AIM Series Rules question

[v193]

Just a question with the AIM format and the Catch and Release aspect. Is there a rule, or should there be a rule, that fishing must be done within a certain depth? Recently I know fish have been coming out of some deeper water. With the survival rate of a fish caught deep being very low and the numbers of fish caught during an AIM event. How many fish are sent back to the depths dead? I know it would be hard to enforce but for the sake of the resource should this be happening, or is it happening? I know that the regular weekend warrior gets slammed for keeping "too big of fish" but how many people fish deep or late in the year and kill literally hundreds of fish especially during tournaments?? When I fish deep if its 13" or 26" it goes in the box and after 5 I'm done and get back with 5 dead fish in the livewell. Just looking for peoples opinions on the subject? There is an AIM event coming up in July out of Parshall and I would bet a good deep bite is going to yield a TON of dead fish on the Sakakawea floor.

 

[SDMF]

The tournament will yield fewer dead fish than a slot limit would........

And I hate tournaments.

 

[eyexer]

In my 45 years of fishing I’ve had virtually no issues returning fish that have been caught in 30-35’ of water. If they’re stressed you have to know how to bring them back. This includes pulling cranks down to those depths 180’ behind the boat. This really isn’t a concern. When you start talking 50’ plus depths then yea it could be an issue. It also matters how fast you bring fish in at that depth.

 

[jdinny]

i was also wondering the mortality of big fish specially bigger fishing those depths. we put back a 26" this Friday that came from 33ft he seemed to be fine on the release but wondered if those fish make it or not.
i have personally seen air bladders out on smaller fish from as shallow as 25ft ( granted my young sons reeled them up so no finesse in that game)

 

[eyexer]

I released a 27.5” fish couple weeks ago that came from 34’. He came up really slow. Was tired when he got to the boat. Took a few minutes for him to come around and then swam away great. I have no doubt that fish will be just fine.

 

[Downrigger]

Some of those fish that swim off still die. Go look a day later on the windy shore and they are sometimes there. But, I know the percent that live in a kill tournament.....
i don't feel a need to limit the depth. Some will make it, some wont. No different than a normal weekend of people fishing.

 

[NDSportsman]

Eliminate tournaments = problem solved

 

[cooter00]

:;:deadhorse:;:deadhorse:;:deadhorse same shit every year

 

[Wallike]

And I hate tournaments.

I do now after hearing how many walleye were caught and fried up at the Mobridge tournament!

 

[628977]

I do now after hearing how many walleye were caught and fried up at the Mobridge tournament!

But there arent any big walleye in Oahe.

 

[Kurtr]

I do now after hearing how many walleye were caught and fried up at the Mobridge tournament!

haha ten times as much are killed and fried up every day. boat ramps are packed every day

 

[espringers]

i think the bigger ones have an ability to keep their bladders under control more than the smaller ones. i can't ever remember seeing a big one with its air bladder exposed or struggle to swim away. hows about big water fishing... like erie, superior, peck, etc... for trout and salmon and the like? those fish come from way down. do they not survive if you release them? if not, you would think it would be illegal to throw them back. i could be ignorant on this issue.

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http://www.seagrant.umn.edu/newsletter/2013/05/let_em_down_easy_returning_a_fish_to_deep_water.html

interesting. explains why trout and salmon don't have this issue.

 

[Migrator Man]

Just a question with the AIM format and the Catch and Release aspect. Is there a rule, or should there be a rule, that fishing must be done within a certain depth? Recently I know fish have been coming out of some deeper water. With the survival rate of a fish caught deep being very low and the numbers of fish caught during an AIM event. How many fish are sent back to the depths dead? I know it would be hard to enforce but for the sake of the resource should this be happening, or is it happening? I know that the regular weekend warrior gets slammed for keeping "too big of fish" but how many people fish deep or late in the year and kill literally hundreds of fish especially during tournaments?? When I fish deep if its 13" or 26" it goes in the box and after 5 I'm done and get back with 5 dead fish in the livewell. Just looking for peoples opinions on the subject? There is an AIM event coming up in July out of Parshall and I would bet a good deep bite is going to yield a TON of dead fish on the Sakakawea floor.

I asked that question to the AIM director when he came on this site and he never answered it.

The thing about fishing deep in a catch and release tournament is they are killing more fish by continuing to fish than they would if they kept their first 5 keepers and then quit. It’s not a big impact on Sak because of an abundance of fish but what about the lakes with low populations?

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In my 45 years of fishing I’ve had virtually no issues returning fish that have been caught in 30-35’ of water. If they’re stressed you have to know how to bring them back. This includes pulling cranks down to those depths 180’ behind the boat. This really isn’t a concern. When you start talking 50’ plus depths then yea it could be an issue. It also matters how fast you bring fish in at that depth.

It doesn’t matter how fast you bring them in from deep depths it just delays the inevitable death of the fish. The Barotrauma will kill these fish whether it is right away or if it is an hour later. Fizzing them or reeling them in slow will not keep them from the affects of barotrauma. Look at the research!

