dead fish

bassthumb32 · 07-24-05, 06:22 PM

last night me and my partner were feeling pretty good after he caught our fifth fish in an eight hour tournament. the limit was six but we had a few really big ones. he caught the fifth fish at 2:10 am the tournament ended at 3:00. we went to the next hole at 2:30 and i checked the fish and the one that he had just caught was dead. i couldnt believe that i had died in 20 minutes. all the other ones were still kicking. we finished 5th with that one fish we would have gotten 3rd. has anyone ever even heard anything like that? please help im lost.

rrw4258 · 07-24-05, 06:27 PM

Never heard of anything like that before???

JB · 07-24-05, 06:32 PM

ITs probably because of the heat. You can buy a blue looking additive for your livewells to keep fish alive, it keeps thier slime on them better , the #1 reason they die is lack of oxygen, when you have a hot weather, the boat takes on warm water to the livewell, combined with many fish equals little breathin room for the fish. On really big live wells I 've seen guy put a bag of ice in there, but thats up to you, I never have done that personally, but have seen many bass die in the live well soon after caught, and I dont think its all about stress, its the heat and oxygen level i think...

zooker · 07-24-05, 07:35 PM

add ice i have a temp sensor located in my live well. i aint figured out why it is there but it is. i have seen water temps in my live well with no fish in it read 110 degrees. adding ice helps alot. the stuff jb mentioned -blue powder- is great stuff. also make sure your areator is working right.

zooker

Rebbasser · 07-24-05, 07:59 PM

The blue stuff is called Please Release Me and does a great job. One thing about the ice, though-if you buy bag ice it has chlorine in it which can harm the fish. I know some guys who use that blue ice-the reusable ice substitute you just refreeze when through using it.

JB · 07-24-05, 08:04 PM

Thats a great point.

I've never done the ice but have seen many a fish croak, esp when you get them early and its hot out

bassthumb32 · 07-25-05, 08:23 AM

We Tried Ice. I Dont Know What Happened. The Water Was Really Warm. Im Gonna Get Some Of That Blue Stuff Though. That Really Messed Up Our Night. Thanks For All Of Your Help.

JB · 07-25-05, 09:06 AM

Heres a bottle of it, I bet its expensive
http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/.../5742/cid/1616

zooker · 07-25-05, 07:44 PM

nah jb it is like 10-12 bucks it only takes a small amount to do it to a full livewell. just do not remove the funny brown thing in side the bottle it keeps it from harding.

zooker

bassthumb32 · 07-26-05, 09:45 AM

I Just Talked To Someone I Know Who Is A "pro" And He Said That Sometimes Smallmouth Will Spawn This Time Of Year And If You Catch Them After They Spawn They Will Die Immediately. And Thats What This Fish Was Was A Smallmouth. Has Anyone Heard Anything Like That. Because I Havent. But It Makes Sense.

Fish2win · 07-26-05, 01:31 PM

Smallmouth are not nearly that vulnerable. I catch dozens all year round and have had some die but not because they were close after the spawn. If the fish are spawning now you must live far north. The smallmouth here in Tennessee spawn in April most years. Possible real reasons for fish dieing.
1) the fish was caught from very deep water( 25 to 35 feet) its swim bladdser expanded due to pressure and it sufficated in the live well.
2) The fish was injured during the fight or landing
3) The fish was misshandle after being caught. Possible dropped or laid out on the boat for an extended period.
4) the fish died from stress and the water that was so warm was very oxygen depleted. This along with impurities in the water from the other 4 fish.
I have lost fish in tournaments but only by my own fault.
Here is a little clue. If a fish in the live well suddenly becomes very active it is probably dieing.
Most tournaments allow dead fish as long as they are not mutulated. they do take some ounces off the weight of that fish but you stll get some of its weight.Use catch and release formula, Keep your areator turned on and use ice if the water in the well is over 85 degrees. Try not to let the fish get to sloshed around in the live well when the boat is in motion and avoid handleing the fish outside of its mouth. Get it unhooked and in the live well ASAP.Observe this and you will loose very few fish. I hope someone took the fish home and cleaned it. Throwing recently dead fish away is such a waste. Fish2win

bassthumb32 · 07-26-05, 02:07 PM

The Fish Was Not Mishandled We Netted It Pulled The Hook Out Of Its Lip And Put It In The Livewell Quickly. I Was In Deep Water Though. Prolly 15 To 25 Feet. It Was At Night And We Were Fishing A Ledge So It Was Hard To Tell Exactally Where The Worm Was At When The Fish Hit It And I Was Fishing Kind Of North About Midstate Pennsylvania. Thanks For You Help.

07-24-05, 06:27 PM	#2
rrw4258 BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Bellevue, Ohio Posts: 2,338	Never heard of anything like that before??? __________________ Never Give Up!

07-24-05, 07:35 PM	#4
zooker BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: denton nc Posts: 13,441	add ice i have a temp sensor located in my live well. i aint figured out why it is there but it is. i have seen water temps in my live well with no fish in it read 110 degrees. adding ice helps alot. the stuff jb mentioned -blue powder- is great stuff. also make sure your areator is working right. zooker __________________ the godfather.. aml in remission since 7-20-09

07-24-05, 07:59 PM	#5
Rebbasser BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 10,141	The blue stuff is called Please Release Me and does a great job. One thing about the ice, though-if you buy bag ice it has chlorine in it which can harm the fish. I know some guys who use that blue ice-the reusable ice substitute you just refreeze when through using it. __________________ It's happened to the best of them: John 21:3 Last edited by Rebbasser; 07-24-05 at 08:16 PM.

