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Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2021 6:17 pm
by Aaron Cole
Does anyone know what's going on with all the dead fish at Don Pedro at Flemming Meadows boat ramp? I launched there Sunday morning and counted around 30 to 40 dead bass around the dock when I was got in my boat. I haven't been to the lake in a few months and have never seen this before. Just wondering what the deal is. Kind of weird to see all of these dead fish around the launch ramp. I fished around blue oaks and also went to moccasin but the only dead fish I seen was around Flemming boat ramp..... Weird.

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2021 7:12 pm
by gixxer464
I don't want to assume anything but I believe there was a tournament on Don Pedro on Saturday. I did not fish it and I don't know where they launched out of.

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2021 7:20 pm
by Jwbassin505
I went to blue oaks on Sunday with my kids fishing from the bank and there was a tournament doing their weigh in at the top of the hill then driving back down the ramp and releasing the fish at end of day there was also some dead fish at the ramp. Was there a tournament at Flemming on Saturday?

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2021 8:31 pm
by Aaron Cole
I'm not one to point fingers but if there was a tournament that left all of those dead fish, that is a huge shame on tournament angling and the tournament organization that put on such a show. Fish care should be #1 priority, NOT releasing dead or inflated fish. I've fished tournaments for a long time and I've never seen this happen to this degree in any tournament I've been a part of. Hopefully this wasn't caused by poor fish care from a tournament. That would be DISGRACEFUL!!!

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2021 9:22 pm
by Andrew5414
There was a bbt tournament out there for sure, I will forward the word to Kevin the director, he is really on the guys about fizzing fish and he says it to the point where you are like yeah we get it shush up, I agree it’s sad but we can’t blame it all on the circuit. Anglers should know to fizz there fish and how to do it properly and if you can’t you shouldn’t be fishing this time of year. Everyone needs to accountability for the actions not just point fingers at the circuit it’s there fault.

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2021 10:55 pm
by Shooter
I fished the BBT tournament there Saturday and I can assure you everything possible was done by Kevin and BBT to ensure fish survive. A DFG officer was present monitoring the weigh in and BBT had a staff member manning the fish dump basket trying to revive any fish that were in trouble. Don’t blame the circuit believe me they are all about fish care and practice what they preach. If any blame is to be placed I would put it on the guys that either don’t know how to fiss or more likely just don’t give a crap. Unfortunately fish mortality is a part of tournament fishing but it is ugly and gives us all a bad rap.

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 9:39 am
by machadobass
This is something I’ve been bitching about for a while now. There’s too many wanna be pros out there. Catching fish in 30 to 60 feet of water or more and keeping them in their life well for pictures at the end of the day. No reason to do this other than to say look what I got! As for the tournaments, I believe there is way too many circuits out there. I’m sure many of the directors do their best but when you see a bunch of fish floating at the ramp, that’s a bad sign. Those fish that were found dead probably had buddies bouncing around in that live well that were a culled earlier in the day. What was the mortality on those? Look, I fished tournaments for many years and enjoyed it.I believe this new generation fisherman just have to practice better fish care.

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 10:03 am
by gabuelhaj
It would be interesting (and worthwhile) to see if each fish was administered a fizzing before or after weighing them at the station that they would survive post-release. Would have to put in place a sharps protocol to prevent injury to both the fish and the person handling the fish. Or will that be too big a liability?

I would think something can be done to minimize their mortality rate.... other than leaving it up to the angler,,, I think a lot of anglers lack the experience to fizz their fish.

Good luck!

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 10:05 am
by mark poulson
machadobass wrote:I believe this new generation fisherman just have to practice better fish care.
I agree. It is a matter of angler education.
Years ago I worked for Mike Iljin's AC Castaic tournament trail, and we preached fish care. I also had a copy of the picture of how to mouth fizz a bass that I showed people, and I would show people how to do it when I was in charge of the release net on the dock after the tournaments.
It is amazing how few actually knew how easy it is to do. Some people complained that it wasn't as effective as fizzing through the fish's side, but it was 100% more effective than not fizzing at all, and it is so easy that everyone can do it successfully. I saw more fish killed by improper side fizzing than from mouth fizzing done right.

