How long can a bass safely stay out of water? I see alot of guys keep them out for minutes and i feel this cant be good for the fish. I try to get them back in within 30 seconds to a minute. I wonder what its like for the fish? The analogy i come up with is like someone running a 100 yard sprint like their life depended on it...then having their head held underwater while they're trying to catch their breath. Am i wrong?

Get them back in the water in a reasonable amount of time, don't feel rushed though...

Always the faster you get the fish back in the water the better it will be for the fish.

 

If you have a deep hook set or you have a picture worthy fish you can always put it in the live well so the fish can recover after the stress of the fight only if a live well is available of course.

No more than 15 seconds at a time. Make yourself a stringer to put big bass on while you get your camera and scale ready. If you care about them enough, that is.

I'm pretty sure no bass ever died by staying out of the water for 16 seconds (or maybe a few did), but why take a chance? Big bass are fragile creatures once on dry land, and they must be protected to the best of our abilities.

I unhook them, and slide them back in the water. Maybe a pic if it's a nice one, but that's it.

Will a stringer hurt their gills?

Poke a hole through the lip, but real close to the lip so that if and when she thrashes about, the tear doesn't get bigger. Same as the culling tags they use for tournaments. (I think so, but I'm not 100% sure since I haven't ever owned any culling tags).

 

 

I try not to keep them out of the water any longer than I can hold my breath. 

Bass are pretty resilient creatures.. no wonder they've been around for so long. I try to get them back into the water asap, unless its a big one. I'm sure a bass can go 2+ minutes out of the water. Just make sure you gently place them back in the water and swish them back in forth to get air to their gills. They'll tell you when they want to leave.

I'm pretty sure it's bad for the fish to move it back and forth. And I try not to keep fish out longer than it takes to get the hook out.

I'm pretty sure it's bad for the fish to move it back and forth. And I try not to keep fish out longer than it takes to get the hook out.

 

Why do you say that, When I release fish 3lb and up sometimes ill move em back and forth?

There's no point to it.  It actually interferes with there natural breathing process.  Just hold them upright, under the belly, when they're ready, they'll swim off.

No need for a stringer through the gills or a hole through the lip.

Buy one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002L96JG2?pc_redir=1411889889&robot_redir=1

And stop needlessly harming your fish. Once its clamped on their mouth- trust me. ....its not coming off. I've tied 4ft sharks to my kayak with one of these. Need to weigh a fish? Clamp this on and put the weigh hook through the lanyard. Want to keep them in the water while you get your camera ready? Clamp them on and tie them off to the boat. ....they can swim around freely while you get your poo together. You can handle the fish without actually HANDLING the fish if you want to. Also come in super handy for things you don't WANT to handle- catfish, bowfin, pickerel. ..etc.

They're cheap. They're reliable. They float.

No excuses.

I just hold them by the lip in the water while my buddy is getting the camera ready, and we don't take many pictures.

I've yet to have one swim out of my grasp and don't see why you'd want to put a fish on a stringer, even for a little bit, if you're going to release it.

I'm pretty sure it's bad for the fish to move it back and forth.

There's no point to it.  It actually interferes with there natural breathing process.  Just hold them upright, under the belly, when they're ready, they'll swim off.

This is what I understand to be true as well.

Not all bass stress the same, some do better than others when poorly handled.

My general rule is to keep the bass in well oxygenated and cool water when they are being handled after catching them and not to have them in air more than 60 seconds, less time is better.

You will read about bass living out of water extended time periods, several minutes without death resulting.

From my experience over stressed bass have about a 30% post catch survival rate. Keeping bass out of water definitely stresses them.

Tom

If I have a fish with deep hook set I just put the fish back in to the water and move it back and forth for a couple of times in between attempts to unhook the fish. It prevents the slime coat from drying as well as keeps water circulating through the gills.

Always best to return fish as soon as possible, even more so in warmer water. But, apparently bass are resilient critters; LM more than SM, (and salmoides more so than floridanus):

 

http://www.bigindianabass.com/big_indiana_bass/2008/08/re-examining-holding-your-breath-guidelines.html

If it is a picture fish and we used the net, it stays in the net in the water (its a deep basket net) I unhook it over the side in the water, and take the fish out only to get the picture and then it gets released, if I dont use a net i hold the fish in the water until it is picture time... I also never rock it back and forth as you very rarely see a fish swim backwards, I just cradle the stomach and or hold the mouth open and point her into the waves and or current, and away she goes when she is ready. if it is not a picture worthy fish I either unhook it over the side and release it very quickly ( less than 10 seconds out of water) or I will boat flip it (but i dont let them hit the deck i catch them) usually jigs/t-rigs and frogs and they get back in the water even faster... If a fish looks like it may be in trouble of dying I will fire up the livewell with the oxygenator and livewell additives and almost always they end up recovering...

 

Mitch

Whats a boat flip?

Whats a boat flip?

when you hoist the fish out of the water just using your rod. a lot of times you will see pro's doing this, but they usually let the fish fall on the bottom of the boat, I typically catch the line a foot or so above the fish so it doesn't hit the deck removing the slime coating.

 

Mitch 

Thanks for the replies.  Ill keep the fish out of water to a bare minimum, I think its important to make sure these guys are around for the next time.  On a side note, I noticed mjseverson got the best answer (and it was).  How is that decided, Ia moderator or is it based off of likes?  Just curious

Thanks for the replies.  Ill keep the fish out of water to a bare minimum, I think its important to make sure these guys are around for the next time.  On a side note, I noticed mjseverson got the best answer (and it was).  How is that decided, Ia moderator or is it based off of likes?  Just curious

 

The OP can choose the "best answer", its just a button you click.

Mods can mark them as solved, too.  We don't generally use that, though, since many solutions are subject to personal circumstances.