07-25-05, 07:44 PM	#9
zooker BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: denton nc Posts: 13,441	nah jb it is like 10-12 bucks it only takes a small amount to do it to a full livewell. just do not remove the funny brown thing in side the bottle it keeps it from harding. zooker __________________ the godfather.. aml in remission since 7-20-09

07-26-05, 09:45 AM	#10
bassthumb32 BassFishin.Com Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Fort Loudon, PA Posts: 682	I Just Talked To Someone I Know Who Is A "pro" And He Said That Sometimes Smallmouth Will Spawn This Time Of Year And If You Catch Them After They Spawn They Will Die Immediately. And Thats What This Fish Was Was A Smallmouth. Has Anyone Heard Anything Like That. Because I Havent. But It Makes Sense. __________________ MY LIFETIME GOAL IS TO KEEP AT LEAST A SMALL CASE OF BASSTHUMB FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.

07-24-05, 06:22 PM	#1
bassthumb32 BassFishin.Com Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Fort Loudon, PA Posts: 682	dead fish last night me and my partner were feeling pretty good after he caught our fifth fish in an eight hour tournament. the limit was six but we had a few really big ones. he caught the fifth fish at 2:10 am the tournament ended at 3:00. we went to the next hole at 2:30 and i checked the fish and the one that he had just caught was dead. i couldnt believe that i had died in 20 minutes. all the other ones were still kicking. we finished 5th with that one fish we would have gotten 3rd. has anyone ever even heard anything like that? please help im lost.

07-24-05, 06:32 PM	#3
JB BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 8,655	ITs probably because of the heat. You can buy a blue looking additive for your livewells to keep fish alive, it keeps thier slime on them better , the #1 reason they die is lack of oxygen, when you have a hot weather, the boat takes on warm water to the livewell, combined with many fish equals little breathin room for the fish. On really big live wells I 've seen guy put a bag of ice in there, but thats up to you, I never have done that personally, but have seen many bass die in the live well soon after caught, and I dont think its all about stress, its the heat and oxygen level i think...

07-24-05, 08:04 PM	#6
JB BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 8,655	Thats a great point. I've never done the ice but have seen many a fish croak, esp when you get them early and its hot out

07-25-05, 08:23 AM	#7
bassthumb32 BassFishin.Com Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Fort Loudon, PA Posts: 682	We Tried Ice. I Dont Know What Happened. The Water Was Really Warm. Im Gonna Get Some Of That Blue Stuff Though. That Really Messed Up Our Night. Thanks For All Of Your Help.

07-25-05, 09:06 AM	#8
JB BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 8,655	Heres a bottle of it, I bet its expensive http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/.../5742/cid/1616

07-26-05, 01:31 PM	#11
Fish2win BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Norris Tennessee Posts: 469	Smallmouth are not nearly that vulnerable. I catch dozens all year round and have had some die but not because they were close after the spawn. If the fish are spawning now you must live far north. The smallmouth here in Tennessee spawn in April most years. Possible real reasons for fish dieing. 1) the fish was caught from very deep water( 25 to 35 feet) its swim bladdser expanded due to pressure and it sufficated in the live well. 2) The fish was injured during the fight or landing 3) The fish was misshandle after being caught. Possible dropped or laid out on the boat for an extended period. 4) the fish died from stress and the water that was so warm was very oxygen depleted. This along with impurities in the water from the other 4 fish. I have lost fish in tournaments but only by my own fault. Here is a little clue. If a fish in the live well suddenly becomes very active it is probably dieing. Most tournaments allow dead fish as long as they are not mutulated. they do take some ounces off the weight of that fish but you stll get some of its weight.Use catch and release formula, Keep your areator turned on and use ice if the water in the well is over 85 degrees. Try not to let the fish get to sloshed around in the live well when the boat is in motion and avoid handleing the fish outside of its mouth. Get it unhooked and in the live well ASAP.Observe this and you will loose very few fish. I hope someone took the fish home and cleaned it. Throwing recently dead fish away is such a waste. Fish2win __________________ Norris Tennessee set the hook! They dont have hands. Last edited by Fish2win; 07-26-05 at 11:05 PM.

07-26-05, 02:07 PM	#12
bassthumb32 BassFishin.Com Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Fort Loudon, PA Posts: 682	The Fish Was Not Mishandled We Netted It Pulled The Hook Out Of Its Lip And Put It In The Livewell Quickly. I Was In Deep Water Though. Prolly 15 To 25 Feet. It Was At Night And We Were Fishing A Ledge So It Was Hard To Tell Exactally Where The Worm Was At When The Fish Hit It And I Was Fishing Kind Of North About Midstate Pennsylvania. Thanks For You Help. __________________ MY LIFETIME GOAL IS TO KEEP AT LEAST A SMALL CASE OF BASSTHUMB FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.

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