Catch & Release ? Survival Rate ?

[JerseyDevil1]

Hey All ,

1st , I hope im not being too much of a pain in the tail part By asking so many ??? but im new to surf / jetty fishing and I want to make the right choices out there.

OK , how fragile are big bass ? I will keep an under 30" for the table in the event I catch one but I would love to be able to turn a Big Girl lose and know she will survive . What is the best way that you know to make sure the fish is in good enough shape to survive ?

Ive seen a few landed and Most seem to be too far gone as they are brought in on their sides and some dont even flip their tales.

JD

[Patrick9915]

Use appropriate gear. The sooner you land them, the more energy they will have.

[Surfmaster250]

Use of proper gear as said, Keep fights short if you can, proper revival! I'll hold the fish moving it back and forth in the water to move water thru it's gill plates for as long as it takes. They will take off as soon as they feel good. I don't think I have ever seen or have had a fish float on me. I say if gut hooked (bait fishing) no matter the size I will keep it, No sence in sending back a sure dead fish!

[Benz]

use circle hooks if bait fishing. prevents the fish from getting gut hooked and gets em right in the corner of the mouth just about every time

[jbt114]

Make sure the fish is upright and under it's own power when released.

 

Let it swim away from your hands instead of just putting it back in the water.

 

Chris

[John P]

It's also important not to lift a 40# fish by its jaw, the body isn't built to be lifted without support . If I'm by myself on a boat the fish stays in the water. It may take 10 or 15 nminutes to revive,especially in the mid summer warm water. I use heavy duty rods and reels. Love to see them swim away. JP

[Mike Oliver]

Guys it does not matter if the fish is in bad shape and under 28 inches, you are required by law to return the fish. No exceptions. Not hard to see why as it would be too convienient for many to say the undersized fish was going to die anyway. The cop out excuse.

 

Mike

[RedJeep]

To add a little from the beach information. I put American Littoral Society tags on darn near every bass I catch, I have been doing this for about twenty years. So far, 45 of them have been recaptured by people willing to send in the tag. A twenty-eight pounder I caught off the jetty at the inlet took me a long time to get so she could swim off on her own. A forty inch fish I caught last year off a sand bar in the inlet nearly hurt my wrist with her tail when I was giving her a little swish to get her going.

 

Peace

[Striped Bass]

All of the above

[M. saxatilis]

"Catch and Release in Marine Recreational Fisheries". ed. Lucy, Jon A., and Studholme, Anne L. American Fisheries Society Symposium 30. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda Maryland. 2002.

 

This book is a compilation of peer reviewed articles that includes several studies on striped bass. It can easily be read and understood by the non-science minded individual. It has some great information in it including comparative hooking effects and mortality ( "J" vs. Circle type) and stress effects related to catch and release and angler attitudes and behavior.

 

It's definitely not a read for everyone but if you could find a cheap copy on Amazon I'd get it. You can also find it on the American Fisheries Society web-page.

[MakoMike]

I wrote an article on this a year or two ago. Not sure offhand if it was published in Noreast Saltwater magazin or in On the Water magazine. Its available on my website.

[TBRegime]

Use appropriate gear. The sooner you land them, the more energy they will have.

 

Agree.....Setting your drags loose and "playing" the fish is very detrimentaltoit's health. Fighting the fish too much and you will have 2 large filets to deal with especially in warmer water.

[Gmofftarki]

Anyone have any C&R tips for sand tiger sharks, other than what was listed above? Despite attempting to revive it 3 times, it attempted to commit suicide by wedging between the rocks where the water was exceptionally shallow and made terrible moaning noises at me.

 

I think it eventually decided to go back into the ocean, but I couldn't get to it while it was moaning... didn't see its eyes any longer, though.

 

So... I felt really guilty, but couldn't figure out what else to do.

[Furbait]

Hey All ,

1st , I hope im not being too much of a pain in the tail part By asking so many ??? but im new to surf / jetty fishing and I want to make the right choices out there.

OK , how fragile are big bass ? I will keep an under 30" for the table in the event I catch one but I would love to be able to turn a Big Girl lose and know she will survive . What is the best way that you know to make sure the fish is in good enough shape to survive ?

Ive seen a few landed and Most seem to be too far gone as they are brought in on their sides and some dont even flip their tales.

JD

 

 

I studied the issue of striped bass C&R mortality earlier this year, trying to become a more responsible angler. I learned that mortality was usually increased if the fish had previous injuries, was caught in water warmer than 60 F, was played until exhaustion, was lifted out of the water, was dragged over the sand or was hooked in the eye, gill, throat, gullet or tongue. If the bass was hooked in the lip and landed using reasonably heavy tackle and a minimum of handling, it appeared (from the info I was able to find) that any size bass had a very good chance of surviving, except in warm water.

 

If you're concerned about being able to successfully release a bass, I think it makes sense to use single barbless hooks on artificials using relatively heavy tackle. I always catch them in the lip when I use bucktails!

Good Fishing! FB

[Punk Freud]

Keep in mind that C&R during the spawning season can result

in the females aborting their eggs before being fertilized.

If a fish is stressed out from the fight chances are her body will

reject her eggs.

Just a another reason to close bass fishing until after spawning.

 

The fish may not die but it won't spawn.