Russell 8-7 or How'd it survive?

[LongLine]

Fishing Report LongLine

Got a late start at the river this morning.

Winds out of the north, switching to west. Slight chop. (maybe 1 ½ ft’rs – just enough to make flying solo a challenge) Put in at 165 off Russell, worked out to 260, round & about then back in to 140FOW.

1 bow about 8 Lbs & 3 little guys. All clean fish.

How did this one ever survive? Both gills cut and both healed over. A wild fish? (I doubt it) About 14/16†long.

Believe it or not, even though a little bloody, (caught on a treble) he revived & swam away.

54F at 80 down over 140, 120 down at 200 and 85 down at 250. Strange up and down temps. Everything off rigg’rs. Purple DWSS, 2.8-3.0. Lots of broken up bait pods 180-210FOW. Couldn’t find any big ones though.

Talked to DEC who were taking Angler survey. Out at 11:30.

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[Pike Hunter]

Thanks for sharing a good report.

Talk about handicapped fish!

[LongLine]

PH - I'm really curious how this fish got injured and how it survived. No other marks on it. A lot of guys say that hook injuries or even fin clipping kill the fish & we need to be so careful about C&R. This little beast had both gill plates gone and healed over, so it wasn't just a recent thing. Guess they're just hardier than we can imagine.

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[FISHBANDIT]

We caught 3 fish this year with identical scars, like the fish in your picture?? They all survive to grow and fight another day as well.

[choo-choo]

Nice report Tom, and nice pictures....That is one tough little fish... I can't believe he/she didn't develop a fungus or something with the gills exposed like that. I've always heard how delicate the gills are ,and how easy it is to kill a fish if their gills are damaged....but i guess exposed gills to the elements does't mean a dead fish.....I hope you catch him/her again in a couple of years as a 30 lber !!! Thanks again for all your reports, info and pictures....steve