Release weights

[Mads Soendergaard]

Hi

I have been looking for a "release tool" for fish suffering from barotrauma, and I found this release weight: http://www.recfishwest.org.au/content/fish-release-weights-wa/

Does anyone here have any experience releasing 15-20kg+ fish with this or other "tools", without using a venting tool = lower mortality rate?

Im guessing, that larger fish needs larger weights to get to the bottom.

/Mads

[Jamie Moir]

You can get release weights up to 80oz locally and I believe a few people have custom ones made up to 130oz for big Sambos.

[Kasey Leong]

Mads,

You can easily DIY a release weight with a brick, a screw, a large crimp, a swivel and a de-barbed large single hook. You will need to add a handline or some sort of line system to it.

A picture would make it seem really easy. All you need to do is attach the hook via the screw through its eye to a brick, the same way a release weight is molded onto a sinker. Then, crush the barb on the hook with a pair of pliers, and thread on the swivel first, followed by the crimp. Squeeze the crimp at the highest point on the hook so that the swivel can't get back out and there you have it.

Jamie, perhaps you can help me dig up a picture of this - I can't seem to find one anymore.


I have successfully released numerous 15-20kg+ fish with this, mostly seriolas during 'Sambo season' but also numerous large ungainly demersal fish like groupers and cod. There seems to be evidence that a release weight = lower mortality rate. A release weight is relatively simple to use. Additionally, unless the operator is trained to use a venting tool, the chances of piercing the guts, liver, or other internal organs in a fish are high, as these organs partially envelop the swim bladder. Furthermore, different fish have slightly different anatomies, so some require slightly different points and angles of penetration. I do not recommend venting via a needle unless highly experienced or under desperate conditions.

I have seen people try to do it only to have a bit of intestine poke out, and continue trying to blindly stab into the airbladder while turning the fish into a literal pincushion.

Best regards,
Kasey

[Kasey Leong]

Mads,

I just saw your post regarding jigging large groupers out of 40-80m of water. In this case you may need more than a brick to send them back down. Even then, due to their sedentary nature, groupers are not highly evolved to deal with barotrauma and suffer terribly for it, unlike pelagics. I do not suggest jigging for groupers in deep water (including coral trout) unless you intend to eat them. The mortality rates for catch and release of these species are highly discouraging and I would try to dissuade anyone specifically going out to target them for this purpose as it would almost surely result in high mortality rates of old, breeding fish.

[Brandon Khoo]

Kasey, I think it is a good thing you made the point you just did and that is fish like groupers, bass, hapuka etc handle barotrauma very poorly.
When you see someone holding up a photo of one of those that has been jigged, don"t assume it is C&R. When anglers jig up those big fish from the depths, the fish are finished. It always depresses me when I see anglers with multiple photos of those types of fish that have been jigged because they have effectively killed all of them.

[Jamie Moir]

Ditto for venting being really risky.

I think my first release weight was a big snapper sinker with a crushed barb hook held on with a wormdrive clamp. It would be pretty easy to make something out of some SS wire and a big bomb sinker.

Locally the dhufish are pretty crap for release, but if you take it easy, and fish light, they can come up ok.



Like Kasey says though, best to go do something else once you have enough fish for the day because they're release candidates.

[Mads Soendergaard]

Mads,

I just saw your post regarding jigging large groupers out of 40-80m of water. In this case you may need more than a brick to send them back down. Even then, due to their sedentary nature, groupers are not highly evolved to deal with barotrauma and suffer terribly for it, unlike pelagics. I do not suggest jigging for groupers in deep water (including coral trout) unless you intend to eat them. The mortality rates for catch and release of these species are highly discouraging and I would try to dissuade anyone specifically going out to target them for this purpose as it would almost surely result in high mortality rates of old, breeding fish.

Hi Casey

Thank you for your reply.

I have found some "articles" on web, that describe what affects the mortality rate,  eg. hooktype, surface interval, use of venting tool etc. Do you or anyone here know a good web source of were to learn more. 

Do anyone here have experience releasing Doggies, as I have learned that they also tend to suffer from barotrauma.

Regards
Mads

[Kasey Leong]

Mads,

As I mentioned, the species of fish will probably also play a critical part. Pelagics, like marlin or swordfish can dive down to hundreds of meters and come up with little signs of barotrauma, whereas demersal fish especially groupers can be brought up from 30m with guts, eyes and swim bladder protruding. That is on the barotrauma side.

Doggies may not suffer so much from overinflated swim bladders, but they are almost useless releasing as well. From what I understand, they basically fight themselves to death, but I will leave this to others who have more experience with doggies to comment.

[Brandon Khoo]

doggies also suffer badly from barotrauma and as Kasey wrote, run themselves into the ground till the lactic acid build-up is such that they struggle to swim away at all. The mortality rate would be very high with these

[Andrew Cox]

Not to many people try to release grouper, bass, hapuka and the likes as the success rate is very low, if we didn't jig a few of these species up every year you have no idea the amount of damage they do, try sending a 15kg kingie down as a live bait and see how long it last, I sure no I would rather thin the grouper, bass and hapuka out so we can jig kings for years to come rather than the other way around.
What surprises me is that on most trips only 10-15 of these species are caught to take home, the rest of the time we target kings, but if you look at the size of the fish we are coming up with I am glad we are thinning them out, how many fish would a 40 + kg bass that regularly gets caught eat in a week, also these fishers like the Three Kings are not fished all year like some spots but only three months of the year.
I am sure if top water fisherman had the chance to catch these fish on poppers they would jump at the chance.

[Mads Soendergaard]

Hi Andrew

Thats another way to look at it.

I know that there are alot of places around the world, were the grouper spices have been targeted commercial, and were they are now consitered as threatened species. BUT the amount of fish beeing caught from recreational fishermen can in no way be compared to commercial fishing. I dont know the area around 3 kings, but as long as the groupers are not beeing directly targeted, then I assume that the population must be healty.

Anyways, YES if I could get a 40kg on popper, even on jig, I would like to give it a try, no doubt about that. 

/Mads

[Brandon Khoo]

I hope I misunderstand what you have written because if your argument for catching these is to cull the species to protect another, I think you're sadly mistaken that this will ultimately be to the benefit of the species you're trying to protect in the first place.

In any event, talk of culling has no place on this forum which promotes C&R.

I would also point out that large to very large groupers and cods are a regular by-catch for topwater anglers in tropical waters. Most of these swim away unlike those that are jigged from the depths.

Not to many people try to release grouper, bass, hapuka and the likes as the success rate is very low, if we didn't jig a few of these species up every year you have no idea the amount of damage they do, try sending a 15kg kingie down as a live bait and see how long it last, I sure no I would rather thin the grouper, bass and hapuka out so we can jig kings for years to come rather than the other way around.
What surprises me is that on most trips only 10-15 of these species are caught to take home, the rest of the time we target kings, but if you look at the size of the fish we are coming up with I am glad we are thinning them out, how many fish would a 40 + kg bass that regularly gets caught eat in a week, also these fishers like the Three Kings are not fished all year like some spots but only three months of the year.
I am sure if top water fisherman had the chance to catch these fish on poppers they would jump at the chance.