I have caught 100’s of lake trout from depths between 50’ to 120’ released them all & never had an observable death. Lake trout burb air bubbles regulating their air bladder as they come up with no trauma to their systems. The guides & camp owners who fish for them from the beginning to the end of the season support this sentiment. I have fished lake Athabasca at the top of Saskatchewan & Alberta for about 13 years where my experience comes from.

Here's a response from @WRB-2.0 from a couple years ago that I remember......

"Cold water seasonal period or water under 55 degrees the vast majority of bass lakes the thermocline has dissipated allowing the fish to be at nearly any depth.

How deep depends on how deep the schools of prey/bait fish are located. 

Sonar is your most important tool to determine how deep the life zone is located. 

29’ deep is 1 atmosphere and bass can easily withstand a pressure that change. 30’ is a good overall answer.

My deep limit for catch and release bass is 45’ any deeper can do brain damage from fast pressure change.

Fizzing means poking a hole in the air bladder to release gases to reduce pressure on the expanded bladder.

If you are releasing the bass immediately you use a weight to sink the bass back down to the depth it was caught. A simple method is using a 8 oz torpedo weight placed in the basses throat with your line clipped on the opposite end and lower bass down, lift the rod to pull out the weight, works good.

Vertivle jigging structure spoons, jigs, ice jigs all work good.

Tom"

As usual with Tom, RIP, I feel like this covers all the bases for me. He gives a limit on depth that makes sense to me, and 2 different methods to give the fish a best chance at release. Personally, I've never found, targeted, and caught bass from deeper than 33 feet and they seemingly did fine with a very fast release.

scott

I have been trying to find the actual findings of the study my local fisheries biologist mentioned to me once. In short, she basically told me all the Lakers I was catching jigging, were dying. My locals, you can go out and catch 30 or more a day, not hard, just need 2D sonar, some basic mapping and some common sense. I quit doing it after she told me about this study, as I never kept any of them and wanton waste isn't my thing. What I seemingly missed or she failed to tell me was, that the biggest issue derives when you have warm surface temps, common sense says though that the warmer the surface temps, the deeper the fish will be, at least here, so is it the temps or barotrauma or a combination of both... One can logically perceive that barotrauma would increase stress, which would increase the buildup of lactic acid in the fish or the ability to rid the body of it at the least, which is what kills fish when they die of heat related issues. So logic would say, it's a combination of both. How this would carry over to Bass, probably not the same as Bass can handle warmer water much better than Lake Trout, but it would definitely be a huge strain, depending on depth. Culling a few Bass out of a healthy watershed isn't a bad thing though, within reason, but when everyone is doing it to fish that are over a decade old... If surface temps are at or over 70 degrees, you likely won't catch a Lake Trout much shallower than 60' and many will be pushing the 100' mark or more, so this would align with my own observations that Lake Trout act much much healthier when caught in depths of 50' or less. It's like a night and day difference... I still fish them in the Spring when they are shallow, they LOVE blade baits, but no longer pursue them in the Summer months...

A Michigan study found that nearly half of lake trout caught and released in warmer waters die due to stress and trauma from the catch-and-release process. The research highlighted that factors like water temperature significantly affect the survival rates of these fish, especially when caught from deeper waters.

Duluth News Tribune Great Lakes Echo

Lake Trout Mortality Study Overview

Key Findings

A Michigan Department of Natural Resources study revealed significant mortality rates for lake trout caught and released, particularly in warmer water conditions. The study found that:

• 43% of lake trout caught and released in surface waters above 50°F likely died.

• Mortality rates increased markedly when water temperatures exceeded 70°F.

Factors Influencing Mortality

The study identified several factors that contribute to the high mortality rates of lake trout:

• Temperature Stress: Lake trout are cold-water fish. Warmer temperatures cause physiological stress, leading to higher mortality.

• Catch and Release Practices: The trauma from being caught, combined with temperature differences, significantly reduces the fish's chances of survival.