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 11:20 am
by gixxer464
https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Bends_M ... BMDNP.html

Every Angler should be required to have one in the boat. Very simple and effective to use.

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 12:22 pm
by Jim Wilson
Maybe tournament organizations should require anglers to prove they have a fizzing tool or they will be provided one at cost to the angler. Another good idea is tournament organizations hand out fizzing instructions at boat check in.

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 12:25 pm
by Louie
I saw this last January at McClure. We came to the ramp to several fish floating belly up after a small tournament. We fizzed the fish that were needing it to help them swim away. After putting the boat on trailer and heading up the ramp the tournament guys were up in the parking lot drinking beer. It was obvious they did not care about the fish. It comes down to the anglers caring for the fish. We need to take care of our resources.

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 1:13 pm
by Kwin
Here is a link to a study done on barotrauma related mortality of FLMB in SoCal. FIzzing is only beneficial when done properly. They're not halibut...they shouldn't be on their side at the bottom of the tank after treatment.

https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx ... 4&inline=1

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 1:47 pm
by eastbayanglers
I saw 12 tourneys last yr one of them did a number on the fish. Leaving many dead, 30-40 fish thats insane. More and more i see things that get me. I was at a pond recently and found sticks with panfish everywhere, why not throw them back nope just leave them dead on a stick that will make it harder in the long run to maintain our fisheries.
Sadly its just our resources! The things people do, and the decline of our fishing, it all makes sense!

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:20 pm
by Patriot One
Well the way I see it, we wouldn't be having this conversation if tournament organizations would leave lakes alone in winter. It was not long ago Melones and Pedro tournament seasons started in February and March, now they are year round and every week in winter. Now we can see why Lake McClure is a small fish lake. These lakes not to long ago were full of true trophy bass, all to often we have three pounders taking big fish pots. Of course bed fishing events every week during the spawning season is devastating to big fish populations in its self. Now the effect winter tournament fishing has on all size fish, its no wonder why the numbers and the sizes in the tournament fish counts are plummeting. If the care for, and pressure on the fish doesn't change it can only get worse!!

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 3:49 pm
by CBS
Tournament trails should be obligated to include dead fish penalties per angler when posting tourney results. That way anglers can be better aware of fish mortality, take ownership of the treatment of their fish and feel the stigma associated with weighing in dead fish. This could also lead to tourney directors awareness of careless anglers based on posted results and possible disqualification.

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2021 3:34 am
by Grayson Everett
It causes water pollution.

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2021 6:19 am
by Dave Brabec
Its not just a winter thing. Every summer event here leaves lots of dead fish .But in winter its deep water fish not taken care of and summer its hot water and lack of o2

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2021 8:04 am
by Pat
People just need to take better care of the fish they put in their livewell no matter what time of year it is. In our reservoirs fish start going deep in the fall and there are deep fish to catch into February, then comes spring and the spawn, then summer so almost every season poses some threat to tournament caught fish. In my opinion education of the anglers, dead fish penalties, release boats at large events and peer pressure are all ways to reduce mortality.

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2021 10:17 am
by deltabass
Danny Riportella & Tony Hunt Take the Win at Don Pedro with 13.19 lbs. Jan 9, 2021

[youtube]https://youtu.be/gUNqzHc05qY[/youtube]

[youtube]https://youtu.be/ZkkTBi9AsTw[/youtube]

[youtube]https://youtu.be/B6zumsfXkP8[/youtube]

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2021 10:21 am
by Jwbassin505
I’m just thinking here but if you’re fishing a derby and you have a dead fish then catch another fish the same size to avoid a dead fish penalty you throw the dead fish in the lake and keep the live one.So my question is does a penalty help or just put more fish at risk?

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2021 11:38 am
by gixxer464
I think most tournaments have in their rules that you cannot cull a dead fish.

