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 Trouble Shooting
Q. I inserted the needle just where indicated, but when I let out the plunger no air bubbles came out, what happened? What do I do? A. All fish are different, if you feel you hit the air bladder but no air comes out, try pulling the needle out just a half or quarter of an inch or so then watch for bubbles. The fish must be completely under water for you to see the bubbles. If no air comes after trying this, remove needle, count two scales back, and one down and reinsert needle and try again. Air bladders don't have to be exactly where diagrams show them to be, especially in winter when fish are colder, they seem to tighten up. Too, if the fish has not been allowed to relax a little and been treated with Catch & Release it's muscles won't allow freedom of air removal. Wait 15 minutes, try again. If you feel rib cage bones while inserting the needle stop immediately and move back to locate insertion point further down fish's body by a couple of scales, over and down. Q. I did the procedure just as shown, but when I let go of the fish it just went down to the bottom and laid on it's side. Will it die? A. This reaction comes from either too much air being let out, or as in some cases the fish is simply exhausted from first being caught, then held in the livewell all day, then run across the lake, then handled through weigh in procedure. Allow fish to rest, but find a way to prop it up where it's not laying on it's side. A fish allowed to lay in an unnatural position for too long sometimes will just give up. Again, I can't stress the importance of not letting out too much air, the fish must have some air in it's bladder to assist it in remaining upright. Sometimes the fish was going to die anyway, much like CPR used on humans, "living" humans do not need CPR, only those who are not breathing, basically not alive. Only let out a small amount of air, you can't put back air removed, but you can always remove a little more if need be. Usually a count of eight to 10 seconds is enough to remove plenty of air to reduce pressure without it being too much so that it harms the fish. Q. The fish started bleeding when I stuck the needle in it, will this cause the fish to die? A. No more than when you cut your finger, fish bleed when cut, or in this case having a needle stuck into their skin. Normally there won't be any if much blood during the procedure. But, sometimes there is, it usually isn't serious unless that blood is coming from an organ, which only happens if you miss the air bladder. Sometimes a scale or two will come off during the operation, but if you gently push in the needle from behind the scale even this won't occur. NOTE:Air bladder relief is like CPR. In CPR classes we are taught that the only person who needs CPR is a dead person. It is much the same with air bladder relief. Only fish that will die need have the procedure done for them. Fish in distress will die if it is not done for them.You will not save every fish that is distressed, that would be impossible, however, learning the procedure properly and performing it correctly, only when necessary, will save the lives of many fish that might otherwise have died. The only fish I do not try to save with these procedures are fish that have light pink gills, or have been mortally wounded in the gills by a hook, or those severely gut-hooked. The gill filaments are sensitive, but fish have survived with slightly torn gills, however gills lightening to pink from red signal death. A deeply hooked fish can be saved if the tissue and intestines have not been pulled out or damaged with the hook. Simply cut the line and remove the lure portion leaving the hook in place. The hook will eventually be discarded by the fish. There are ways to remove the hook without harming the fish, but this is a very tricky procedure and must be "seen" to be learned. I wish you success with your fish care.
Debra Dean |
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