• Barotrauma: Rapid changes in pressure when fish are brought from deep water can cause injuries, although this was not the primary cause of mortality in the study.

Recommendations for Anglers

To protect lake trout populations, anglers are advised to:

• Limit the number of lake trout caught to the daily limit (typically three).

• Avoid releasing excess fish, especially in warmer water conditions.

• Consider targeting other species, such as salmon, when lake trout fishing is particularly good.

These practices aim to reduce the impact of catch and release on lake trout populations in Michigan's waters.

Photo of my buddy and his kid holding one, used to do it a fair bit, super easy, just drop a jigging spoon down and they usually eat it before you even have a chance to jig it... When you get bored catching Trout, you make an adjustment and target Cisco's for dinner...

Interesting thread. My home lake is ~220 acres, and maximum depth is just 20 feet. One of my favorite lakes is an old oxbow lake, once part of the Missouri River. 95% of that lake is 8' or less....there are a few deep spots that get 18-20'.

Yup. Being able to fish AND catch deep (30+ feet) out here in So Cal means the difference between catching and a boat ride. By far my best producing technique for this is drop shotting. It's also a good idea to carry a fizzing needle if you plan on C N' R.

Some fish you need to fizz. Happens in the salt bottom fishing for cunners sea ravens and other local (Gulf of Maine) fish. They are bottom fish, they float on top after reeling them in from the depths. Sea gulls love it

It's a common misconception that bass MUST be fizzed if you catch them deep.

Not true. You may have caught a bass that followed the bait down, or recently moved to deeper water, and does not need to be fizzed.

Only fizz a bass if they have difficulty swimming upright.

• If you're a tournament angler and see deep-caught bass struggling in the livewell, fizz them and add Catch & Release formula to the water.

• If you immediately release a bass and he struggles on the surface (this rarely happens), nab him with a net and fizz him.

Here's the proper way to fizz bass:

btw, I've caught a lot of bass 45-55' deep, and even a few in 70'.

C rig for me but I'll have to try that dropper loop with the plastic. Seems like a great way to locate them and them hit them with the c rig and or jig.

I fished Bull Shoals when it was thirty foot high . Caught lots of fat smallmouths thirty foot deep on tubes and 1/4 oz heads off of points.

I don't fish deep a lot but I'm getting more comfortable with the concept with FFS. In the past, it was a dropshot or jigging spoon on visible, vertical cover or occasional deep cover I saw on sonar. Now I use the jighead minnow a lot to target fish I see in deep water. Still not great at catching those fish, but we don't have many lakes that have lots of deep water, so it isn't something that I do often.

Out here deep fish are a way of life.

Dropshots and doodling are my preferred baits, with the Little George at the ready all Summer.

Always have fin clips and a fizzing needle handy. I’ve found that clips and a little time in the cool livewell with a dose of Rejuvenade will get them back “right” without the invasive needle.

5 hours ago, ElGuapo928 said:

Doodling?

On 2/22/2026 at 3:04 PM, Bartableman7 said:

  On 2/22/2026 at 9:18 AM, ElGuapo928 said:

Doodling?

Doodling is an old school western finesse technique for deeper suspended fish….basically a Texas rig with a glass bead between the sinker and hook, with a 4” worm worked vertically. Shake the rod tip for 2-3 seconds, then pause for 20-30 seconds.

When I vertical fish I typically use a spoon and I free rig a number 4 treble on the line in front of the spoon. Just slide the treble on the line in front of the spoon before you tie on your lure. You might hang up more but you miss fewer fish.

47 minutes ago, IYAOYAS said:

When I vertical fish I typically use a spoon and I free rig a number 4 treble on the line in front of the spoon. Just slide the treble on the line in front of the spoon before you tie on your lure. You might hang up more but you miss fewer fish.

