Quinte Fishing

I too took a fish last year with the bends,it did not survive and we filleted it that night. This year I had a large fish die after netting without the bends,I spent 30 minutes trying to revive the fish in the livewell and along side the boat.Never saw a fish just keel like that.We also filleted that fish.I read if you target smallies from over 30ft down,they have the same problem.One answer is too stay above the 35ft.level in my opinion.I'd like to hear from Targa 2 on this subject if you would add some insight on your experiences with this. roughrider

[rant]

Technically speaking, it's not "The Bends". The Bends is a SCUBA divers' disorder caused by depressurization too quickly after having dived deep. When you're diving deep and breathing compressed air [composed mostly of nitrogen with a bit of oxygen] the nitrogen dissolves in your bloodstream. If you surface too quickly after too long underwater, the nitrogen will form bubbles in your bloodstream, and if you get a bubble in the wrong place [usually your brain] it will kill you. Or make you an idiot.

And if you check out the Bay of Quinte on a blustery December day, you may conclude that there are one or two of us who dove too deep and surfaced too quickly.

The disorder you describe in the fish is much easier to treat since it has nothing to do with the fish's bloodstream. It's just the air bladder. As the pressure reduces, the bladder expands. The solution to the problem is to bring the fish up slowly.

If you catch a fish "down deep" - not sure what that really means - just bring him up slowly. Yeah, they say for catch and release fishing, you should try to land him quickly so he doesn't get tired, but this is an exception to the rule.

I have never - NEVER - had this problem with a fish in Quinte. Then again, I don't fish as deep as some of you guys do, however that is about to change! My dad and I have pulled up quite a number of big-ass lake trout from the depths of Lake Athabasca, generally from the sixty- to ninety-foot range. We brought these fish up slowly, and never once created the problem with the air bladders you describe. I'm sure there's a technical name for it other than The Bends, but I s'pose for now that'll do.

Bring your fish up slowly, and it should be OK. In the event that the fish's air bladder does come out of his mouth, I think the best advice would be to pop it with a fishhook, and use your fingers to deflate it. I am a Wall Doctor, not a Fish Doctor, and I can't tell you what sort of survival rate a fish with a deflated bladder would have, but I can tell you this much:

He has a better chance of surviving if you pop the bladder and release him, than you do if you keep him and eat him.

This being said, for the most part, big fish from the Bay Of Quinte don't taste very good. It breaks my heart to see the charter boats come in, bringing in these 12-pounders. I understand that for the most part, their clients probably don't fish all that often, and perhaps have never caught a fish that big, and understandably want to keep it.

But us guys here are different - we don't need to do that. We should know these big fish taste crummy, and we should also understand that it's best to release them to live to fight another day.

To you guys who are looking for a 15-pounder to mount, look no further than the 10- or 12-pounder in your hand that you are considering keeping. Today's 10-pounder is tomorrow's 16.

I disagree emphatically with mouting a trophy fish for any reason, other than you accidentally killed him with a gill hook. Replicas are better looking by far. Yeah, they're more expensive, but isn't the Fish Of A Lifetime worth saving, so that you can catch him again next year when he's that much bigger?

[/rant]

And if you're still looking for a fifteen-pounder, here's one for you - Paulette's 15 pound 12 ouncer:



Believe it or not, this was the first fish of the day, and being a gentleman [or just plain stupid, according to Neil] I gave away the Fish Of A Lifetime to a girl I met for the first time that morning!

Sheesh.

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Self-unemployed and available for fishin' mid-week most days.

I'm 99 % sure you have to release the fish. The thinking behind it being that then everyone would start claiming that the fish was deep hooked or had the bends or whatever just to keep the fish. It's a shame but it's part of the cycle of life. Last year, a buddy in another boat caught a slot fish that wasn't going to survive and he had to let her go. It wasn't going to waste as seagulls decended on it within minutes and began feeding on it. C'est la vie eh?





Pete, I believe the term your friend was looking for was "horny"

cheers
Ken

Hey! I resemble that comment!

But like I said, I'm not a fish doctor, though I seem to recall playing doctor with Paulette a bit.... She was cute, but it didn't make up for giving away that fish!

Sheesh.

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Self-unemployed and available for fishin' mid-week most days.

