Learn How to Fizz

[Crazykidd]

I was out this weekend and I saw something that just irritated me. I pulled up to the ramp and saw 4 large mouths floating around. They were not dead but you could tell death was right around the corner. I trolled over to them and netted them. I threw them in the live well with some please release me and one at a time fizzed them. Put them back in the live well for a short period before releasing them. Only one of them didn’t make it. She was a solid 6lbs. If you have a diagram of how to fizz could you please post it? So maybe this method could be passed on and we can keep these catch of a lifetime living.

[flbassman]

Fizz? Like decompress?

[Crazykidd]

Has no one ever done this or heard about this? It is where you take a needle and punture the air bladder to relieve pressure. If this is not done the fish can not swim back to any kind of depth.

[Christopherkeene9]

yeah decompress, they must've been caught deep!

[flbassman]

Yup, do it for grouper and snapper quite often. These fish are hardier than bass, so I'm not sure, but for deepwater salt fish you just take a needle and poke a small hole in their stomach area where the swim bladder is.

[bassbooger]

here is an article on how and why to do it.

http://www.westernbass.com/oregon/library/view.html?id=2527

Here is a picture of where to do it.

[Vabass22]

I need to learn how to do this too. Your a good man for ding that, most people would have said its not worth the trouble, and motored on.

[Crazykidd]

I could have never done that. Heck I might need them one day during a tournament

[vagabond]

How do you know if you need to do this? Anyfish that looks like it's about to die gets a needle? Also, how will you know if you did it right? Do they swim straight down as soon as you put them in the water?

PS in the picture, the fish had an anal vent. That was the funniest thing I've seen in a while.

[Crazykidd]

The belly of the fish will look swollen, also they will swim around belly up.
What I do is lay the fish on a wet towel insert the needle and put it in the live well. If you see bubbles coming out of the needle you did it right. I don't pull the needle out until all the bubbles stop. I kept them for a little while longer in the live well. So the please release me could rejuvenates the bass. One of the smaller ones I had to fizz twice. The one that died just did circles in the water. I think she was already oxygen deprived.

[Hef]

Good post Crazykid

[zooker]

looney farm
good post i have yet to fizz a fish here in nc but i have done it to trout and smallies up north..

zooker

[Rodman_Rob]

i've heard of it having to be done but most of the lakes in florida are 10 feet deep or less. Occasionally I'll hit a deeper lake (20-25 feet deep), and once in a blue moon I'll get to Fish Lake Owen which is a private lake supposedly with Sinkholes in the middle of the lake and 2 holes approx 50-70feet deep. My question is, how deep would a fish have to be where fizzing would occur if you caught it?

[Fish On]

I have a lake that goes to 70.... Never needed to fizz. But I would be afraid to fizz incase I miss and hit like a vein.

[lizardsrule]

Where's PNJ witrh his basket rig when you need it rotfl. I aint carrying any needles on the boat with me. I get stuck enough with hooks, and I wouldn't want to explain why I had some hyperdermic needles with me on a boat on a lake in Florida LOL.

Lizards

[flbassman]

Originally Posted by lizardsrule

I wouldn't want to explain why I had some hyperdermic needles with me on a boat on a lake in Florida LOL.

Lizards

I swear occifer, they was for a fish

[zooker]

30 feet or deeper.. air bladder problems do NOT appear during the winter. normal time i would be fishing that deep here..

zooker

[Crazykidd]

Sorry all I had to go to GA to find a house.
It all depends on the fish and how fast you pull it to the surface. I've had to fizz some larger fish that I caught at 20ft, but then I caught some of them at deeper depth and not had too.

[texasbasser]

i do it on redfish alot. it really works

[Crazykidd]

If you don't do it you might as well keep the fish because they will die anyways.

[lizardsrule]

Originally Posted by Crazykidd

If you don't do it you might as well keep the fish because they will die anyways.

