|
|
Posts: 100
| A friend and I were perch fishing recently when he thought he was snagged.... To our supprise this so called "snag" started moving, shortly after calling him to the front so we could follow this fish with the boat we landed a 50. I just so happened to have my bump board to measure her and after a seemingly short fight on 4lb line she swam off. We followed the fish for a while to make sure she was gonna make it. Within 5 mins she wouldnt let us near her and would swim away when we crossed the leading edge of her comfort zone. To my curiosity, how many fish do you guys suppose die as a result to fatigue. My question is geared mainly towards the comparison between "other anglers" and musky fisherman. Do you think more fish are killed because of the lack of power to execute a fast release? If so any guestimates on how many more??
(12Craigs50... Nomorevirgin 032.jpg)
(1Craigs50... Nomorevirgin 024.jpg)
(1Craigs50... Nomorevirgin 038.jpg)
Attachments ---------------- 12Craigs50... Nomorevirgin 032.jpg (87KB - 109 downloads) 1Craigs50... Nomorevirgin 024.jpg (22KB - 114 downloads) 1Craigs50... Nomorevirgin 038.jpg (94KB - 106 downloads)
|
|
|
|
Posts: 94
Location: Perham, MN | Awesome fish and on 4lb line!! Congrats |
|
|
|
Posts: 1058
Location: Medford, WI | That fish right there is the reason I musky fish. Look at how beautiful that musky looks! Congrats to the angler and netman (if you had one big enough). Bottom release pic is just priceless! Thank you for sharing the pics.
-Jake |
|
|
|
Posts: 2024
| That is a wicked lookin fish!
As far as your question is concerned, long battles are considered a sub-lethal stressor. It would take a SUPER long battle to kill a fish due solely to fatigue. If a crappie fisherman plays a fish for 45 minutes then cuts his line at the boat not bothering to bring the fish in then the fish is probably OK. It's been in the water the entire time and getting plenty of oxygen to diffuse through its gills. However, huge physiological effects occur when you couple this sub-lethal stressor with another say, air-exposure. Delayed or even initial mortality usually occurs with the accumulation of sub-lethal stressors (air exposure, duration of angling event, hook position, containment, etc.).
Muskie fishermen, on the whole, minimize the severity of these sub-lethal stressors. 80-100 pound test braided line and stiff rods usually dictate a relatively short fight (compared to a medium-light power spinning rod and 8 pound test). Large nets allow the fish to have near or full mobility instead of being cramped or forced into contorted positions as seen in smaller nets used for other species. Finally, most of us keep the fish out of water for less than a minute which is the most important factor in a fish's survival. |
|
|
|
Posts: 1237
Location: South Portsmouth, KY | Finesse fishing muskie style! HAHA |
|
|
|
Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Beautiful fish!! |
|
|
|
Posts: 285
Location: NE Wisconsin | First off. BEAUTIFUL fish!!!! You were concerned about too much stress during the fight with light equipment. Take a look at this video clip. I assume this is a guide on LOW. The fish just lays there before hand landing. Again, I assume it has been played out completely. THEN, it is brought in the boat!!!! Just watch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz66LNKrUPk&mode=related&search= |
|
|
|
| Nice bonus fifty, perch sure taste great but muskies are more fun to catch! |
|
|
|
Posts: 412
Location: Waukesha, WI | no way were you close to stressing 4lbs. Look at those camera angles to make it look like a fifty. j/k
can't argue with fishing for perch and the bonus ski. Congrats. |
|
|
|
Posts: 8781
| Pretty fish! |
|
|
|
Posts: 1636
| beautiful |
|
|
|
Posts: 16632
Location: The desert | I think the only real thing I could say about a fish dying due to a long fight would be if it was a long hard fight which would cause the fish to go into a sort of anaerobic respiration type phase and build up lots of lactic acid. If it burned a lot of energy and is unable to put more on it could be a delayed mortality type of deal....but if you were using 4lb test I doubt that you put a lot of force into fighting the fish, just merely let it do what it wished then landed when able. That fish will b healthy for you to catch in the season! Great fish!! |
|
|
|
| I too, would be curious to know the mortality rate of Muskies caught and released, no matter the stress level. I doubt it could ever accurately be determined. As Jack Burns stated a while back in Esox Angler, he doubts ALL caught fish survive.
Out of 100 Muskies caught on regular Muskie equipment, how many end up swimming in that big pond in the sky? 1? 3? 8? More?
It sure would be interesting to find out, but that's like saying how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Tootsie Pop? The world may never know....... |
|
|
|
Posts: 8781
| Actually Brad, it takes 1138 licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop. (Yes, I actually DID... Figured it would be nice to know something Mr Owl didn't have the patience to figure out) |
|
|
|
Posts: 327
| Pretty fish for sure !!! Looks like I'm gonna have to start trolling my kids mister twisters !!! |
|
|
|
| Jeff, you must have a lot of free time. Ha ha. |
|
|
|
Posts: 8781
| LOL, I did 30 years ago!! |
|
|
|
| did you happen to get a girth measurement or weight. I wonder how close that fish is to a 4lb line class record. |
|
|
|
Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | Wow, nice fish. Must have been something on 4 pound test! I bet she will be fine. If you were In WI or MN, or somewhere else where the water was cool I would say it would be fine without a doubt. Great job.
curleytail |
|
|
|
Posts: 201
Location: Stevens Point | Very nice fish. |
|
|
|
Posts: 100
| Thanks for the kind words guys, I thought she was fine with out a doubt. Craig, the guy whom I was fishing with on the other hand was a bit of a different story. It was pretty cool to be part of his first 50. Granted it didnt come the "right"way it was still a 50! I did not girth the fish, however I would have had to guess somewhere right at 23, I could be wrong however. I did look at IGFA's line class records and they had something for 4lb line at like 12lbs for Muskies, the data may not have been correct but either way the fish was a pretty cool experience. |
|
|
|
Posts: 785
| Nice job, and thanks to the angler for a good release. If more walleye/bass/panfisherman here in Iowa would release those "accidental" catches the fisher would be a lot better. I helped a guy out the other day with a 38"er and thanked him up and down for releasing it and how much more deserving is a guy that lets a 50" swim free. To answer your question nobody knows for sure but if a fish swims off strong I'd be willing to bet that it is going to be just fine.
congrats |
|
|
|
| I would expect that a long battle with a fish like this probably wouldn't be a problem so long as the water temperatures are acceptable. If you got into a warm water situation in which the fish was already under considerable stress you might find that the long battle and handling during release were enough to put the fish "over the edge". Cold water is fine, warm water, watch out!
Jed V. |
|
|