Fish ballooning???????????

[TroyLang]

Been out ice fishing a few times, catching the perch and walleyes at about 20-30 foot. Before i land them they seem to be ballooning under water, the swimbladder is expanding and pushing the stomach out of the mouth, any ideas how i can stop this from happening as i am releasing all the fish i have been catching?

[mb567]

Try not to bring the fish up so fast. Play them a bit so that they have time to equalize their body with the change in water pressure.

[Rennich98]

Probably just reel them in slower but I've heard when that happens ur supposed to poke them with a pin to relieve the pressure

[Marlin07]

Fish shallower if you plan on releasing them.

[Jamie Black R/T]

Fish shallower if you plan on releasing them.

bingo!

[binnzer32]

In Florida its law to have a deflator while offshore. Google how to do it.

[npauls]

Fizzing is not a good idea if you aren't properly taught how to do it.

From what I have read most fish end up dying when fizzed improperly.

I would say try to bring them in slower or fish shallower like mentioned earlier.

The fish are probably coming up from deeper water to feed in shallower waters which will cause the "ballooning" effect.

[huntsfurfish]

Fish shallower if you plan on releasing them.

This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

See Tips on Releasing of Fish in regs page19

Do Not Fizz - it reduces survival.
Fish for Walleye and perch in relatively shallow water.

Fish have a reduced chance of survival if caught in deep water (> 7m or 23').

[huntsfurfish]

Fizzing is not a good idea if you aren't properly taught how to do it.

From what I have read most fish end up dying when fizzed improperly.

I would say try to bring them in slower or fish shallower like mentioned earlier.

The fish are probably coming up from deeper water to feed in shallower waters which will cause the "ballooning" effect.

Sorry Nate. fizzing is not a good idea, nor solution even if you know how to do it! Best and only solution is fish shallower. Even if you can not see obvious evidence of bladder inflation, fish may die!

[TroyLang]

Sounds good guys, been catching so many nice fish in deep water, kinda hard to have to go shallower, or i can just start keeping them, wont be hard to limit out on big perch every day!

[DiabeticKripple]

if your keeping them then it wont matter, but if you plan on releasiing them just bring em up slower and let them equalize themselves.

on slave lake i constantly pull them out of 30' but have never seen the air bladder on one. must bring em up slow enough

[huntsfurfish]

if your keeping them then it wont matter, but if you plan on releasiing them just bring em up slower and let them equalize themselves.

on slave lake i constantly pull them out of 30' but have never seen the air bladder on one. must bring em up slow enough

DK you may not see evidence of bladder distending. But damage may already be done. And studies show survival decreases with depth of water.

Solution is to fish shallower or keep all you bring up. Of course no one will keep that 5" as part of their limit.

[DiabeticKripple]

DK you may not see evidence of bladder distending. But damage may already be done. And studies show survival decreases with depth of water.

i do know that as walleye and perch cant release the gases as fast, but usually i take a few mins to bring em in. really light drag makes it more fun too.

[huntsfurfish]

i do know that as walleye and perch cant release the gases as fast, but usually i take a few mins to bring em in. really light drag makes it more fun too.

And you know their ok, how?

As I said damage can be done without showing obvious sign(bladder out the mouth).

Note how in the regs that "reeling in slow" is absent!

[Dale S]

Been out ice fishing a few times, catching the perch and walleyes at about 20-30 foot. Before i land them they seem to be ballooning under water, the swimbladder is expanding and pushing the stomach out of the mouth, any ideas how i can stop this from happening as i am releasing all the fish i have been catching?

Why would you release them with there bellies sticking out of there mouth. I know they don't swim away when there like that.

[crf250xtom]

Why would you release them with there bellies sticking out of there mouth. I know they don't swim away when there like that.

Wow the guy asks a simple question for some advice and sure enough we start bashing him it's ridiculous. No wonder everyone keeps to themselves in this day and age. Sure he made a bad choice but when it comes down to it it's HIS choice non of ours. Maybe he doesn't like eating fish? Mortality is common in fishing let's be honest. With your advice if you foul hook a sturgeon you should keep that too. Lol what a joke.

