Feeling Awful 2024
Bucketmouth King reply :
Hey guys. Yesterday I caught a 3.5 lb bass that wasnt hooked too deep. Not in the lip but not down in the throat either. Before I even had her landed I asked my partner to grab the scale and make sure it was powered on. She did. I had her out of the water less than 20 seconds for hook removal, weight, a second look of admiration and released. Only to see her float. I waded in, shook her, dunked her, moved her around but nothing. She would kick her tail every couple minutes but never did swim away. What would cause this? She was in less than 3' of water when hooked, and only out of water for 20 sec at most. Ive felt terrible since and I dont want to kill anymore fish if I can help it.
Shanes7614 reply :
Water temps, length of figth could be a couple factors.
paleus reply :
If you hooked it in the roof of the mouth, in just the right spot, you could have injured the brain. Or maybe it was just a sick fish to begin with. It happens, there's plenty of fish in the sea/lake/river. It won't go to waste, it'll be a good meal for a turtle. Circle of life.
Bucketmouth King reply :
Note: there were a few drops of blood from the gills. Not much at all. Ive had fish bleed a hell of a lot worse and swim right off when released. Ive also had fish out of water much longer and had them swim away fine. I just dont get it.
Josh Smith reply :
I killed one early last year. It tried to swallow a Yum Dinger.
Though I cut the line at the hook, it didn't survive. I still feel a bit bad, but as was said, it's the circle of life.
I have seen fish that I thought were dead "come back to life" and swim off after resting.
Josh
d-camarena reply :
It happens, couple days ago i had a fish swallow the hook. The piont and barb were in his stomach. I did quick surgery and he swam off just fine. I keep telling my self that he survived. I waited too long to set the hook
Catt reply :
I've watched very talented biologist save severely injured fish and then lose fish that appeared unharmed...it happens
BassinLou reply :
It happens. Sucks... no doubt about it. Move on. Sometimes these things happen. I keep the fish and give it to a bucket fisherman. The fish will not go to waste.
boostr reply :
I have not have it happen to me yet, but if it does it is what it is. Like everybody else says it won't go to waste, the cat fish will eat it, or gator, or turtle or raccoon, or.....
Ratherbfishing reply :
If you feel AWFUL about injuring/killing the occassional fish, maybe you ought to switch to photography. It's going to happen from time to time-no matter how careful you are. As long as the fish is harvested/eaten, you shouldn't, IMO, even feel bad about it. Heck, you might even find yourself ENJOYING the meal and deliberately keeping some fish.
I do feel bad when a badly injured fish HAS to be released (by regulation) but as BOOSTR said, even that fish won't go to waste. SOMETHING will make a meal of it.
stkbassn reply :
I think it's natural for most fisherman to feel this way even though we know that losing that fish isn't a drop on the grand scheme of things bucket. I think it just says that you have compassion and are a good person in general. You care about and respect nature. Better to feel that way than feel nothing at all I'd say. I always hate to see it happen and it's happened a few times over the years that I've been fishing. I once spent an hour trying to revive a striper that someone had broke off and it had gotten tangled up with the line in a large tree. I finally got the fish back to where it needed to be and seeing it finally swim off felt amazing. Keep on keeping on sir!
blckshirt98 reply :
Sometimes I feel bad that I feed the bass so much plastic. Maybe a bait company should make a soft plastic that actually doubles up as actual food to the bass!
wnybassman reply :
We kill more fish than we think.
Raul reply :
Dear mrs fishing casualty bass let me introduce you to mr frying pan, we'll have a nice dinner !
Alonerankin2 reply :
I'm with Raul.. Fry the dag gone fish.. Let the turtles eat it, in other words get over it..
Or, don't ..
Raul reply :
On 7/10/2015 at 6:28 AM, Alonerankin2 said:I'm with Raul.. Fry the dag gone fish.. Let the turtles eat it, in other words get over it..
Or, don't ..
3.5 lbs of bass is like what ? 2.5 lbs of fillets ? ..... Heck, the turtles or a cat can have the carcass cuz 2.5 lbs of flesh is just too much for the critters to have, I'm having it, fish n'chips and I'm not even English !
Alonerankin2 reply :
On 7/10/2015 at 6:33 AM, Raul said:3.5 lbs of bass is like what ? 2.5 lbs of fillets ? ..... Heck, the turtles or a cat can have the carcass cuz 2.5 lbs of flesh is just too much for the critters to have, I'm having it, fish n'chips and I'm not even English !
Yea man! Fried bass, yummy in my tummy..
Fish sounds good for dinner tonight!
chadmack282 reply :
On 7/10/2015 at 6:33 AM, Raul said:3.5 lbs of bass is like what ? 2.5 lbs of fillets ? ..... Heck, the turtles or a cat can have the carcass cuz 2.5 lbs of flesh is just too much for the critters to have, I'm having it, fish n'chips and I'm not even English !