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i was also wondering the mortality of big fish specially bigger fishing those depths. we put back a 26" this Friday that came from 33ft he seemed to be fine on the release but wondered if those fish make it or not.
i have personally seen air bladders out on smaller fish from as shallow as 25ft ( granted my young sons reeled them up so no finesse in that game)

The air bladder is one of the signs of barotrauma but it is not the only visible issue. Check the bottom of the chin of the fish. You will see it turn red from the burst blood vessels because of the barotrauma pressure. I think the research says The fish has a very low chance of survival (1-20%) After being caught from that depth.

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I released a 27.5” fish couple weeks ago that came from 34’. He came up really slow. Was tired when he got to the boat. Took a few minutes for him to come around and then swam away great. I have no doubt that fish will be just fine.

Out of sight, out of mind right!?!?

Just because it swims off doesn’t mean it is going to survive. It will eventually die from the barotrauma and is not always an immediate death. It’s like when an old person falls and goes on about their day like nothing is wrong and then they die from internal bleeding once the effects take action. You should have just kept it and fed it to your relatives because that fish was going to die anyways.

 

[eyexer]

Fuck the research. The survival rate is insanely high. You don’t ever see dead walleye laying around sak.

 

[628977]

Sit down at the Van Hook fish cleaning stations for a week and you will realize that the big fish numbers are being effected more by the casual angler than any fishing tournament.

 

[Kurtr]

I asked that question to the AIM director when he came on this site and he never answered it.

The thing about fishing deep in a catch and release tournament is they are killing more fish by continuing to fish than they would if they kept their first 5 keepers and then quit. It’s not a big impact on Sak because of an abundance of fish but what about the lakes with low populations?

- - - Updated - - -


It doesn’t matter how fast you bring them in from deep depths it just delays the inevitable death of the fish. The Barotrauma will kill these fish whether it is right away or if it is an hour later. Fizzing them or reeling them in slow will not keep them from the affects of barotrauma. Look at the research!

- - - Updated - - -


The air bladder is one of the signs of barotrauma but it is not the only visible issue. Check the bottom of the chin of the fish. You will see it turn red from the burst blood vessels because of the barotrauma pressure. I think the research says The fish has a very low chance of survival (1-20%) After being caught from that depth.

- - - Updated - - -



Out of sight, out of mind right!?!?

Just because it swims off doesn’t mean it is going to survive. It will eventually die from the barotrauma and is not always an immediate death. It’s like when an old person falls and goes on about their day like nothing is wrong and then they die from internal bleeding once the effects take action. You should have just kept it and fed it to your relatives because that fish was going to die anyways.

so your saying we should just kill old people and eat them. That’s kinda Jeffrey dahmerish . Probably have to crock pot would be tough to chew

 

[DirtyMike]

Good God, if there wasn't enough to complain about in the current state of the world. Let's hope those kids stay off your lawns.

 

[Downrigger]

Stole this from another site. In-fisherman magazine had a good post since there has been more than one discussion on fish mortality/lindy rig hooking mortality. I am quoting this from OCT/NOV 2009 In-Fisherman, article by Steve Quinn, p. 9.

[Field Science-Minnesota Department of Natural Resources biologists at Rainy Lake, where many walleyes are caught from 30 to 50 feet of water in late summer and fall, gathered data to gauge fishing mortality.*

From July through September, volunteer anglers that landed a walleye from deep water called a chase boat to transport it to holding cages that extended from the surface as deep as 56 feet. Fish were measured and dropped in at the surface, simulating anglers releasing walleyes within the protected slot limit. Anglers reported fishing depth and method, handling time and other factors. Cages were monitored for 120 hours.

In total, 31 percent of the 319 experimaental walleyes died. Walleyes caught in 30 feet of water had about an 8 percent chance of perishing–fish from 40 feet 18 percent mortality, and fish from 50 feet 35 percent mortality. For each additional 10 feet of depth, mortality roughly doubled. Experimental handling time was an additional factor, with linger handling increasing the likelihood of mortality.

 

[eyexer]

Stole this from another site. In-fisherman magazine had a good post since there has been more than one discussion on fish mortality/lindy rig hooking mortality. I am quoting this from OCT/NOV 2009 In-Fisherman, article by Steve Quinn, p. 9.

[Field Science-Minnesota Department of Natural Resources biologists at Rainy Lake, where many walleyes are caught from 30 to 50 feet of water in late summer and fall, gathered data to gauge fishing mortality.*

From July through September, volunteer anglers that landed a walleye from deep water called a chase boat to transport it to holding cages that extended from the surface as deep as 56 feet. Fish were measured and dropped in at the surface, simulating anglers releasing walleyes within the protected slot limit. Anglers reported fishing depth and method, handling time and other factors. Cages were monitored for 120 hours.

In total, 31 percent of the 319 experimaental walleyes died. Walleyes caught in 30 feet of water had about an 8 percent chance of perishing–fish from 40 feet 18 percent mortality, and fish from 50 feet 35 percent mortality. For each additional 10 feet of depth, mortality roughly doubled. Experimental handling time was an additional factor, with linger handling increasing the likelihood of mortality.

great info. That sums up my beliefs very few die caught at 30’. 8% is trivial. Fish caught in 0-20 feet probably died at 5%

 

[Downrigger]

Tournaments are back on boys! Nothing to see here.