What Happens To Soft Plastic Eaten 2025

Loop_Dad reply :

When fish swallow soft plastic, does it stay in the stomach forever? Or do they manage to poop it out eventually? Those plastic are a lot bigger than fish poop...

ChrisAW reply :

There have been studies, people finding fish that had 4 or 5 plastic baits in their stomach, but they do seem to live on. A lot of times those REAL skinny fish you catch might be because it has a bait lodged in its system.

Its somewhat unavoidable by regular fishing, but DON'T throw your plastic over the side.

tomustang reply :

As Chris said there has been studies.

But bass can pass soft plastic and can regurgitate, from what has been seen before. As to how much is a mystery.

Jig Man reply :

I've caught bass with mono and hooks hanging out their behinds but never seen them trying to pass any plastic. I have, however, caught a few that threw up plastic in the boat while I was unhooking them. Some of it seemed to be particially decomposed but most of the time it was still in good shape.

retiredbosn reply :

Not hijacking the thread but aren't Berkley power products bio-degradeable. Also isn't there a company making soft baits from animal proteins?

HeavyDluxe reply :

Not sure about Powerbait, but:

http://biobait.com/about.php

OkobojiEagle reply :

Berkley Gulp will degrade in time.

Jig Man... what color was the plastic?

Bluebasser86 reply :

Here's a very informative article on why you should dispose of your plastics properly. A fish can ingest too many of them and starve over a prolonged period if it can't pass them.

http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/skinny-fish.html

tnriverluver reply :

I got to wondering about this a few weeks ago after having a small bass take a 6in Zoom worm. Caught him about 20 minutes later on a crankbait and the worm was still in his mouth!!!

iceintheveins reply :

It can impede a fishes ability to feed and can on occasion be fatal. Never throw them overboard, but if they eat a plastic it isn't a certain death sentence. I've caught many with plastics in them, most of them were looking emaciated though, so I know it's not good for them at best.

Loop_Dad reply :

Does anyone use any good senko biodegradable alternative? I bought a pack of Gulp (not worm) before and didn't like it because it hardened.

Crappiebasser reply :

I know soft plastics swell when left under water for long periods of time, do they swell at the same rate in a fish? I have a brush pile behind my house and every year when they have the winter draw down I find 6" dead ringers that I lost that are about 18" long and 1" in diameter.

Bluebasser86 reply :

On 9/24/2012 at 8:32 AM, Crappiebasser said:

I know soft plastics swell when left under water for long periods of time, do they swell at the same rate in a fish? I have a brush pile behind my house and every year when they have the winter draw down I find 6" dead ringers that I lost that are about 18" long and 1" in diameter.

The pictures of the ones they removed from the stomachs of those bass in that study look pretty swollen up too so I'd assume they do.

wademaster1 reply :

On 9/24/2012 at 7:32 AM, Loop_Dad said:

Does anyone use any good senko biodegradable alternative? I bought a pack of Gulp (not worm) before and didn't like it because it hardened.

the Gulp! baits won't harden if you put them back into the package after you're finished using them; i've had a few packs in one of my tackle boxes for months and opened it up and it's just like new; good luck

vabass1 reply :

I have always wondered what happens to soft plastics when eaten, too.

scaleface reply :

I once caught a bass with a plastic worm hanging out of its behind.

Will V reply :

Most fish die because they can't digest it. Biobait still has 10 percent PVC, harmful for fish and water and Berkley's degrade at temperatures of 60C or above but at that tempreature fish would be dead... not a lot of options out there but hopefully new option will be around soon

Choporoz reply :

On 11/19/2019 at 1:59 AM, Will V said:

hopefully new option will be around soon

Haven't heard .....what is 'soon'?

Perhaps within the next seven years?

WRB reply :

Today's catch and release ethic prevents most bass anglers learning about what is in a basses stomach when cleaning the fish to eat. More bass die from post catch stress when kept in live wells then killed intentionally for food. It's the out of sight mindset, you don't see it but bass mortality still happens.

