Ever wonderd about live-release fish mortality in the winter
Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 10:20 pm
I have always wondered, fish mortality in the winter must be higher than in the summer. We all know that stress is the number one fish killer, and being draged out of the water into a freezing cold environment, with the sun glaring off the snow must be very stressful.
And in some cases flopping on the slow.. only have its protective slime covering wipped off by some fisherman who wants to look at the colouring of the fish.
So I did a bit of research (well really just a quick google), and amazingly, this research out of Thunder Bay shows a mortality rating of only 2.9% can be achieved when hooking figh through the ice in shallow water. However, the study cites another study, in which that number drops to a 77% 24 hour survival rate for fish hooked in deeper water.
The study came to these conclusions. (alot of it is common sence)
• short handling times
• proper catch and release techniques during winter
(and summer)
• that survival of fish caught from shallow water is
much greater than fish caught from deep water
• where regulations allow, anglers should keep or cut
the line on deeply hooked walleye leaving hooks
intact, and
• if fish are handled properly, mortality of fish
released during the winter season can be quite low.
Hear is the study in PDF form http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR_E005345.pdf
And in some cases flopping on the slow.. only have its protective slime covering wipped off by some fisherman who wants to look at the colouring of the fish.
So I did a bit of research (well really just a quick google), and amazingly, this research out of Thunder Bay shows a mortality rating of only 2.9% can be achieved when hooking figh through the ice in shallow water. However, the study cites another study, in which that number drops to a 77% 24 hour survival rate for fish hooked in deeper water.
The study came to these conclusions. (alot of it is common sence)
• short handling times
• proper catch and release techniques during winter
(and summer)
• that survival of fish caught from shallow water is
much greater than fish caught from deep water
• where regulations allow, anglers should keep or cut
the line on deeply hooked walleye leaving hooks
intact, and
• if fish are handled properly, mortality of fish
released during the winter season can be quite low.
Hear is the study in PDF form http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR_E005345.pdf