HOW TO DEFLATE A BASS

Have you ever caught a bass that immediately went belly up in your live well
and hours later died a painful and lingering death???

You can be a life saver.  In the heat of summer or the dead of winter many of the fish we catch come from deep water. As a result there is a good chance that the air in the "swim bladder or gas bladder" of the fish expanded rapidly as you brought him to the surface.

There are many symptoms of this decompression problem.  The most common and obvious one is that the fish simply goes belly up. Even though it still seems very strong, it can not turn right side up. The belly keeps floating to the top. Other symtoms are: swelling in the midsection, bulging eyes, or a stomach distended into the mouth of the fish by pressure from a bloated swim bladder.  Usually, the bass will stay belly up and eventually it will die of exhaustion and suffication.


 
 
To deflate the swim bladder:

Use a hypodermic needle.  Unless you look like some kind of strung-out junkie your local pharmacist will be happy to sell you one. Explain what you intend to use the needle for and he will probably recommend one with a larger diameter opening than the one your doctor would use to give you an injection.

Next determine the point of insertion. To do so draw an imaginary line downward from the notch between the soft and spiney portion of the dorsal fin to the anal opening.  About three scales below the lateral line - the dotted row of scales running from head to tail along the side - insert the needle under a scale at an upward angle.  Proper depth of the insertion depends on the size of the fish.

You should hear a slight hissing sound as the bladder deflates. Some marine biologists recommend holding the bass and the needle slightly below the water's surface during the procedure as bubbles will escape from the needle when the swim bladder is pierced. This particular way of doing the decompression has the obvious risk of the fish shaking loose and swimming away. I suggest you learn to listen for the "hiss".

Dead fish can cost you valuable points at the weigh-in, not to mention how important it is for all of us to preserve the resource. And as with all your sharp and pointed fishing tackle, BE CAREFUL!!