Baro-trauma

I've read mention of ways to send cod back down when released after being pulled up from 40+ feet. I'd like to try this. Anyone?

There are several methods.   

1.) Pop the airbladder and send them back.  This isn't advised as you are likely to cause an infection that will eventually kill the fish.

2.) Rig up a milk crate to shuttle the fish back down to a depth where they will recompress and swim off.  This seems to work on large boats, but would be a pain in a kayak.

3.) Shelton fish descender (SFD)
http://www.sheltonproducts.com/SFD.html


4.) Rig up a barbless leadhead jig to do the same as the SFD.

http://www.sheltonproducts.com/SFD1.pdf

I've read mention of ways to send cod back down when released after being pulled up from 40+ feet. I'd like to try this. Anyone?

Here's the cheapie way I do it. I put a large siwash hook upside down on a dropper loop a few feet up from my jig. I then use an extra bit of mono to tie down the shank to the mainline so it lays vertical when fishing. I then smash down the barb and dull the tip. Then when I get a baro'd fish put 'em on that hook (bottom of it's gill plate) drop 'em down and pull up quickly to release. I have it on there as a teaser and baro-trauma release.

Z

Fish shallow enough and you won't have to worry about it.

I predict that someday the wastefulness of floaters and the uncertainty of the Shelton and other release methods will lead to stricter fishing rules - and rightfully so.

I wonder how many rockfish the halibut guys pull up from around 200', and how many carcasses they leave floating in their wake.

Fish shallow enough and you won't have to worry about it.

Good point and best solution!

Z

I do fish shallow, and if I do go deep I'm in the keeping mode, or hunting lings. I'll also use larger lures if targeting lings. All in all, I enjoy fishing shallow more. In the yak I think we are also able to get in to shallow spots the PB never touch. The fish are there.
Thanks for the replies.

Z, that sounds like you have a good solution.

on puncturing the bladder...  I do this a fair bit. maybe it causes an infection sometimes, but I bet a lot of the fish survive.

but puncturing the bladder is something that works better with the right tool, as usual.

what works well is a 3/0 gamakatsu 510 assist hook, it has a tiny barb on the hook on the outside, well up from the point that is easily mashed down. I hook the bladder, and pull a bit, the air rushes out. when I release the hook, the hole seems to close up quickly. trying to puncture with anything else is problematic, too big of a hole is caused.

this in conjunction with a big lead head with the barb mashed down in the gill plate seems to take almost all of them back down.

Fish shallow enough and you won't have to worry about it.

Yep prevention is the best medicine.

Interesting discussion.

I usually fish shallow, and will continue to do so.

just to knock you dudly doo-rights off your hi hobby horses... 

fishing shallow has not resulted in a lot of catching this year.   

I fished deeper this year than I ever have cause I wanted to catch and not just fish and released a number of fish. many were mid-column fish (blues and olives) and released fine since although I caught them in deep water I didn't catch them all that deep down. a few were gophers off the bottom and some measures were needed, but I feel confident they are back to eating snails and 7 armed star fish 120 feet down. some died during the time I figured out how to best get them back down, but not in vain as I think the others are going back down pretty reliably.

one thing you can also do to make it easier to send them back down is to reel them in slowly. do not rip them to the surface, just bring them up somewhat leisurely, they adjust a bit on the ride up and go back down more easily.  everybody knows a gopher. hard hit followed by no fight. don't rip them to the surface, take your time giving them the elevator ride and they go back down better.

Hey J, I hate to burst your bubble on this one, but speed of retrieval is going to do little to help a rockfish out regarding barotrauma.  Rockfish are a fairly evolved group of fish with a physoclistous gas bladder meaning it's sealed off from the digestive track and that they rely on physiology (diffusion through a membrane) to remove excess gas.  So unless you're willing to wait for the expanding gas to be absorbed into the blood stream and processed by the gills to retrieve your fish, a slow retrieve isn't going to help.  Now if these were physostomous fish like catfish or trout they could possibly just burp the extra gas out on a slow retrieve.  In the end I think it's probably best to get them up as fast as you can so you can turn around and send them back down so they can recover.

Brian

Hey J, I hate to burst your bubble on this one, but speed of retrieval is going to do little to help a rockfish out regarding barotrauma.  Rockfish are a fairly evolved group of fish with a physoclistous gas bladder meaning it's sealed off from the digestive track and that they rely on physiology (diffusion through a membrane) to remove excess gas.  So unless you're willing to wait for the expanding gas to be absorbed into the blood stream and processed by the gills to retrieve your fish, a slow retrieve isn't going to help.  Now if these were physostomous fish like catfish or trout they could possibly just burp the extra gas out on a slow retrieve.  In the end I think it's probably best to get them up as fast as you can so you can turn around and send them back down so they can recover.

Brian

bsteves, what I see from a slower retrieve is way less of the bulging eye thing.

that isn't the same as the swim bladder, but it seems to be more injurious than a distended swimbladder.

if they have a distended bladder, but no other symptoms, I try to send them back down. If they have any other problems like the eyes pushing out, I put them on the stringer.

I could be wrong, but it seems that a slower rise leads to only the swimbladder being distended.

Btw, Did you see that article in the new yorker about the surfer Garrett Lisi with the new Theory of Everything? (Unified Field Theory?)  Talk about bursting bubbles!

Years ago, I thought the organs bulging out of the rockfish's mouth was the bladder. And, therefore, thought that I could just puncture that and send em down safely. And Yes, the fish all swam away. But I have since learned that the bulging organ (yeah, I know that sounds waay wrong) is NOT the swim bladder; it's the stomach. And puncturing the stomach will almost certainly lead to death. So I don't do that anymore.
I am mentioning this because I have been told by many anglers that this procedure was the "right thing to do." And maybe this story helps to educate other anglers. DO NOT puncture the 'thingy' that is bulging out of the fish's mouth.


If I am planning to fish deep, I just bring along a heavy combo and rig up a 6-8oz leadhead (with a big scampi or swimbait) and attach a Sheltor descender inline, about 18 inches above the leadhead. Well, I'm actually down to my last Shelton so I made a couple prototypes with paperclips and swivels. Haven't used the protos yet but will test them soon.

There is a new product out there called the Get Er Down fish descender. One of the DFG research guys showed it to me during lunch a few weeks ago. It didn't seem practical for kayakers because of its size. But a worthwhile investment for a boater. It looks like a cross between a big Maglite and a Boga Grip.
The upside-down milkcrate is probably the best, most-efficient tool. But, again, not the most practical tool for kayakers.
 

 

J,

I see what you're saying about the eyes.  I was a bit gas bladder centric in my response.

As for the gas bladder or stomach.. well, I think it's actually both.  When the gas bladder pushing out and the stomach lining gets pushed out too. Popping this bulge through the mouth would have the effect of peircing the stomach wall lining as well as deflating the gas bladder.  There is a better way of deflating the gas bladder and it involves a hypodermic needle, a disinfectant, and anatomical knowledge (you pierce the fish from the side behind the pectoral fin)  Some fishery biologists do this, but again, there is evidence that infections still happen often.

Brian