FISHING FOR DEEP WALLEYE "DOES IT KILL???"

[fishhunter]

Here is a link that was sent to me by one of my clients after watching all of the people jigging in 30-50' of water a couple weeks ago and wanted me to pass it along. Im sure there are lots of coments going to come from this but I said i would post it none the less. I would love to see more links and words on the subject.

 

http://www.fishfutures.net/spring05.pdf

[JohnF]

Here is a link that was sent to me by one of my clients after watching all of the people jigging in 30-50' of water a couple weeks ago and wanted me to pass it along. Im sure there are lots of coments going to come from this but I said i would post it none the less. I would love to see more links and words on the subject.

 

http://www.fishfutures.net/spring05.pdf

 

http://afsjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1577/154...PT%3E2.3.CO%3B2

 

http://www.americaoutdoors.com/fishing/fea...reestyle_2.html

 

http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Library/243844.pdf

 

I'm no expert, but this topic caught my attention a while back and I started looking into it. As a trained scuba diver I already knew about decompression and barotrauma etc, so I started there.

 

In a nutshell what I learned is that fish don't suffer exactly the same adverse effects of rapid decompression as we humans. Humans have nitrogen bubbles dissolved in their blood under pressure which continue to accumulate the longer we stay at depth (under pressure) and if we ascend too quickly they expand and fizz our blood effectively cutting off blood flow through the body (brain & lungs), and we die if we don't get those bubbles squeezed back down to size quickly. That's what hyperbaric chambers (decompression chambers) are for.

 

We divers can offset the effect of expanding gases by slowing our ascent and even making stops at certain depths for certain lengths of time to allow the offgassing to happen. For most shallow water (rec) divers it's called a safety stop, a few minutes at 15'.

 

In my reading I've discovered that fish apparently do not suffer the same effect of blood fizzing as we humans. The problem for the fish is that the swim bladder becomes inflated as the water pressure is reduced and they can't vent it quickly enough so they suffer the squeeze from within while under reduced pressure, plus they may not be able to properly control their buoyancy once returned to the water so will float up unless they are strong enough to swim against the buoyancy. Even though they are trying to get back down to depth they may not be able to do it. Evidently this overinflation can last for quite a while. It can be offset by piercing the bladder with a needle and releasing the pressure before returning them to the water. The hole should heal.

 

Some fish are less susceptible to the problem than others and if returned immediately (CP&R) to depth should be fine. Others aren't so lucky and thought they appear healthy as they leave the boat may well succumb later. Simply putting fish into a live well doesn't help them at all in this because it doesn't replicate the pressure of the depth they were caught at.

 

The links above explain it better but I've given you a synopsis of what I've learned. Of course I may well be totally wrong. There are probably some fishy biologist types who can explain it correctly.

 

JF

[Headhunter]

Lloyd, there's an article in I think, this months "In Fisherman" discussing mortality rates of released fish. I'll try and dig it up.

I have fished Pickereyes as deep as 50 ft... yah, some fish do come up with their bladders in their mouth, but I have learned that if I take my time and I really do mean take my time, bringing them in, most don't.

From an anglers perspective, it difficult to not pursue fish that are obviously there, based on your finder, especially when you have fished for some time with no or limited success. Many will push the limits and their own "value system" in an effort to put a fish in the boat.

I think we both know that by in large, those deep fish are not active fish and any bites that you do get, may well be reaction bites as your lure almost knocks them in the head.

With Quinte in mind, I think success can be had fishing the upper regions of the water column, but there a few factors that come into play. And I think getting away from the armada that happens every year is a good place to start.

For me, I have the ability trolling, without riggers to get to the 50ft level, but I have imposed a 30 ft limit on myself.

Again, taking your time to bring them in really does contribute to a successful release, but it in no way ensures that every fish will live. Killing them is simply not an option for me anymore.

So, in answering your original question... yes it does kill.

HH

[carll2]

i fish for walleye as a guide up in northern quebec, normally august were already in 30-40 fow..we bring them up slowly but there is usually no problems...season closes 3rd weekend in september for the reason of walleye going 40-60 feet...used to be open all year but game wardens shut it down early since people fishing till ice up would end up killing most of thier catch and release catches.