That's an absolutely false statement. How deep were these fish caught? You don't know do you. Perhaps the fish needed the Please Release me. Perhaps they were just dying from a spill, or terpid water. You may have only prolonged their death. To make a statement like that is riddiculous. Probably just as many fish have been killed by people incorrectly fizzing them. How deep are you catching these bass? The whole point of the fizzing is due to the air expanding in the fish from deep water. There probably isn't a bass in Florida that ever needs to be fizzed, but you just stated you will kill all of the bass if you don't fizz them

Lizards

[Crazykidd]

Originally Posted by lizardsrule

That's an absolutely false statement. How deep were these fish caught? You don't know do you. Perhaps the fish needed the Please Release me. Perhaps they were just dying from a spill, or terpid water. You may have only prolonged their death. To make a statement like that is riddiculous. Probably just as many fish have been killed by people incorrectly fizzing them. How deep are you catching these bass? The whole point of the fizzing is due to the air expanding in the fish from deep water. There probably isn't a bass in Florida that ever needs to be fizzed, but you just stated you will kill all of the bass if you don't fizz them

Lizards

Ok I will play your game!!!!!!!!!
(Point #1) For the fish I’ve had to fizz, I do know how deep they were caught. How do I know you might ask? It’s called a depth finder. You can buy them pretty much any where, but mostly at sporting stores.
(Point #2) As for the depth I caught them at, by reading the past post it states, I have caught them at different depths and some needing fizzed and others not. It mostly depends on the fish. I also stated it will depend on other factors that might come into play for example how fast you bring them to the surface.
(Point #3) As for your statement “. Perhaps the fish needed the Please Release me. Perhaps they were just dying from a spill, or terpid water. You may have only prolonged their death.” If you are going off my past post. You will read. My first step was to put them in the livewell with Please Release Me. As I watched them for a while I still noticed they were swimming belly up. I went onto step 2. I took my fizz needle and started to fizz. I put them in my 2nd livewell and watched the air bubble come out of the needle. Once I saw the air stop coming out I took the needle out and put it back in the livewell #1 with Please Release Me again. Now at this time the bass was in the correct swimming position, I moved onto bass #2, #3, and #4 but Bass # 4 did not make it. As for the reason why, my guess I would say lack of oxygen, but I will have to wait until the autopsy comes back. But for Bass 1,2,and 3 when I tried to grab them to put them back in the lake they were jumping around in the livewell. When I did grab them and put them back in the lake they took off. Instead of floating belly up. (Point #4) Your statement “You may have only prolonged their death.” You might be right, I will never know. But I do know they did not die at the ramp where the weigh in was taking place. I would like to think they made it another day to fight another lucky angler who might catch them.
(Point #4)You also made the statement “There probably isn't a bass in Florida that ever needs to be fizzed, but you just stated you will kill all of the bass if you don't fizz them” You might be right about that in Florida, but since I’m in Texas where I do know there are some deep lakes in the range of 70 to 120 ft deep, I know this by that thing we already discussed called depth finder. Don’t take a Texas statement and try to make it a Florida statement. 2 different states and 2 different types of fisheries!
Conclusion
As for you go ahead and be like the other 15 to 20 boats that passed by the bass shaking your head in disgust, but proceeded to do nothing. The difference between you and I. You will complain about what’s wrong with the modern day fisheries and anglers but will do nothing. I will try to make a difference by do something about it. So from this point on I will keep doing what I have done in the past and try to make better fisheries for my kids and yours while you just sit back and tell your kids what should’ve been done to save them.


My suggestion for you, get every detail before you go jabbing at someone and making ½ educated statements. Have a good day Sir

[flbassman]

Easy crazy, liz was just bustin your chops a little for saying that all bass need to be fizzed..... You did the right thing, and fish caught deep should be fizzed, but they are fish. People forget that sometimes, but it's just a fish. I love fishing as much, and more than the next guy, and I consider myself a conservationist, pick up trash and mostly C+R, but I'm not going to give a legal, healthy bass CPR if it looks like it's dying, I'll take him home and fry him myself, or give it to that old guy at the ramp that's fishin for his supper. No need to get all bent out of shape at liz for making a half-joking comment....