Hi all.
There is an answer to this problem of deep fish. I fish 3 tournements in Northwestern Ontario and Manitoba, and one that my partner fishes. The first is in Dryden in June. A deep fish in Dryden is about 15 ft so no problem. the second is in Minaki where my partner fishes, big problem. These tournemnets are live release and a very respected biologist inspects each fish to determine if it is live, stressed, or dead. stressed fish get royal treatment from chemical additives to the water or just plain stroking, or both. Dead fish feed the locals. Live fish are released. Generally in Minaki the fish are deep, up to 50 ft. Red Lake is next in August also fish in the 50 ft to 6 ft range. The technique taught to us by this biologist and other circuit fisherman is primarily called fizzing. You take a needle, I buy mine at a store that caters to farmers. this needle should be at least 2 inches long. The needle is inserted 4 scales up from the anus and 4 scales forward of the anus at a 45 degree angle towards the head and opposite side of the fish. when the needle hits the air bag you will hear the air coming out. The idea is not to let all the air get out, only enough to see the fish float upright. If the fish sinks to bottom and is still upright too much air has been released but it still has a good chance of survival. We are talking about big fish that seldom get caught in a tournement so I would think a 3 inch needle would be better. This biologist I am talking about actually made a tool for this that is about 5 inches long and has a valve in it so you can take a little air out at a time.
The other technique that we use on deep fish is to put a snap weight on the forward bottom fins,( Can't recall the proper name), and let them sit in the well for awhile, this gives them time to allow their bladders to adjust to the new barometric pressure. We also allow the water to flow into the livewell unrestricted not airrated and the fish tend to want to sit upright into the flow. It seems to me the key is to get the fish to suspend in the well in the upright position for awhile till it is able to recover from the depths. The way to test this is not to just give any fish the needle. First take a fish that you are going to keep. When you fillet it have a good look where the air bladder is and make a note. Then the next time you are out choose a fish you will keep anyway, then try the needle technique and the weight technique to practice. Do this over and over again on fish you are going to keep till you get competent and remember that if the needle goes in wrong you can and will do enough damage to the fish that it will die regardless of it swimming away.
We have yet to have a fish called stressed or dead at weigh in.
I must state emphatically that I am not an expert or in any way sure that the fish lives on after I have given it to the weigh master, but I do know a fish that bellys immediately can be mustered for 8 hours.
The fourth is in Pinefalls MB in Oct. the water is cold and the fish at 20 feet to 6 ft usually so no special technique.
There was one reply about lake trout. It is my understanding that lake trout can adjust much quicker than walleyes but I could be wrong.
I would truly love to catch fish in the 10 foot range but realistically that doesn't happen to often. I hope I haven't offended anyone, I do think of the fish first.
There is of course one way to make sure a fish doesn't die but that would require me to hang my pole where the fibreglass trophy is supposed to hang. I am supposed to come to Quinte this weekend for the first time.My wife and another couple are coming for our 17th aniversary, and I am looking to catch the big one my partner allways lets me use the net on.
I am pretty sure my wife will catch the big one but as I understand it what's mine is hers and what's hers is mine, so I'll call it mine.
Cheers Clark

Clark,
I was going to add a post regarding fizzing but you've done an excellent job. Generally as others have said just take your time when you have a fish on and it will be fine. Good Luck on your trip here and let us know how the girls made out.

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Dan Elliot - A bad day on Quinte is better than a good day at work !!!
http://www.quintefishing.com

Personally I hate "sticking" fish....but sometimes it is the only thing that works. If the fish are left too long with you can actually see the blood collect under their gills as they quickly suffocate.

There were some delayed mortality studies published by In-fisherman a while ago which actually indicated that fizzing had a very high mortality rate, primarily because of inexperience. They found that often times anglers unknowingly damaged vital organs during the fizzing due to needles that were too long or inserted at too sharp of an angle.
Like it has been said, it requires practice to properly stick a fish.

I prefer to use the weights during tournaments as a first option, but I do and will stick fish that are baddly bloated.

And back to the Original issue of keeping Big fish.......you guys should fish Erie more often.....a good size "eater" is 8 lb. I keep a few each year and so do some of my customers, it is part of why I enjoy fishing (I like to eat fish) selective harvest is the key.

Shawn Hannah

Shawn writes, "And back to the Original issue of keeping Big fish.......you guys should fish Erie more often.....a good size "eater" is 8 lb. I keep a few each year and so do some of my customers, it is part of why I enjoy fishing (I like to eat fish) selective harvest is the key".
Shawn, I do fish Erie and unfortunately when walleye fishing was good for a few years, I saw guys keeping limit after limit, freezer full after freezer full. MANY guys were keeping all of the fish that they were catching. I think the message needs to continue to get out there - "return more than you take". I have said before on more than one occasion that I was appalled last November at Quinte by the number of large fish that I saw taken - I just don't get it I guess. I think we need to continue to push catch and release because some just don't seem to get the "keep a few and release most" message. And with all of the excellent information that some of the regulars give on this Board, I wonder how long it will be before the fall fishing at Quinte will be in jeopordy. I think we should do everything we can to protect the world class fishing that Quinte has in late fall. I would love to see game wardens at every launch when boats are pulling out!