What do you think would happen if you ate plastisol in a quantity to fill your stomach? We have much higher digestive acids then fish. If the fish can't digest the soft plastic or pass it or spit it out the plastic eventually can kill the fish from starvation.

We all lose soft plastics fishing with it, the bass throughs it when fighting and it becomes available for other fish or critters to eat. If you see it floating pick it up and declared used soft plastics in the trash can, not in the water.

If you feel strongly about the soft plastics killing bass don't use it.

Tom

MAN reply :

Ive seen plastics in redfish and trout almost completely dissolved. Though I don't know how long their stomach has been working at it. As with everything...Eventually non decomposible plastics for fishing will be a thing of the past.

Jermination reply :

seen a ton of this lately from some local heavily pressured lakes. im not sure what else could cause this to the fish other than not being able to digest soft plastics

A-Jay reply :

"Plastics" have changed a bit from the time that this thread originated.

And the OP has been MIA for a couple of months.

Either way, I haven't decided if the change in soft plastic baits has been for the better or worse mortality wise but here's my last encounter with it . . .

A-Jay

scaleface reply :

Last time I went fishing there was some braided line sticking out of a basses anus . I pulled on it and it was stuck pretty good . I finally managed to work out the end of a hook , turned it and the hook popped out .I dont believe I hurt the fish any but who knows .

N Florida Mike reply :

I used to keep a lot of bass and occasionally keep some in the 12-15 inch range to thin the herd and I can’t remember ever seeing a plastic bait while cleaning them.

I caught one that had line coming out the poop hole though.

TriStateBassin106 reply :

I've never had any bass caught with soft plastics inside them, I've caught bass with holes in their jaw from other fishermen catching them, most of the time you'll see a bluegill tail down their throat or they're spit out the remains of a crawdad but I have never seen a senko stuck in a bass's mouth.

On 11/19/2019 at 5:50 AM, Jermination said:

seen a ton of this lately from some local heavily pressured lakes. im not sure what else could cause this to the fish other than not being able to digest soft plastics

that must be a pond management issue, the bass simply aren't getting enough food via baitfish, I fish a very pressured pond nearby my house that I'm always getting snagged on others line and rigs but the bass are always chubby and thick. I've only caught one "thin" bass there and it was a male during the spawn.

MIbassyaker reply :

On 11/19/2019 at 12:19 PM, TriStateBassin106 said:

I've never had any bass caught with soft plastics inside them, I've caught bass with holes in their jaw from other fishermen catching them, most of the time you'll see a bluegill tail down their throat or they're spit out the remains of a crawdad but I have never seen a senko stuck in a bass's mouth.

that must be a pond management issue, the bass simply aren't getting enough food via baitfish, I fish a very pressured pond nearby my house that I'm always getting snagged on others line and rigs but the bass are always chubby and thick. I've only caught one "thin" bass there and it was a male during the spawn.

If you catch one, you'll know it, the signs are pretty clear -- it will look deformed in a particular way: big head, no girth, caved-in belly. It is not always that the bass have plastics coming out of their mouths...it is that they are starving from plastics in their stomachs blocking food. Ironically, they don't look full...in fact, they may have already, before you caught them, thrown up the last few baitfish or craws they tried to eat because their stomachs were blocked.

Here's a smallmouth that should have been well over 3lbs, and was more like 1-2. Caught at a moderately-popular riverside park. Notice how the belly is caved-in slightly:

This fish's belly was so skinny it looked knife-edged. I can't confirm it, but I bet if I cut it open, I would have found a plastic bait or two in its gut. Now look at this one, almost literally the next cast: shorter but heavier, and the belly while not stuffed, at least bulges a bit:

Of course, any skinny fish you catch may be skinny for many reasons -- it just spawned, or it's old and worn out, or hasn't eaten much recently...you don't know for sure that it's caused by plastics until you actually gut the fish, open the stomach, and check. But enough people have examined the stomachs of bass with characteristics like the first one that we can expect that's often what's going on.