Maybe a little too focused for most, but I'd welcome a detailed discussion on stinger hooks for spoons. I have gone away completely after no end of frustrations. I did have one or two flutter spoons with stingers that were great new, but my fashioned replacements were always less than desirable. I have tried to follow some online 'expert' advice on spoon stinger hooks, but with no success. Do you use a stinger on jigging spoons vertically?

I never have, but my jigging spoons are most always in or around brush.... not sure I could manage.

1 hour ago, Choporoz said:

Maybe a little too focused for most, but I'd welcome a detailed discussion on stinger hooks for spoons. I have gone away completely after no end of frustrations. I did have one or two flutter spoons with stingers that were great new, but my fashioned replacements were always less than desirable. I have tried to follow some online 'expert' advice on spoon stinger hooks, but with no success. Do you use a stinger on jigging spoons vertically?

I never have, but my jigging spoons are most always in or around brush.... not sure I could manage.

I only use a stinger vertically. I fish it mainly on channel swings, vertical banks, and over ditches. I try not to fish cover at all with it. It should also be noted I am no expert with spoons. This is just what I've learned that works for me here on Hartwell which is a herring lake and the bass here act very pelagic even in the winter.

3 hours ago, IYAOYAS said:

When I vertical fish I typically use a spoon and I free rig a number 4 treble on the line in front of the spoon. Just slide the treble on the line in front of the spoon before you tie on your lure. You might hang up more but you miss fewer fish.

Oh wow, I know in the saltwater world a jigging spoon with an assist hook (pretty much a stinger) have been very popular for the past few years. Similar rigging except the treble or more likely a single hook is attached at the line tie with with a split ring or a small piece of line that's been treated with a piece of shrink tubing so it won't interfere with your main line.

I have yet to try these, I'm usually vertical fishing saltwater with a dropper but it sounds like it's making its way to bass fishing.

Thanks for the post, glad I stumbled on this.

@Choporoz I'm definitely no expert, but I throw assist hooks on a lot of my heavy metal baits. I place an order whenever I got a jdm reel because I haven't found many domestic options. Decoy short assist with tinsel have been my main choice. I don't have many pics, but the smallie below seems to have been hooked first by the small assist before the treble got embedded during the fight, so it can help. I don't deal with brush piles often, so I can't say what it'll do but it pops free of grass better than a treble.

scott

2 hours ago, softwateronly said:

@Choporoz I'm definitely no expert, but I throw assist hooks on a lot of my heavy metal baits. I place an order whenever I got a jdm reel because I haven't found many domestic options. Decoy short assist with tinsel have been my main choice. I don't have many pics, but the smallie below seems to have been hooked first by the small assist before the treble got embedded during the fight, so it can help. I don't deal with brush piles often, so I can't say what it'll do but it pops free of grass better than a treble.

scott

Thanks, Scott. I may seek those out. I really thought I'd be able to fashion my own with braid, split rings, swivels, etc. But I just kill the action or get fouled, even with smaller hooks on shorter line.

One thing I've come to have supreme confidence in for flutter spoons is a dressed main hook. I imagine getting a bit of dressing flash on jigging spoons (main or stinger) should be good, too.

5 hours ago, softwateronly said:

@Choporoz I'm definitely no expert, but I throw assist hooks on a lot of my heavy metal baits. I place an order whenever I got a jdm reel because I haven't found many domestic options. Decoy short assist with tinsel have been my main choice. I don't have many pics, but the smallie below seems to have been hooked first by the small assist before the treble got embedded during the fight, so it can help. I don't deal with brush piles often, so I can't say what it'll do but it pops free of grass better than a treble.

scott

I still want that spoon

59 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I still want that spoon

Wish I could help if you are referring to color, seems to be discontinued since Nichols bought the Duh spoon. Otherwise, 3/4oz duh spoon.

This might work.....

Crank Wraps

Spinnerbait Blade Wrap Single Color 6 Pack

scott

Thanks man! It just looks like a gizzard shad with hooks every time you post it 😂