Where do old fish go to die?

[chubbdarter]

We all know fish dont live forever. Some fish must live till they reach huge sizes and die naturally. Why have i never seen a huge fish that has perished without any indication of why it passed on?
Do they just go to deep water when their time has come?

[pickrel pat]

they dont go to heaven where the angels fly.

[0liver]

very interesting point chub, i actually have never thought of this myself. my guess is that fish big enough to die simply because of old age are just too big to "belly up" and float to the surface, because there mass outweighs the buoyancy of there swim bladders.

my 2 cents, dunno whether im right or not..

[Daceminnow]

We all know fish dont live forever. Some fish must live till they reach huge sizes and die naturally. Why have i never seen a huge fish that has perished without any indication of why it passed on?
Do they just go to deep water when their time has come?


believe what you want. i believe fish live forever. they reach a certain age and size and go deep, never to be seen again but very much alive. i think i'm going to start fishing deeper more often. run with that chubb. there's no other explanation out there.

Dace

[chubbdarter]

believe what you want. i believe fish live forever. they reach a certain age and size and go deep, never to be seen again but very much alive. i think i'm going to start fishing deeper more often. run with that chubb. there's no other explanation out there.

Dace

some must snowshoe out

[Pudelpointer]

I think most big fish either die right after spawning or during a winterkill. I have seen hundreds of fish dead after ice off - all on the bottom, none floating. Fish will usually only float for a short time after death, then they sink to the bottom. I think there is some truth to Oliver's guess, however they will float, just not for very long. Small fish seem to float longer.

FWIW I have seen some really big floaters (sinkers) over the years. Come to think of it, I have not seen any floater Walleye??!?! Maybe they don't float as well.

Just my observation over the years.

[Dust1n]

iv seen black pike in the shallow that are most likly going to die and also some 12lbers that wash up on beaches every year or so i dont know though good question never seen any hogs wash up

[chubbdarter]

ive seen some truely impressive fish dead because of enviromental issue...eg the summer kill at Newell or post spawn causes.
But honestly ive never seen a solitary huge fish dead that appeared to have no cause of death.

[DaveFish]

very interesting point chub, i actually have never thought of this myself. my guess is that fish big enough to die simply because of old age are just too big to "belly up" and float to the surface, because there mass outweighs the buoyancy of there swim bladders.

my 2 cents, dunno whether im right or not..

I agree 100% with that Oliver, yesterday at Wab we saw a huge(biggest I've seen) jack belly up, no open wounds, good fins, etc, we tried to flip it, didn't work, so we went on our way.

[horsetrader]

We all know fish dont live forever. Some fish must live till they reach huge sizes and die naturally. Why have i never seen a huge fish that has perished without any indication of why it passed on?
Do they just go to deep water when their time has come?

COWTOWN oh you said fish I was thinking FISHERMEN sorry

[chubbdarter]

COWTOWN oh you said fish I was thinking FISHERMEN sorry

you get dumber every day

[horsetrader]

you get dumber every day

they say its the people I associate with

[chubbdarter]

they say its the people I associate with

24.00 bucks

[FishingMOM]

Ah right boys, I can honestly say I have come across some monster singular fish who have died.
Back east in ontario, we used to find a lot of dead sturgeon, muskie and sheephead washed up on shore. We would find them in transition points between the bay and lake or the river and lake on the beaches. This would also include the beaches of little islands.

I think the reason we spotted them in these areas was due to the amount of water flowing in these areas.

Anyone familiar with Rondeau and Erieu would be able to verify this on the island between the 2 land masses and 2 water bodies.

[densa44]

The ones that do, float for a bit and then sink to go through that cosmic revolving door and become food for something else. The dead fish in the great lakes are caused by lots of things, spawning fatigue mostly, and then are food for the gulls and small fish. The winds and currents do land the floaters on the islands and points. There are many more fish in the great lakes than in our lakes. They are bigger and warmer, especially Erie. Thus the gulls get tried of eating alewives and the like.

If you see some of the fish fossils at Drumheller, the little fellow might like that, you will see some truly large specimens. One I recall died trying to swallow a fish that was too big. A very cool fossil.

[Lefty-Canuck]

At South Buck lake one time my Dad and I saw the biggest Lake White I have ever seen...floating on the water, with a raven sitting on it...had to have been 15 lbs...was massive.

LC

[BeeGuy]

The wall of my Den!

[billie]

At South Buck lake one time my Dad and I saw the biggest Lake White I have ever seen...floating on the water, with a raven sitting on it...had to have been 15 lbs...was massive.

