Lake trout mortality

[Andre wallyandre]

https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Laker+Mortality+Higher+Than+Thought.-a0527620763?fbclid=IwAR3PxQE5BgRGVvzZzurbtlfsHJKlscCoaUsM3R5tnelKKrjUStyo9jyk2mQ

[HB2]

 Not good news .

 

But I am not surprised . 

[NymphO]

Interesting read. It's obvious there will be a greater chance of death with C&R but they don't really say it's going to affect the population enough to be worried. So, only target Lakers when the surface temps are similar to the bottom so they have a higher survival rate ?

[rolmops]

If you target lakers for catch and release, use barb-less hooks ,get your hands wet before you touch them and always support the fish when you take a pic, never have them hang vertical. Those are the things that count. A better idea is to not target the slimy poopers.

[Andre wallyandre]

I thinkit may be less a problem on Lake Ontario because they stock year after year so the impact is probably less.

[whaler1]

I read that in ten years all that’s going to be left in the lake will be lake trout and rocks. From what I read the rocks are doomed.


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[GAMBLER]

There are a ton of factors that make these numbers higher or lower.  Not horsing them up keeps them from blowing up and not being able to return to the cold water they need.  Proper methods like burping need to be used to help increase survival. 

[Ready or Knot]

Gambler

When you say burping are you talking about sticking them with a needle to fizz off the pressure in bladder from barotrauma ? Have you ever tried putting them back down to depth on rigger with a release clip and so you feel that this would help them?

Thx

[GAMBLER]

No.  Fizzing is different.  To burp a laker, flip it on its back and run your thumbs from its lower belly towards its mouth applying slight pressure.  This will push the air out of them so they do not struggle to go back down.  I have never put them on a clip on the rigger to send them back.  If you get all the air out, they go back down quickly.  Sometimes you can watch them go back down on the fish finder. 

[Sk8man]

Burping them would be preferred over "fizzing".  I have long suspected that sticking a needle into the bladder (although done by many folks for years including me during my stillfishing days) probably only led to later death of the fish because if you think about it making a hole in the bladder probably takes time to heal (if ever). If the fish is using the bladder to control its ability to descend to depth and ascend it probably affects about everything it does (e.g. feeding, navigating etc.) and when released they may descend but also may possibly go right to the bottom too....who knows...

Edited May 10, 2019 by Sk8man

[Andre wallyandre]

If you read the article you will see that the burping is not the major problem but the temp of the water is the major cause of the mortality.

[Sk8man]

1 hour ago, wallyandre said:

If you read the article you will see that the burping is not the major problem but the temp of the water is the major cause of the mortality.

Yep, but also good to be aware of other factors as well so the other comments fit the situation too Thanks for posting the article by the way.

Edited May 10, 2019 by Sk8man

[Ready or Knot]

Yes.  Thanks to all for the imput on this. None of us are out to kill fish just as an incidental catch. We want them all to survive when released to catch again this week or next.

[Silver Fox]

So now I have to give those slime balls a massage?!?!?!? I don't even give my wife one!

No.  Fizzing is different.  To burp a laker, flip it on its back and run your thumbs from its lower belly towards its mouth applying slight pressure.  This will push the air out of them so they do not struggle to go back down.  I have never put them on a clip on the rigger to send them back.  If you get all the air out, they go back down quickly.  Sometimes you can watch them go back down on the fish finder. 

Silverfoxcharters.net

[Ready or Knot]

No wonder you are in the doghouse and he is on the couch !  Lmao.  Sorry but had to throw it out there. 😀

[horsehunter]

So I wonder why mortality was much greater for Huron than Superior given the same water temperatures.Yet they were similar between 50 and 60

[ifishy]

the study makes  the conclusion that mortality is the only thing affecting re-catch rates.  where there is likely increased mortality there is also the very real possibility a fish caught once is less likely to be caught again with the same technique especially if the first time was recent or overly stressful

[HB2]

I read the report like 3 times . Sounds to me they did a pretty comprehensive study to come to their conclusions . 

 Now this is only one study , but if it is not completely accurate ,  it's more right than wrong  IMO.  

The funny thing is I kind of already knew that hauling a fish up from 100 ft down through water warmer than their key temp was not really good for them . 

Toss in the longer lines now all the rage which probably adds to the problem . 

 

 I guess it's up to us as fisherman to decide how we want to deal with this . 

 

The answer is maybe more salmon, steelhead , Atlantic's ,and Brown stocks . 

[Traveling Circus]

It would be interesting to see similar reports for Steelhead and Salmon. 

[quality time]

I have tried different methods over the years. I found reeling the fish slow and steady gives the fish time to release air from the air bladder. Next if you can remove the hook without bringing the fish in the boat works best. My second method if the fish is for a derby would be Boga style grips. I have a 100 quart cooler full of water. I keep ice in the water to keep the water cool. Do not use bagged ice because it has chlorine in it. I have well water but if you only have city water at home keep some plastic jugs with frozen water in them. Do not fill them all the way as it will break the jug. I will often put fish in the cooler to rest before I release them. I have kept fish during derbies all day weighed them in and released them with no harm. They take off like rocket ships after a rest. The biggest damage I have seen on fish were fish that are netted. It removes protective slim, and they bang around on the bottom of the boat. The less you touch them the better. I always keep a fish to eat and I watch for any fish that are gill hooked. These fish bleed out in short order. I saw an article by one of the people that was tagging the fish. He marked in his records one fish that was caught on a hot day and floated on top after the release. He thought that was for sure going to die but it was caught a couple years later. Bottom line is we will always have some mortality but  if we handle them with respect and care many will make it. Of concern to me is that I have caught 3 Lakers in the last year that had plastic worms in their guts. They can not pass the plastic.   Wes

[BillM]

13 hours ago, ifishy said:

the study makes  the conclusion that mortality is the only thing affecting re-catch rates.  where there is likely increased mortality there is also the very real possibility a fish caught once is less likely to be caught again with the same technique especially if the first time was recent or overly stressful

 

Yeah, that's a big big assumption lol.   Personally I make sure the fish burps itself before it's brought into the boat.  If I don't see air bubbles, it stays 10-15ft down until I do.  Also no grips or vertical holds and I usually dive bomb them back in.   I haven't had a floater that I can remember and usually see them back down to the bottom on the graph in no time.   

[Ready or Knot]

2x. On not netting fish and bringing into boat. I have for sure seen less issues with fish that are released at boatside.

[GAMBLER]

Using cowbells allows them to come up slower and release the air. Other methods, they come up too quick and fill up and can’t release. I have caught a lot of Lakers over the years that had hook holes in their mouths, ripped gills, and lures in their mouths.


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[Sk8man]

7 hours ago, HB2 said:

 

 I guess it's up to us as fisherman to decide how we want to deal with this . 

 

The answer is maybe more salmon, steelhead , Atlantic's ,and Brown stocks . 

Each of the species mentioned is temperature and pressure sensitive as well. In the end we need to do the best job we can for ANY released fish and hope for the best.No matter what method used it won't be foolproof in every situation with every fishbut at least if the fish is lost it is not due to "wonton waste".

[Andre wallyandre]

I bring the fish slowly and I use a musky craddle net so I don't have to handle the fish out of the water to release it and I don't keep any except for the smaller one once in a while.