LOL!!!
Neil McCauley reply :
Bass can have heart attacks/strokes, too.
MIbassyaker reply :
If the fish is a goner, keep it, eat it for dinner, and save the life of a chicken instead.
Killing fish bothers me too when I am unable or unwilling to eat them. But literally everything you and I do in our lives has an impact on some members of some species, somewhere. If you take up space, eat food, move around, and use energy, here in the world, you are --directly and indirectly-- causing death and injury to untold numbers of wild and domesticated animals every day. The life of a sport fish, especially one that is not a member of an endangered species, is not special in this regard.
Occasionally killing and seriously injuring a fish is simply an unavoidable cost of fishing, in the similar way that occasional roadkill is an unavoidable cost of driving. It's alright to feel bad, but don't apologize for your angling activities; instead, consider compensating by giving something back: donate some of your time and money to conservation efforts; A little environmental cleanup and habitat restoration can save the lives of countless organisms, more than making up for the few lives of bass you've taken here and there.
massrob reply :
I went fishing this morning and found a bunch of dead pickerel on the ground. I know people hate them and I don't really like them either. But I just don't know how people can just throw a fish on the ground to let it die. Everytime I hurt a fish I feel bad I don't think I could ever just throw one on the ground.
Josh Smith reply :
It bites when I do that to a 13.5" bass, when to legally keep it, it must be 14".
It's the waste I don't like. I don't generally kill useful animals without using them.
Josh
Ski213 reply :
Nothing wrong with feeling a little bad about it but don't beat yourself up.
On 7/9/2015 at 10:42 PM, Shanes7614 said:Water temps, length of figth could be a couple factors.
I've found those to be the biggest factors in my experience. When its hot I try to get them in the boat and back as fast as possible. I've had fish that would absolutely not do anything but float up for no clear reason that ended up swimming off after I worked with them for a minute or two holding them down and working some water over their gills. Doesn't always work but I'd say I'm batting about .800 with that technique. I think Glenn did an article on how to revive them awhile back on here.
A-Jay reply :
Swing for the fences on a hookset but bum out when it dies ? ? ?
It happens - you'll be OK.
We lost one today - but it fed an eagle.
Best part is we had a front row seat for the swoop & snag.
Got it on video too.
A-Jay
wytstang reply :
Nothing goes to waste when mother nature is involved, something will and has eaten that bass. I only feel bad for a lil bit but I know something now has a meal.
Josh Smith reply :
Why aren't the laws written such that a bass can be kept if it's a minimum of X inches or too wounded to survive/killed in the fight?
I don't know that I've ever fought a fish to death. They wear out before they die, generally.
Josh
Ski213 reply :
On 7/10/2015 at 9:35 PM, Josh Smith said:Why aren't the laws written such that a bass can be kept if it's a minimum of X inches or too wounded to survive/killed in the fight?
I don't know that I've ever fought a fish to death. They wear out before they die, generally.
Josh
I'd say its due to the fact that a small number of people would abuse that law and intentionally injure under size fish so they could keep them.
HoosierHawgs reply :
On 7/10/2015 at 4:15 AM, blckshirt98 said:Sometimes I feel bad that I feed the bass so much plastic. Maybe a bait company should make a soft plastic that actually doubles up as actual food to the bass!
That would be live bait..... I think a better way to go is make biodegradable plastic baits. Never heard of anyone making those, anybody know of any?
Bob C reply :
On 7/10/2015 at 6:21 AM, Raul said:Dear mrs fishing casualty bass let me introduce you to mr frying pan, we'll have a nice dinner !
That's what I'd do. I really don't understand how people can be so worried about a fish when on every cast they could kill one. It's a fish, or dinner, or both.
Turtle135 reply :
I seem to have that happen once a season during the warm water period. I know catch and release largely works as I caught one 4 pounder three times over the course of one particular season. So I be as careful as I can handling them and if one dies I prepare that one just as carefully for dinner.
CeeJay reply :
On 7/10/2015 at 10:19 PM, jakob1010 said:That would be live bait..... I think a better way to go is make biodegradable plastic baits. Never heard of anyone making those, anybody know of any?
Berkley Gulp baits are biodegradable. There was another one...Food Source Lures(?) or something like that. It is/was made of actual digestible food I believe.
blckshirt98 reply :
On 7/10/2015 at 10:19 PM, jakob1010 said:That would be live bait..... I think a better way to go is make biodegradable plastic baits. Never heard of anyone making those, anybody know of any?
I believe Gulp is biodegradable!
Edit: Whoops, didn't even see the post just before this!
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