[zooker]

lizard
that was harsh even for ME...
crazy is right though. texas lakes sure aint them shallow mud holes you play on in fl..

"how do you know ya did not prolong there death" easy do it wrong an there deader than a brick..fizzing takes SKILL..

crazy
you have gone up in my estatment of your being.. very few would mess with them..

zooker

[lizardsrule]

Originally Posted by Crazykidd

Ok I will play your game!!!!!!!!!
(Point #1) For the fish I’ve had to fizz, I do know how deep they were caught. How do I know you might ask? It’s called a depth finder. You can buy them pretty much any where, but mostly at sporting stores.
(Point #2) As for the depth I caught them at, by reading the past post it states, I have caught them at different depths and some needing fizzed and others not. It mostly depends on the fish. I also stated it will depend on other factors that might come into play for example how fast you bring them to the surface.
(Point #3) As for your statement “. Perhaps the fish needed the Please Release me. Perhaps they were just dying from a spill, or terpid water. You may have only prolonged their death.” If you are going off my past post. You will read. My first step was to put them in the livewell with Please Release Me. As I watched them for a while I still noticed they were swimming belly up. I went onto step 2. I took my fizz needle and started to fizz. I put them in my 2nd livewell and watched the air bubble come out of the needle. Once I saw the air stop coming out I took the needle out and put it back in the livewell #1 with Please Release Me again. Now at this time the bass was in the correct swimming position, I moved onto bass #2, #3, and #4 but Bass # 4 did not make it. As for the reason why, my guess I would say lack of oxygen, but I will have to wait until the autopsy comes back. But for Bass 1,2,and 3 when I tried to grab them to put them back in the lake they were jumping around in the livewell. When I did grab them and put them back in the lake they took off. Instead of floating belly up. (Point #4) Your statement “You may have only prolonged their death.” You might be right, I will never know. But I do know they did not die at the ramp where the weigh in was taking place. I would like to think they made it another day to fight another lucky angler who might catch them.
(Point #4)You also made the statement “There probably isn't a bass in Florida that ever needs to be fizzed, but you just stated you will kill all of the bass if you don't fizz them” You might be right about that in Florida, but since I’m in Texas where I do know there are some deep lakes in the range of 70 to 120 ft deep, I know this by that thing we already discussed called depth finder. Don’t take a Texas statement and try to make it a Florida statement. 2 different states and 2 different types of fisheries!
Conclusion
As for you go ahead and be like the other 15 to 20 boats that passed by the bass shaking your head in disgust, but proceeded to do nothing. The difference between you and I. You will complain about what’s wrong with the modern day fisheries and anglers but will do nothing. I will try to make a difference by do something about it. So from this point on I will keep doing what I have done in the past and try to make better fisheries for my kids and yours while you just sit back and tell your kids what should’ve been done to save them.


My suggestion for you, get every detail before you go jabbing at someone and making ½ educated statements. Have a good day Sir

Very thoughtful and well typed response. I still disagree that unless you saw who caught the fish and where they were caught that YOU DON'T KNOW how deep they were caught, or even where. My post was a little harse, however I will still stick to what I said. Your statement I quoted was completely false. You make it appear in that statement that unless you fizz a fish it's dead. Too many younger folks might take that litterally and then what's gonna happen, lot's of dead fish. I appreciate you making an effort to save those fish, however to make a remark that I would have just let them alone is amazing. I guess you know me so well that you can determine how I will react to any given situation. I also know how to use a depth finder, however I don't know where, how or how deep others caught fish that were released in a tournament. Again I applaud your effort for trying to save these bass, but until you know WHO, WHERE, WHEN these fish were caught doesn't mean anything. They could have been caught shallow, then thrown into a HOT livewell, which can cause the exact same problem you described. That however was the anglers fault. Thanks for the nice response, but YOU don't know me at all. And to think you do, because I responded to a post you made that is false, is beyond me. I salute you and your efforts for bass, however your thinking process needs some work. I apologize for coming at you so hard, that also was in poor taste.

Lizards