Tagging Fish

[directlink]

How can I tag a Bass?  Where would I put a tag on the fish?  Is it safe for the fish?  Any info appreciated ;D

[Peter E.]

I would first check withyour local game and fish department and see if they practice tagging on fish, and see if you could get involved. But as a matter of fact you can tag a bass. They either place the tag on the dorsal fin or the lower lip. and to my knowledge they use either plastic tags or aluminum. Your state game and fish division will be able to tell you more than anyone else.

Peter

Post Scriptus,

They have been tagging striped bass for years.

[Peter E.]

By the way the tags are small and tube shaped.

Peter

[srv1990]

Just curious, why do you want to tag fish?  I understand why conservationists or fisheries biologists might do it, but...

Thanks, TC

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

We fish a private lake and have an extremely detailed fishing log.  We track everything and then cross reference the data to do senko brand catch rate comparisons, etc.  

Over the years I know I have caught some of the same fish repeatedly.  Some have markings so it's easy to tell.

I plan on tagging this year and adding this huge piece of data into the puzzle.  After a few years of tagging, I'm sure we'll start to see patterns just as we did when we started tracking weather, temps, lures,depths,etc.

These are the tags I will be using.  Very inexpensive and it is applied with a pricing gun type applicator.

http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/iid/1386/cid/254

All this info will be released to the marine biology dept at the Univ of RI who are very active in monitoring RI waters.  I used to deliver for UPS at the college and befriended a biologist whom I have brought samples to (winter-over stripers with a disease) in the past and he is very excited to see the data as it has accumulated.

[Guest avid]

Tagging sounds like a fun way to enhance your knowledge and fishing experience.  I would check the regs first to make sure it's legal.  But assuming it is, I think it its a great idea.  Kudo's to LBH for doing so in cooperation with a fisheries biologist.  I participated in a bass study on the Peconic river in Long Island back in the 80's.  For five years I measured every bass I caught and entered the size, date, and location in a journal.  The state provided standardized rulers and the log books.  I would send them my logs at the close of each season.  Then a couple months later they would send me back my logs with the report for that year.  It was fun, I felt good about doing something that was in the best interests of the bass, and I learned a tremendous amount about bass behavior and recognized patterns that I would not have noticed otherwise.

[Peter E.]

Well said Avid, well said  . Anyone as conservation minded and who looks at bass from such a rich scientific angle as LBH, should be commended  ;D. LBH, keep on advancing our knowledge of one of the greatest of all fresh water game fish.

Peter

[directlink]

The only reason I want to tag Bass is because I often feel I have caught the same fish twice.  I'll catch a fish, release it, and then catch another with a fresh puncture to the cheek, lip etc. and am almost certain it's the one I just pulled out 5 minutes ago.

[srv1990]

I suppose I wasn't aware of how much the "average joe" fisherman could help out in this area.  You're doing something you love and at the same time advancing the cause... I think that's great!

[flippinmaster]

Why would you want to tag a bass but I could see tagging a catfish or some other fish but why would you want to tag a bass?

[Lightninrod]

Here's a tagged Bass I caught last year.  I was fishing in a State owned, public fishing area and the DNR people there tagged hundreds of Bass for "growth" purposes a year or two ago.  Each tag(the red tube sticking out of its belly) has a unique number.  I copied the number down after photographing the Bass and then released her with the tag intact.  There are forms near the docking area where they ask you to fill them out;  date, length, girth, weight, etc.  You leave it in a mail box or mail it back later and they send you a coozy or a pack of worms.  I've caught three, tagged Bass there including my PB, a 9 lber.

My own way of tagging does not provide any info other than to tell me I've caught it before.  After weighing the Bass, I clip(stainless steel) it to a stringer and put it back in the water while I get the camera set up.  The clip leaves a hole in the lower membrane just behind the lower lip.  There is no bleeding from this as the thin membrane is inert, kind of like our outer skin or cuticle around our fingers.  They swim off none the worse for the wear.

Here's a pic of a six lber I caught three different times over a span of 3 or 4 months.  It's the only Bass I caught in that small, State owned pond.  The first time she hit a weightless Senko on top of some isolated pads.  The second time, she hit a weightless Trick worm and when I grabbed her by the lower lip to land her, my finger slid right into the hole left there from the first time.  The third time, she hit another weightless Senko while she was 'rooting' thru some duck weed.

Dan

[Guest avid]

I caught a tagged trout about 15 years ago in the Carmens river on Long Island.  It was a big rainbow that had been stocked with the fingerlings earlier that year.  The state had decided to release some of the female breeders.  I actually caught it on one of those of little rebel crawfish shaped crankbaits.  I was bass fishing (of course).  The tag used was a metal strip with numbers on it placed through the lower corner of the jaw.  It's so cool when something like that happens.  8-)

[fishingrulz]

what about tags that say please release me or something alone those lines?

[directlink]

Why would you want to tag a bass but I could see tagging a catfish or some other fish but why would you want to tag a bass?

Flippinmaster, I explained why I want to tag Bass in a post that sits two above yours.

[KU_Bassmaster.]

They tag some crappies and walleye also I think here in the state of Kansas. If you catch one with a tag you are supposed to remove it and send it in to the Parks and Wildlife department with a detailed description of it's size, location, bait, etc.  In return they will send you a t-shirt, coozy, bait, or something.  There are a few however that can make you some $$$$.  I think they color code the tags each year and if you catch ones with a certain color you can get upwards of $500.  I wouldn't be to mad if I accidentally caught that crappie while bass fishing.

[Mattlures]

directlink if you just wanted to see if it was the same fish all you would need to do is bring a hole punch with you and make a little hole in one of the fins. You could change locations for diferent fish. It would be much quicker and the hole would close up after a little while.

[Matt Fly]

If you catch a tagged fish, if possible, take a photo on both side, get length and girth measurement and weight if possible, copy tag number down, either post on TPW web site or call the 800 #,  they will have the facts on this fish, and can use it to form growth studies and migration routes as where it was released and caught at.  Released back or kept.