drop shot hook going into the depths of a bass easily.  I got one out that was deep the other day.  ended up, with no blood from the bass.  I stuck myself good, tho.

 

the downside of a kayak.  I never have ice to put the bass on should I kill one.  I would have to paddle out and go home, getting ice along the way.  not convenient at all. 

[TnRiver46]

2 hours ago, Darth-Baiter said:

as a kayak guy, I think I do pretty well sending a fish back healthy.  no live well and such.  no standing bass drop from a bass boat deck.  

 

having said that, I can see a drop shot hook going into the depths of a bass easily.  I got one out that was deep the other day.  ended up, with no blood from the bass.  I stuck myself good, tho.

 

the downside of a kayak.  I never have ice to put the bass on should I kill one.  I would have to paddle out and go home, getting ice along the way.  not convenient at all. 

about the same price as a bag of ice and re USABLE 

[Darth-Baiter]

That’s if the fish is alive right?   Dead they decompose quickly.  Our waters are warm. 
 

in salt water, that’s shark bait

[TnRiver46]

14 minutes ago, Darth-Baiter said:

That’s if the fish is alive right?   Dead they decompose quickly.  Our waters are warm. 
 

in salt water, that’s shark bait

I’ve done it fresh and salt, dead and alive. It’s not pork or chicken! I’ve also never kayaked without ice. If the gills start turning a  light pink color it’s time to ice them down. Fish lay in open air markets all day, sometimes not so cold. Dragging behind a kayak will keep them pretty fresh even in warm water, maybe not 90 degree water but that doesn’t exist near me 

[MGF]

The other day I was bank fishing a flooded quarry that's down in a huge hole (hard to get to). I decided to keep a few fish but I didn't have a cooler or stringer.  I just tossed them in my back pack. I fished a couple hours until I had enough and climbed out. I went home and ate the fish. They were great. LOL

[gim]

Luckily most bass anglers have a fairly strong catch and release ethic which is what has made our bass fisheries so good IMO. Other species are specifically targeted to harvest and those populations take a serious beating. Walleyes, crappies, and trout come to mind here in the north. Accidentally killing a bass due to hooking mortality is bound to happen on occasion. Try to remove the hook and release it as quick as you can, and most will survive.

[Herbert Lorenzo]

Like the bumper sticker says..... " lt Happens"

[PressuredFishing]

19 hours ago, gimruis said:

Luckily most bass anglers have a fairly strong catch and release ethic which is what has made our bass fisheries so good IMO. Other species are specifically targeted to harvest and those populations take a serious beating. Walleyes, crappies, and trout come to mind here in the north. Accidentally killing a bass due to hooking mortality is bound to happen on occasion. Try to remove the hook and release it as quick as you can, and most will survive.

yeah I hear you, I did eat it and it tasted pretty good not ganna lie, was a flakey white fish kind of like cod or something, and fillets have no bones like trout do as well which was nice. felt a little bad but to be honest im sure one bass wont kill a population

[garroyo130]

On 5/5/2021 at 1:55 PM, Socalfishier said:

yeah I hear you, I did eat it and it tasted pretty good

 

Bloodlust confirmed