LC

I think this is the most likely answer. As soon as they float up, a raptor or other scavenger would spot it PDQ.

Although I've heard that they have their last meal at Hooters and they bury them under the bar (face up) :).

[AnglerCraig]

I think this is the most likely answer. As soon as they float up, a raptor or other scavenger would spot it PDQ.

Although I've heard that they have their last meal at Hooters and they bury them under the bar (face up) :).

Maybe I should start fishing at hooters, and use chicken wings as bait?

[Daceminnow]

some must snowshoe out


not a chance. their eyes would freeze and they'd never find their way back to their eternal resting place in the deep and dark.

[buckman]

About 10 years ago I spotted the tail of a Brown trout sticking out of a weedbed in a creek I flyfish.It was a Hen, 27 inches long in good condition and wieghed over 10 lbs.

I knew there were big fish in the creek but have never heard of one that size.

It had only been dead a short while,not a mark on it,and no sign of why it died.

Pretty sure it just passed from old age.

[dragon]

What's the probability that a fish would reach "the age"

and I agree that likely they would succumb after something like spawning or a tough winter...

I think of pigeon and would say that any fish that die in the south west corner of the lake would end up in the tall pencil weeds never to be found.

[BGSH]

fish die, then make food for crayfish suckers and burbot, its the chain of life.

[buckbrushoutdoors]

fish die, then make food for crayfish suckers and burbot, its the chain of life.

Ahhhhh so that's what happens....!!!! I had it all wrong thanks, Shawno

[BGSH]

Ahhhhh so that's what happens....!!!! I had it all wrong thanks, Shawno

Your welcome man anytime

[Bad Wolf]

Big fish make easy targets for osprey and hawks and such, and whenever a fish dies the swim bladder fills with methane from the breakdown and thats what normally makes dead fish float but when a big fish dies the tissue forming the walls of the swim bladder is under more stress from the size of the fish pulling down and the methane pushing up, most times, the bladder breaks and the fish stays down.


Would be my guess lol

[TreeGuy]

Hey Chub. I got a good story about finding a bunch of dead fish one time that I'd love to share but I'm afraid someone would accuse me of being a liar......so I won't. ;)

[chubbdarter]

Hey Chub. I got a good story about finding a bunch of dead fish one time that I'd love to share but I'm afraid someone would accuse me of being a liar......so I won't. ;)

hahhahah your such a Criminal:sHa_shakeshout:

[Redfrog]

I think a lot of big fish die from stress of C/R.

[Pikebreath]

The wall of my Den!

Also in many freezers,,,, a lot of which end up months later in the dumpsters or as cat food!

Big fish do require more oxygen,,,,, in a lot of our lakes low winter oxygen levels no doubt take out the largest first,,,, these fish dying before ice out would be hard to find.

Finally, the comment about C&R killing many big fish is unfortunately too true,,,, big fish take longer to land and lactic acid build up can be toxic,,,, people brag about how long and hard the fish fought when in realty using some heat and big fish fighting tactics, most fish (Alberta fish anyways) can be landed in just a few minutes,,,, everyone wants a hero shot, so the fish is taken out the water to thrash around on shore or the bottom of the boat while they do a several minute camera search. ,,, then the fish is squeezed / gilled/ mugged in order to control for the picture and take the hook out,,, and then tossed back in!!!

Next time you take fish out of water hold your breath, when you need a breath , give the fish a breath (drink) as well!!!

[horsetrader]

Also in many freezers,,,, a lot of which end up months later in the dumpsters or as cat food!

Big fish do require more oxygen,,,,, in a lot of our lakes low winter oxygen levels no doubt take out the largest first,,,, these fish dying before ice out would be hard to find.

Finally, the comment about C&R killing many big fish is unfortunately too true,,,, big fish take longer to land and lactic acid build up can be toxic,,,, people brag about how long and hard the fish fought when in realty using some heat and big fish fighting tactics, most fish (Alberta fish anyways) can be landed in just a few minutes,,,, everyone wants a hero shot, so the fish is taken out the water to thrash around on shore or the bottom of the boat while they do a several minute camera search. ,,, then the fish is squeezed / gilled/ mugged in order to control for the picture and take the hook out,,, and then tossed back in!!!

Next time you take fish out of water hold your breath, when you need a breath , give the fish a breath (drink) as well!!!

A good reason for using heavy gear if you get them in fast you can release them faster. No need to be a light line hero anymore with braids