Fish Stress

[Steve D]

Fishing

Help protect heat-stressed trout and salmon during summer months. During the hot days of summer, it is important to remember that trout and salmon experience serious physical stress whenever water temperatures climb above 70° Fahrenheit.

Anglers can help protect New York's trout population by taking the following precautions:

• Avoid catch and release fishing for heat-stressed trout. Trout already weakened by heat stress are at risk of death no matter how carefully they are handled.
• Don't disturb trout where they have gathered in unusually high numbers. It is likely these fish are recovering from heat stress in a pocket of cold water.
• Fish early. Stream temperatures are at their coolest in the early morning.
• Be prepared with a backup plan. Have an alternate fishing plan ready in case water temperatures are too high at the intended destination. Consider fishing a water body that is less prone to heat stress or fishing for a more heat-tolerant species like smallmouth bass.

[wolc123]

A can attest to the heat-tolerance of smallmouth bass.    That is the species that I target about 75 % of the time.  Largemouth bass get about 20 %, with the last 5 % split about even between walleye, northern pike, panfish (perch, crappies, bluegill), trout, and salmon.   Being about as close as one could be to a pure "meat-hunter", I avoid "catch-and release" when possible.   I believe that God made fish (and all other wild game) to feed people and stressing them for sport seems sinful to me (senseless maiming of a fine food source).   That said, l am a sinner just like everyone else.  I have done it a lot and will most likely do it again.  Specifically, I have culled larger fish to keep the smaller better-eating ones, if they are biting good and I have the time (I have not done that yet this year however).  

Most of the time, I will keep all of them, and quit when I run out of time and/or, a legal limit is taken.  In accordance to NY state eating advisories, I aim to acquire enough fish to feed it to our family one or two meals per month.   Currently, we have 6 packages of bass from lake Erie and the Upper Niagara river for the wife and kids, and 3 from the Adirondacks for me (the state says they are ok for men over 50 like me to eat but not women or children) in the freezer, so I am not quite half way to fulfilling or annual requirement.  Fortunately, there is a lot of bass season left.   Just like deer hunting, the fact that gathering that aquatic food is fun is beyond my control.      

I use my boat's livewell to keep the caught fish as health as possible until they are prepared for consumption.  The healthier the fish, when it's meat is removed, the better it will taste.   I have worn out many more livewell pumps than I have outboard motors on my 32 year old boat.    Quite often, that livewell will contain "mixed-bags" of species, as non-target fish are often taken by accident.   The hotter the water, the harder it is to keep those fish healthy in the livewell.  When fish start to "belly up" on those "mixed-bag" days, the last to go are always smallmouth bass.   I was very surprised that largemouth bass in particular, always succumb prior to smallmouths in the hot water.  If that happened just once, it might me a coincidence, but I have seen it more than a dozen times.      

Edited July 19, 2020 by wolc123

[chrisw]

On a few occasions I have put some ice in the livewell with the water, it seems to really help the fish stay alive longer when it's really hot. Although I'm not sure if it helps them if you then release them.

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[wolc123]

1 hour ago, chrisw said:

On a few occasions I have put some ice in the livewell with the water, it seems to really help the fish stay alive longer when it's really hot. Although I'm not sure if it helps them if you then release them.

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That definitely helps for fresh tasting bass.  I always bring a big cooler with ice blocks in it (frozen in 1/2 or gallon jugs), and put a few of those in the livewell before the drive home.  If I get an "accidental" walleye, trout, salmon, or panfish, they go straight into that cooler with the ice blocks.   Only bass need to be kept alive, until meat removal, or they don't taste as good.   As soon as I get the boat home, I stick a garden hose in the livewell and the cool water to help keep the bass cool and fresh as they wait to be filleted.   You know they will taste very good when you feel the fillets twitching between your fingers after removal.    I dispatch them with a crack between the eyes, using a small wooden club, and cut off the fillets as soon as they stop shaking.    

Edited July 19, 2020 by wolc123

[Robhuntandfish]

Oneida lake water temp right now is 77 degrees.  I freeze 4 two liter bottles of water to keep in the livewell then fill the livewell with water and I don't add more cause it just melts the ice. Once the water cools it keeps the fish in good shape.  Cleaned the ones we got today and they were flopping and cold and in good shape after being in livewell all morn. 

 

[The_Real_TCIII]

Typically if I'm eating fish I skip the livewell and go directly into a cooler full of ice

[left field]

Under the best conditions there’s about a 15% mortality rate with C&R. Goes way up for trout when the water temp is over high 60s. 

But if you want to keep and eat fish, look to the East. Ikijime is the Japanese way of killing fish that ensures the flesh is as preserved as it can be. “Killing the fish without the flesh knowing it’s dead.” 

Basically, you kill it within a minute of being caught with a spike to the brain and then put it in a slurry of ice and water. 

http://www.ikijime.com

[The_Real_TCIII]

Under the best conditions there’s about a 15% mortality rate with C&R. Goes way up for trout when the water temp is over high 60s. 
But if you want to keep and eat fish, look to the East. Ikijime is the Japanese way of killing fish that ensures the flesh is as preserved as it can be. “Killing the fish without the flesh knowing it’s dead.” 
Basically, you kill it within a minute of being caught with a spike to the brain and then put it in a slurry of ice and water. 
http://www.ikijime.com

Trout get a rap on the head before going in the ice


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[left field]

That works as well. It just has to be quick before the fish stresses. 

[The_Real_TCIII]

That works as well. It just has to be quick before the fish stresses. 

I do it immediately with my hemostats if it's a fish I decided to eat


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[left field]

Do you bleed them out? It's supposed to make a real difference in taste and texture.

https://guide.michelin.com/sg/en/article/dining-out/what-is-ike-jime