Catch and Release?

[Jerry Blake]

There are a lot of bass tournaments on the lakes I guide on and unfortunately we run across quite a few bass in poor condition that were probably "caught and released".

This bass appeared to be healthy except that he had very little meat on him in spite of a bulging abdomen.

http://www.actionfishingtrips.com/skinnybass.JPG

When I filleted it I opened the stomach to check the contents and found somebody’s plastics.

http://www.actionfishingtrips.com/bassfood.JPG

It would appear that this fish may have been caught and released at least twice and was suffering the consequences. Apparently he could neither pass nor regurgitate these items and they were obstructing his digestive track.

As for crappie, take into consideration that a 16 or 17-inch crappie should have had 6 or 7 spawning seasons to reproduce and contribute to the gene pool.

Crappie that size are also reaching their life expectancy and will likely die of old age within a year or two – possibly before they’ve had a chance to spawn again.

So weigh the pros and cons of catch and release and make your own decision but be as sure as possible that the fish you release are unharmed so they won’t suffer and/or be wasted.

The best reason to release a big crappie I think is to give another angler the opportunity to catch a trophy fish.

Also might be a good idea not to throw used plastic baits into the water as they may end up permanently lodged in some poor fish’s stomach.

[big "E"]

Thank you Jerry for saying what I've said time and time again.The big fish have already done their duty to the gene pool.This bass issue just reinforces the idea that catch and release isnt always the best option.Im not saying unrestricted commercial harvest of a lake is good but the conservation issue is a little played.Eric.

[Big Zig]

Interesting that you think the plastics come from a catch and release. All the fish I've released, all gave my lures back. Maybe this fish picked up discarded or torn off plastics that ended up either sinking and/or floating past the fish? I don't see any off color markings on the plastics that happen when hooks deteriorate, leaving me to think it wasn't a case of being deep hooked or swallowed baits. The slices came from a fillet knife I take it?

[Roberta]

I agree with the idea that those may be discarded or lost plastics. We've found them from time to time from people either being careless or downright irresponsible. I've wondered, too what happens to plastics that are pinned to a snag.
I've never lost a lure inside a bass or a crappie, though I've had bluegills suck a small jig off the hook.

Jerry - You ought to send those photos to BASS. I think they would find that very interesting. Personally, I'd like to see them work with the In-Fisherman publisher to print the I-F illustrations on properly removing a lure from a deeply hooked fish. We've used that method to relase any number of small crappie. - Roberta

[Tim The Lippa Rippa Mon]

I caught a large Bluegill with a similar problem. His was slightly more favorable to correct though. You see, he had a Southern Pro tube bait that only made it half way out the other end, if you know what I mean! Being a true good samaritan, I pulled it the rest of the way out and released the poor tramatized thing. I am sure that I made him a much happier fish.

I have since stopped throwing any artificials, or anything for that matter, over board once it becomes unusable. I hope that others are awakened to this potential harm to fish from this post too.

One more quick story. I was hunting Pheasant out by an interstate highway, when I downed a bird. I didn't think that I hit him very well, and was surpised that he didn't run when he hit the ground. This happened more than 2 miles away from any fishing area. The poor thing had fishing line wrapped around it's legs & feet so bad, that one of his toes had been squeezed off, and one foot was cut nearly clean through & was just barely still attached. The bird had to have been in this state for avery long time. It was smaller than what a hen would have been, and when I cleaned him, he had absolutely no fat. The poor thing was starving to death!

I have other stories of unfortunate encounters for wildlife in fishing tackle and discarded trash, but I won't go on. Please remember that what you put into the wild that isn't natural, ends up becoming a hazard for wildlife.

Thanks for bringing up a good topic Jerry.

<,"}/>{ Rippa

[Roberta]

We see geese all the time with what appears to be mono damage. At the lakes we fish, we see far more junk discarded and fish mishandled (allowed to flop on the ground, hooks ripped out) by shore fishermen than anyone fishing from a boat. I don't know if they just don't fish as often and haven't been taught how to properly handle a fish or what.
A while back we were heading out when we spotted a bobber bouncing along in the water, so we pulled up to retrieve it. There were a few feet of mono and a bluegill hook at the other end, with a baby channel cat attached. He was still in pretty good shape, so I was able to unhook and release him. Hopefully, he recovered, but it always concerns me that we're laying a death trap when we have breakoffs. - Roberta

[Jerry Blake]

Interesting that you think the plastics come from a catch and release. All the fish I've released, all gave my lures back. Maybe this fish picked up discarded or torn off plastics that ended up either sinking and/or floating past the fish? I don't see any off color markings on the plastics that happen when hooks deteriorate, leaving me to think it wasn't a case of being deep hooked or swallowed baits. The slices came from a fillet knife I take it?

Hey BZ,

Yes, the cuts are from the fillet knife when I cut the stomach open. And, you're right, there's no telling how the bass picked up the plastic baits other than they came from a bass fisherman in some manner and ended up causing this fish some serious problems.