Fizzing

[lconn4]

Until this weekend I'd never had an occassion to fizz a bass but caught a good one and after a quick pic I let it go and it stayed on top on its side. Didn't think I'd taken any longer than usual to get pic and the fish wasn't gut hooked. Acted frisky in the water and so I just gave it another push and sent it on its way. Watched it dive down and come right back up on other side of kayak. Now I'm concerned. Grab the fish, work it back and forth, stay with it for at least 5 minutes and give it another push, back it comes. Try a fourth time and fish disappears and I'm glad as I'm anxious to get back to fishing. No sooner have I gone back to fishing it surfaces just as one of the only boats I've seen all day passes. I'm embarrassed. Go back and pick it up again...I don't carry a needle but I know this fish needs help. Felt like I needed to burp it or something, could'nt decide what to do so I just held it deeper in the water and realized how much air that thing had in it. That fish floated up like a ballon. Ended up spending over half an hour trying to get the thing off the surface and out of sight. My last effort resulted in it cruising along its merry way...on the surface but upright. I watched it for another 5 minutes until it finally disappeared, believe me it didn't surface anywhere near me but it got me to thinking about what caused this one fish (caught in about 15 feet of water) to have such a problem when others don't.

Found this video on line for those that aren't familiar with the term but wanted to know if anyone carries a needle and how often you have used it.

[ecu daniel 14]

very interesting video and idea. ive never heard of fizzing before. ive also never had problems releasing any fish after i caught it. maybe I am missing something, but they always look fine after i realease them back into the water. Maybe they swim away fast and healthy looking, but in reality they are running away from me with a bloated air bladder? Interesting, I am going to look more into this. Thanks for the post.

[Doogie]

Was stationed in Southern California, and fished in a couple different clubs there. A lot of the California tournamemts are fished in what I, as a Virginia boy, consider to be extremely deep water. I remember one day, I was a backseater in a boat and the boaters method of the day was working spoons about 80' down for fish that were suspending in almost 300' of water. Now this is a little extreme, but it explains why almost everyone who fished the club circuits out there learned to fizz.

I'd strongly encourage anyone who fishes deep water (30' or more) on a regular basis to learn this technique. You can get the fizzing needles at Wal-Mart, but seeing it first-hand is the best way to learn. The video above shows a great way to determine the proper position for the needle.

If you ever have a fish that needs to be fizzed (like lconn4 did), and you don't have the needle or the training, here's another option. Use a heavy weight - 3oz should be plenty (a lure retriever would be perfect), and attach a metal stringer to it. Open up one of the stringers hooks, and stick it into the fish's jaw (like you were going to take it home for supper), but don't close the hook. Use the weight to pull the fish under water to the depth you were fishing when you caught the fish. Once the fish is back to that depth, the pressure will return to normal inside the fish. You may feel him start to fight you. At that point, just jiggle the line, so that the stringer comes loose, and the fish will be fine.

[lconn4]

ecu Daniel " ive also never had problems releasing any fish after i caught it. maybe I am missing something, but they always look fine after i realease them back into the water."

That was the first time for me in fresh water, ecu Daniel...when it happens one time you'll be able to identify it immediately the next time. The fish was extra bouyant.


Doogie:
"If you ever have a fish that needs to be fizzed (like lconn4 did), and you don't have the needle or the training, here's another option. Use a heavy weight - 3oz should be plenty (a lure retriever would be perfect), and attach a metal stringer to it. Open up one of the stringers hooks, and stick it into the fish's jaw (like you were going to take it home for supper), but don't close the hook. Use the weight to pull the fish under water to the depth you were fishing when you caught the fish. Once the fish is back to that depth, the pressure will return to normal inside the fish. You may feel him start to fight you. At that point, just jiggle the line, so that the stringer comes loose, and the fish will be fine."

Good to know Doogie, I like that method better than the hole punching one.

Does anyone know why it doesn't occur in all bass at a certain depth?

[Doogie]

Does anyone know why it doesn't occur in all bass at a certain depth?

To put it in a very basic way, because I'm certainly no marine biologist; it's the same as a SCUBA diver surfacing. If you exhale on the way up, nothing happens. Hold your breath as you surface, and you will explode your lungs.

If the fish has time enough during the fight to release the gasses from it's swim bladder, no problem. Usually you will see this swim bladder problem if you bring the fish up very quickly. Since we were tournament fishing, we didn't waste any time getting those fish to the boat.

My SCUBA skills are so rusty that I'll probably get the math wrong, but I believe every 15 feet equals one atmosphere (twice the pressure); so from 15 feet to the surface isn't really that noticeable to a fish (or human), but from 30, 45, or 60, it gets progressively worse.

This is also why SCUBA divers have to make decompression stops after deep dives. It allows the gases in the blood and organ tissues time to expand as well. Come up to quickly and you get the "bends."

If you've ever gone deep sea fishing, this is especially noticeable. I remember catching fish deep in the saltwater, and by the time they got to the surface, their eyes were bulging, and their swim bladder had expanded so far it was pushing the stomach right out of it's mouth.

[ecu daniel 14]

there is some excellent info here.

maybe ive released most of my fish with bloated bladders and havent realized it. I am kinda excited to catch some bass this weekend and pay more attention to this. I always thought i was releasing the fish properly after being revived, but come to think of it, sometimes they do feel more "floaty" then others.

[flyfisher]

I have also never fished deep enough to worry about the whole float bladder thing. I have read some articles though that indicate that if not done properly there is pretty much a 0% chance of survival.

[lconn4]

Just wondering if it might be caused by the way I fight fish. I've always tried to minimize jumps by any fish by giving them their head at the first sign of them coming up. I do the same thing with tarpon and snook. That particular bass never came close to jumping as it turned and went right back down as soon as I let up on it and then fought it to the surface right next to the kayak and it was done. I thought later that maybe the jumping might allow it to expel any excess air in its bladder. Any one know for sure if that could have caused it?