De-pressurizing a bass

[jasonfish320]

This conversation came up recently with a semi-pro bass fisherman while we were out scouting....(by semi-pro I mean that he has a lot of local sponsors and actually gets a lot of his entry fees paid and gets free tackle..not enough to make a living, but better than most)

It seems like a very tricky maneuver and I'm sure a lot of you out West are familiar with the technique, but I've never had to do it. It's an interesting article...

http://insideline.net/1999/sak-0102-99.html

[BigBassin144]

Fizzing is a very controversial subject. They've done studies that have showed different results. Some say it's a good idea and that it helps save fish, and some say it endangers them. All I know is if you don't do it right, you can kill the fish.

BB

[Rebbasser]

Better method than going in from the side:

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/b...zing_procedure

[flbassman]

We always do it to snapper. Never had to do it to a bass, mostly because I never fish deeper than 20 feet, and rarely deeper than 10.....

[vagabond]

I read this on another site a couple of years ago. I saved it and made a couple but haven't had to use them yet. I'm not really a fan of fishing 20+ feet yet. Anyway, here's a copy of the post...


I was at the tackle shop the other day and saw they had a tool for to make it easier to fizz your fish by going down the throat. Problem was the tool is like $5 for about 35 cents worth of material and labor.

I just made up 7 of them for less than $3 in about ten minutes.

Here's how to do it:

Get yourself a needle from the local feed store or medical supply shop. About 18 Gage (light green cap) 1.5 inch long is just about perfect. I get mine for 28 cents per. They come with either aluminum hub or plastic hub. Get the aluminum one. DO NOT REMOVE THE COLORED CAP THAT EXPOSES THE BUSINESS END OF THE NEEDLE WHILE MAKING THIS TOOL.


Next dig around in your junk drawer and find an old Bic Round Stick pen. Those are the cheap ones with the semi-soft extruded plastic tube with a ball point pressed into it.

Disassemble the pen and discard everything except the tube. Heat the end of the tube in some hot water, and while it is still hot, jam the aluminum base of the needle into the pen tube. When the pen cools off, the needle will be locked in pretty tight. That's it. You're done. Put it in your tackle box, and use it.

If you can't get the aluminum hub needle, trim the plastic up to fit the tube, and add a bead of super glue around it. Really though, the aluminum is the way to go.


If you haven't learned how to pop your fish by going through the back of the mouth, you really should use this method over the poking through the side method. It is much easier, and less likely to injure the fish.

Here's how to do it if you don't know:

Hold the fish by the bottom lip, with the mouth open. Try to keep most of the fish's body in the water for support. Look into the back of the throat, and locate the crushers. There are two of them, right above the entrance to the gullet. You can't miss them. Insert the needle between and just below the crushers, but above the entrance to the gullet. Go straight in. You may hear the air escape, but if you are not sure, submerge the fish and look for bubbles to come out of the tube. The tube you attached to the needle gives you the reach you need to get back into the mouth easily without having to use pliers or anything like that.



This method is so easy, and the tool is so cheap and easy to make, that there is no reason that anyone should have any difficulty protecting their deep caught fish.