This applies not just to striped bass and sea bass, but to most fish caught in depths over 30 feet. It's the best way to prevent "floaters".
Catching bass from deep water is probably the most common situation where you will injure fish, and the serious damage that may result presents a problem when practicing catch and release. Fisheries biologists liken this swim bladder problem in fish to the “bends” problem humans experience when they return too rapidly to the surface from a deep-water dive. Consequently, it's important to understand why and how injuries occur and what you can do to minimize the number of fish that die as a result of landing bass from the depths.
When you catch bass in deep water, the depth change is too rapid for fish to compensate and the compressed air in their bladder expands - they float! This condition is worse in summer when fish also experience an increase in water temperature at the surface.
When you have hauled in a bass from deep down. His eyes are bulging and his stomach is sticking out of his mouth. Don't try to force the stomach or other organs back into the body cavity.
How can you get him back in the water to safely swim away?
You can’t unless you vent his swim bladder gases.
The swim bladder is an organ filled with gases, mostly oxygen and nitrogen. This organ is in the abdominal cavity along the backbone beneath the first dorsal fin. Except for sharks and rays most marine fishes have well-developed swim bladders. The swim bladder helps keep the fish buoyant at whatever depth they normally live.
When fish are at rest, the pressure of the gases in the swim bladder equals the pressure exerted by the surrounding water. The gases are compressed and the swim bladder occupies a relatively small space. If you bring a fish rapidly to the surface from down below 30’, the outside pressure lessens and the gases in the swim bladder expand in direct proportion.
Say you catch a fish at a depth of 33 feet. By the time you get him to the surface the gases in his swim bladder will occupy twice their original volume. His eyes are bulging and his stomach is sticking out of his mouth. These bladders can only stretch so far before they burst. When they do, the gases escape into the fishes abdomen, where they continue to expand. This puts pressure on the stomach, the intestines and other internal organs.
To return the fish safely, you must vent those gases. And you must do it without further injury to the fish. DO NOT vent the gases by puncturing the protruding stomach or going through the anus. The fish will probably swim away but WON'T LIVE.
Most fish are hardy and can survive this trauma, if properly deflated, they will survive, get bigger and reproduce. Here is how you do it:
-Use a deflating tool (a hypodermic needle, an atheletic ball inflation needle ground to a sharp point or a carpet needle).
-To determine the safe insertion point, Draw an imaginary line from the anal opening to the space between the spiny and soft ray portions of the dorsal fin. Locate the middle of that line, and with a swift smooth motion, insert the deflating tool under a scale through the flesh at a 45-degree angle toward the head of the fish. Proper depth of the insertion depends on the size of the fish.
-Squeeze the fish gently to force the gases out through the tube or needle.
-Do this quickly and very soon after capture.
-Release the fish holding him in the water until he can swim away.
-If the bass and the deflating tool are held slightly below the water's surface during the procedure, bubbles will escape when the swim bladder is pierced. After the bubbling has stopped, the fish should be ready for release with a much better chance of survival.
-The main problem you will come across when deflating a bladder is a clogged needle. If you do not hear any air on your first try, or bass still doesn't swim normally when you finish, blow out the obstruction and repeat the process.
Catch & release is more popular today than ever before. But what good is it if the mortality rates are poor on the fish we release? Deflating the air bladders is a great step that is most often overlooked.
Catching bass from deep water is probably the most common situation where you will injure fish, and the serious damage that may result presents a problem when practicing catch and release. Fisheries biologists liken this swim bladder problem in fish to the “bends” problem humans experience when they return too rapidly to the surface from a deep-water dive. Consequently, it's important to understand why and how injuries occur and what you can do to minimize the number of fish that die as a result of landing bass from the depths.
When you catch bass in deep water, the depth change is too rapid for fish to compensate and the compressed air in their bladder expands - they float! This condition is worse in summer when fish also experience an increase in water temperature at the surface.
When you have hauled in a bass from deep down. His eyes are bulging and his stomach is sticking out of his mouth. Don't try to force the stomach or other organs back into the body cavity.
How can you get him back in the water to safely swim away?
You can’t unless you vent his swim bladder gases.
The swim bladder is an organ filled with gases, mostly oxygen and nitrogen. This organ is in the abdominal cavity along the backbone beneath the first dorsal fin. Except for sharks and rays most marine fishes have well-developed swim bladders. The swim bladder helps keep the fish buoyant at whatever depth they normally live.
When fish are at rest, the pressure of the gases in the swim bladder equals the pressure exerted by the surrounding water. The gases are compressed and the swim bladder occupies a relatively small space. If you bring a fish rapidly to the surface from down below 30’, the outside pressure lessens and the gases in the swim bladder expand in direct proportion.
Say you catch a fish at a depth of 33 feet. By the time you get him to the surface the gases in his swim bladder will occupy twice their original volume. His eyes are bulging and his stomach is sticking out of his mouth. These bladders can only stretch so far before they burst. When they do, the gases escape into the fishes abdomen, where they continue to expand. This puts pressure on the stomach, the intestines and other internal organs.
To return the fish safely, you must vent those gases. And you must do it without further injury to the fish. DO NOT vent the gases by puncturing the protruding stomach or going through the anus. The fish will probably swim away but WON'T LIVE.
Most fish are hardy and can survive this trauma, if properly deflated, they will survive, get bigger and reproduce. Here is how you do it:
-Use a deflating tool (a hypodermic needle, an atheletic ball inflation needle ground to a sharp point or a carpet needle).
-To determine the safe insertion point, Draw an imaginary line from the anal opening to the space between the spiny and soft ray portions of the dorsal fin. Locate the middle of that line, and with a swift smooth motion, insert the deflating tool under a scale through the flesh at a 45-degree angle toward the head of the fish. Proper depth of the insertion depends on the size of the fish.
-Squeeze the fish gently to force the gases out through the tube or needle.
-Do this quickly and very soon after capture.
-Release the fish holding him in the water until he can swim away.
-If the bass and the deflating tool are held slightly below the water's surface during the procedure, bubbles will escape when the swim bladder is pierced. After the bubbling has stopped, the fish should be ready for release with a much better chance of survival.
-The main problem you will come across when deflating a bladder is a clogged needle. If you do not hear any air on your first try, or bass still doesn't swim normally when you finish, blow out the obstruction and repeat the process.
Catch & release is more popular today than ever before. But what good is it if the mortality rates are poor on the fish we release? Deflating the air bladders is a great step that is most often overlooked.