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2021 3:34 pm
by Jwbassin505
I think there’s rules about wasting meat of game animals also

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2021 4:04 pm
by WRB
Rapid pressure change causes expansion of the gas bladder used to acclimate the bass to neutral buoyancy at a specific depth, no valves to release the expanding bladder. Fizzing releases the pressure but injuries the bass leaving a hole heal before the bass can acclimate by replacing gases.
The bass is stressed. However the stress caused by a 10 degree water temperature change is fatal unless the bass can go back to the water temps it’s acclimated to. More to high mortality rates then fizzing alone.
Tom

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 8:19 am
by mahoney
The new age of social media fisherman are beyond careless of fish. It’s all about fishing for likes on Instagram and getting those pics of you looking at the fish. These new age folks don’t care how long the fish is out of the water. Taking pics of bass laying in dirt just so you can get them on your board. Getting likes and sponsorships are the most important to these new yahoos. Find who’s not capable of taking care of the fish’s life and ban em. 1 dead fish is to many, 40 is flat out embarrassing.

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 3:59 pm
by Turkeyman
If the fish isn't fizzed quickly after its been caught, it will not make it after riding around upside down in the live well all day to then be fizzed after weigh in. Its quick and easy once you learn how to do it. I hold the fish under water and watch for air bubbles, when they bubbles stop. Remove the needle and let the fish go, check again in say 5 minutes and repeat if necessary. Also if you're culling fish and or weigh trying to determine if the most recent caught fish is going to be kept, it's a good idea to fizz it before you let it go, as it might swim down but resurface if the gasses overwhelm the fish.

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2021 10:47 pm
by Fidlplr
I wasn’t at the tourney but having that many dead fish is embarrassing. I’ve never seen or heard of this before. I can’t believe a tournament circuit would allow this. It’s unacceptable in my opinion. We have to do better as anglers and TD’s bottom line.

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2024 8:55 am
by Trogg75
You all should be ashamed. One person mentions dead fish on a ramp, then a question of any possible tournament's? Finally, you all are jump to "its the tourney guys" in the BBT not fizzing their fish! Come on man, really? That's the problem with the world today. Everyone is so quick to persecute, and then everyone starts jumping on board. In all your minds they (BBT guys) are already guilty, without knowing, well, anything! This is exactly how rumors, and many other issues, arguments, get created. Look, I tournament fish, and have recently. In a club of almost 30 boats, and we had maybe one fish that didn't make it. To assume it's the BBT and shaming them for something know one knows if they had even done, is wrong. To go as far as making negative comments about who should or shouldn't fish (during this time frame) if they don't know how to do this or that is also just creating problems, and does nothing to resolve the issue or offer a resolution to a problem that may or may not exist. Why doesn't someone on here, instead of trying to be bullies put together a class that deals with fizzing fish and and it out to tournament directors. Offering to teach the correct way instead of sitting on here putting organizations on blast for something they may hadn't even done.. anyways just putting in my. 02 cents..

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2024 9:00 am
by monte300
Wow a three year old thread resurrected

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2024 9:25 am
by coyote268
You want to see dead fish, try Clearlake in July on a hot day. Horrible!!!

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2024 9:03 pm
by Will C
I have seen this over many years and as a TD for a local club I suggest the following.
Before the circuit departs the TD or their staff should search the ramp area and see what has happened to the fish that were weighed in. Not uncommon in my years to see what has been described here 3 years ago. Someone needs to relaunch and net the floaters and try to FIZZ fish through the mouth at the fishes crushers. It is a simple location and if they have remaining air it needs to be released.
Any fish that do not survive after weigh in should be removed from the ramp area and shared with bank fishermen or anyone in the tournament that will help up to a limit of fish to leave the lake in good order.

Our lakes are healthy with numbers but these fish should not be left around the docks for all to see and assume anglers are wasting the resource. Lots of spots have taken over Pedro, McClure and Melones. Tournaments and fish catching with water temps below 60 degrees calls for a taco now and then. The morale to the story is don't be a careless group and leave floaters to be seen and discussed as if we don't care. We do care and want all the fish we worked hard to catch to swim away...

Re: Dead Fish at Don Pedro

Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2024 9:17 am
by Popper
Western Bass should post video links on the FRONT page of:
"How to FIZZ Bass caught in deep water"
And Why....... :roll:

-It's not Western Bass responsibility to educate anglers but apparently some anglers aren't aware
or don't give a damn.
Hopefully, this post will reach enough anglers to mitigate damage to the fishery.

Popper