EDIT: good article on-site about this:

https://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/skinny-fish.html

Jermination reply :

On 11/19/2019 at 12:19 PM, TriStateBassin106 said:

I've never had any bass caught with soft plastics inside them, I've caught bass with holes in their jaw from other fishermen catching them, most of the time you'll see a bluegill tail down their throat or they're spit out the remains of a crawdad but I have never seen a senko stuck in a bass's mouth.

that must be a pond management issue, the bass simply aren't getting enough food via baitfish, I fish a very pressured pond nearby my house that I'm always getting snagged on others line and rigs but the bass are always chubby and thick. I've only caught one "thin" bass there and it was a male during the spawn.

this isnt from a pond man, its from fort loudon lake on the tennessee river. after the classic was here earlier this year all of east tennessee has turned into bass fisherman and i dont know that there is a fish in the lake that hasnt seen lures this year

On 11/19/2019 at 1:35 PM, MIbassyaker said:

If you catch one, you'll know it, the signs are pretty clear -- it will look deformed in a particular way: big head, no girth, caved-in belly. It is not always that the bass have plastics coming out of their mouths...it is that they are starving from plastics in their stomachs blocking food. Ironically, they don't look full...in fact, they may have already, before you caught them, thrown up the last few baitfish or craws they tried to eat because their stomachs were blocked.

Here's a smallmouth that should have been well over 3lbs, and was more like 1-2. Caught at a moderately-popular riverside park. Notice how the belly is caved-in slightly:

.

This fish's belly was so skinny it looked knife-edged. I can't confirm it, but I bet if I cut it open, I would have found a plastic bait or two in its gut. Now look at this one, almost literally the next cast: shorter but heavier, and the belly while not stuffed, at least bulges a bit:

Of course, any skinny fish you catch may be skinny for many reasons -- it just spawned, or it's old and worn out, or hasn't eaten much recently...you don't know for sure that it's caused by plastics until you actually gut the fish, open the stomach, and check. But enough people have examined the stomachs of bass with characteristics like the first one that we can expect that's often what's going on.

EDIT: good article on-site about this:

https://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/skinny-fish.html

yep--just like the pics i posted earlier. the fish's head are the size of a 3 1/2 but they have zero weight. they are really flabby and just look very unhealthy. Anytime i've ever caught one like this they are always out of the highest pressured lake in my area, fort loudon

Troy85 reply :

Never caught a bass with a soft plastic, but I did catch one with a 1/4oz jighead in its stomach. Jighead appeared to have been in there quite some time, as it was rusted to the point where the eye of the jig was almost completely rusted away. Fish seemed perfectly healthy, had a stomach full of shad in addition to the jighead.

Shimano_1 reply :

I'm sure it's not healthy for the bass. I caught one a cple years ago with about half of a senko hanging out of its behind. I pulled it out and told my dad it was one time the fish probably was happy to be caught. I do like others have said and dont throw any line or lures in the water and I try to pay attention when fishing plastics so they dont completely swallow it before I hook em.

Glenn reply :

As always, BassResource has an article about that too! https://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/skinny-fish.html

Yup, we have the stuff nobody else bothers to talk about because *gasp!* it might upset a sponsor! (cue "serious" music. LOL)

txchaser reply :

I wonder a bit about 6" and 7" senkos and whether they'll fit out the out-door.

punch reply :

I've caught several largemouth over the years that "spit up" old senkos & creature baits when I get them in the boat. I had one that had a massively swelled 5" senko T boned in it's throat one time. I got it out pretty easily but it looked like it's been in there for a while. These fish were still fat and healthy looking and obviously eating (because I caught them).

Fish definitely either die, or have a much harder life after eating one of our plastics. No question about that. All we can do is try to dispose of plastics properly AND use some kind of wacky rigging technique like O rings or tube rings when we senko fish to keep the bait on the line.

Another alternative is to fish like KVD and only use hardbaits! haha

Boomstick reply :

I once saw a video of a bass that got caught and was pooping out a senko, so that can happen but I am not sure what normally happens.

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What Happens To Soft Plastic Eaten 2025

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