I'm surprised anyone comes on here. Others were very informative then you get the ao veterans giving the peasants the what for.

Give me a break.

[TroyLang]

Wow the guy asks a simple question for some advice and sure enough we start bashing him it's ridiculous. No wonder everyone keeps to themselves in this day and age. Sure he made a bad choice but when it comes down to it it's HIS choice non of ours. Maybe he doesn't like eating fish? Mortality is common in fishing let's be honest. With your advice if you foul hook a sturgeon you should keep that too. Lol what a joke.

I'm surprised anyone comes on here. Others were very informative then you get the ao veterans giving the peasants the what for.

Give me a break.

dissagree, there not bashing me, there arguing amongst themselves on my post, don't be such an old man

[huntsfurfish]

Why would you release them with there bellies sticking out of there mouth. I know they don't swim away when there like that.

Wow the guy asks a simple question for some advice and sure enough we start bashing him it's ridiculous. No wonder everyone keeps to themselves in this day and age. Sure he made a bad choice but when it comes down to it it's HIS choice non of ours. Maybe he doesn't like eating fish? Mortality is common in fishing let's be honest. With your advice if you foul hook a sturgeon you should keep that too. Lol what a joke.

I'm surprised anyone comes on here. Others were very informative then you get the ao veterans giving the peasants the what for.

Give me a break.

I don't see any bashing there, other than yours!

[TroyLang]

Wow guys, just quit ******** and get on with your lives instead of waisting time on a pointless argument

[pickrel pat]

dissagree, there not bashing me, there arguing amongst themselves on my post, don't be such an old man

Your editing was the exact opposite of original post.....lol. I agree. Give him advice.

[TroyLang]

Your editing was the exact opposite of original post.....lol. I agree. Give him advice.

Yep, re read the thread and changed my opinion a re-think, note to self, if you don't have the facts straight, dont post! lol.

[Dale S]

I think we've just been trolled. You got me. By By

[huntsfurfish]

I think we've just been trolled. You got me. By By

Agree. Look at all his other posts.:)

[CanadianBadass]

Fish shallower if you plan on releasing them.

Yup, I am usually fishing in 14 fow max, I have had this happen lots while fishing offshore , but never fresh water , when u see how fast and safely a good guide can release certain ballooned fish , It's crazy, I don't know how after watching 100 fish released like that lol

But yes if your only catch and release , fish shallower .

[Zip-in-Z]

I think we've just been trolled. You got me. By By

Agree. Look at all his other posts.:)

Agreed ... it appears more than one member here swallowed it .... hook, line & sinker.

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/ban.gif ... him

Z-Z

[mrfidd]

And you know their ok, how?

As I said damage can be done without showing obvious sign(bladder out the mouth).

Note how in the regs that "reeling in slow" is absent!

ive caught alot of walleye growing up in sask and when ice fishing i will fillet them right off the hook and have never seen any bladder inflation i have caught them in 3' to 40' of water i always thought that ballooning only effected lake trout in our freshwaters

[pickrel pat]

ive caught alot of walleye growing up in sask and when ice fishing i will fillet them right off the hook and have never seen any bladder inflation i have caught them in 3' to 40' of water i always thought that ballooning only effected lake trout in our freshwaters

Nope.

[tight line]

ive caught alot of walleye growing up in sask and when ice fishing i will fillet them right off the hook and have never seen any bladder inflation i have caught them in 3' to 40' of water i always thought that ballooning only effected lake trout in our freshwaters

Lake trout have the ability to release the air, this is why they can swim from 100ft to5ft in seconds! And vise versa. Think they are the only fresh water fish that can!

[EZM]

Lake trout have the ability to release the air, this is why they can swim from 100ft to5ft in seconds! And vise versa. Think they are the only fresh water fish that can!

Lake Trout for sure - but you still can't power reel them to the surface - other Char - like bull trout will also equalize quickly as well.