Watching coverage of the Bassmaster Elite today and Zona pointed out that John Crews was using Fin Clips on some of his deep water catches.  I typically don’t do anything for catch and release but in a tournament, I will fizz if they show some struggle and have never considered clips as an alternative to fizzing.  To my understanding, clips don’t solve the underlying problem but it was such a routine comment by Zona that it got me wondering what other’s experience has been.

Fin clips CAN make a difference if applied sooner rather than later (i.e. after the fish is showing severe signs of struggling).  It can help the fish self-equalize.  But if that doesn't help, then fizz - through the side, never the throat no matter how skilled you think you are.

 

So...Fin Clips first, then fizz if the fish is struggling 20 mins later.

I’ve used clips a lot for Tournaments on the St.Lawrence. I put them on any fish caught deeper than 15ft. Can’t recall any fish dying in the livewell. I tried fizzing a fish once and it died on me so I never tried again. 

The reason a bass rolls over belly up is it’s highly stressed unable to right it’s self. Over inflated air bladder from fast change of water pressure the bass goes belly up from the expanded gas in the air bladder.

Fin clips may claim down a bass in the livewell and may prevent rolling over from stress, not from over inflated air bladder that that hours to achieve. Fizzing works to release gas but pokes a hole in the air bladder that must heal before the bass can achieve neutral buoyancy. Fizzed and fin weighted bass look good in the livewell for weigh ins, post mortality doesn’t change.

One of these days putting bass in the livewell will be a thing of the past, that will save basses lives.

Tom

 

14 hours ago, WRB said:

One of these days putting bass in the livewell will be a thing of the past, that will save basses lives.

Definitely one area where kayak tournaments have a leg up.

17 hours ago, WRB said:

post mortality doesn’t change

Do you think every bass (or the majority of bass) die after fizzing, clip use, and or being in a livewell?

1 hour ago, RichF said:

Do you think every bass (or the majority of bass) die after fizzing, clip use, and or being in a livewell?

The bigger the bass the higher the post mortality rate.

As far as air bladder expansion alone the deeper the depth change over 30’ and longer time interval is before the bass can equalize it’s neutral buoyancy the higher the risk it will not survive. 

On average summer tournaments have approximately 3% post mortality from water temperature change stress.

Deep water tournaments where LMB are being caught over 30’ depths the post mortality rates increase dramatically.

Smallmouth bass have a higher tolerance to depth changes but similar post mortality rate from over 10 f water temps when put in warmer surface water in livewells.

Fizzing takes skill and time out of the water, both stress bass and wound the fish introducing bacteria. 

3% may not seem like much, 3 out of hundred bass until you add club derbies every weekend and big bass being over handled for pictures add to their stress and mortality rates.

Every bass is subjected to livewell stress when kept for weigh ins. The popularity of MLF is the weigh and release practice of conservation. Weigh ins are all theater.

Tom

I helped release fish a few years on lake erie after multiple day tourneys.

Sunday morning we collected all floaters.

The majority had been fizzed, evident by the missing scales and puncture wounds

(seems everyone knows how to jab a smallmouth with a needle, not everyone knows how to fizz)

 

There was not a way to tell if the remaining fish were unfizzed, clipped, fizzed thru the mouth ...

On subsequent tourneys where clips were used the amount of floaters were reduced each year

 

In my own personal experience I have culled fish that have been on the clips for a few hours and they swam downwards without coming back up.

I have never released a fish with air still in its bladder that did not immediately float back up.

 

So in my experience clipping the fish gives it the best chance at survival in a livewell

IMO fizzing should be left to trained professionals, not some weekend warriors

I think the need to Fizz in our area is relatively small and I would bet the majority of our weekend warriors probably don’t even carry the tools to do it.  In Texas, I think better livewell management and tournament guidance would help improve survival in many of our club tournaments.  Between poor on the water management and club weigh in’s where you see lines of anglers standing at the ramp with bass piled in black bags with 6” of water waiting in line for 30 minutes in 95 degree weather, who knows what the true mortality is.  Unfortunately, far too many of these clubs consider dead at weigh-in the indicator of survivability.

A big misconception is that fish MUST be fizzed if they're caught "deep".

 

Not so.

 

Fish can be caught deep, put in the livewell, and not experience any issues. I've caught fish as deep as 70' without needing to fizz them.  I've also caught fish shallow (less than 15') and needed to fizz them.

 

Let the fish tell you what they need.

 

Fin clips do more than calm the fish.  They help the fish equalize themselves...to a certain extent.  Some fish will still need to be fizzed, but many times fish can equalize themselves if fin clips are used.  Because once a fish is struggling, it stresses out more and more, and is unlikely to self-equalize.  The clips give them a chance.

 

And, this cannot be repeated enough: NEVER fizz through the mouth!  No matter how "skilled" you think you are.  The margin of error is razor-thin, and the difference between life and death.  Why risk it when you can easily do it through the side?  Here's how:

 

 

7 hours ago, Glenn said:

I've also caught fish shallow (less than 15') and needed to fizz them.

This is something over looked.  Learned a lesson last year with a fish that came out of about 12' first thing in the morning.   Caught adjacent to 45'+.  Wasn't prepare with fin clips or a needle as the plan wasn't to fish deep that day.