Fishing Forum

30 if ya wanted to pinch the tail
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Nice fish. You sure have that place dialed in.
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this one was not me we found it floating not even a day old we are guessing it died of old age its very rare to see them any bigger then 30 we have only got a few any one who catch fish 29 plus i think you may as well keep them they are not getting much bigger and at the end of thier life any how
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Zombie Cutty!!!![shocked]
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Most fish that die of old age are skinny and sink to the bottom or die on the bottom and not seen..
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[quote bassrods]Most fish that die of old age are skinny and sink to the bottom or die on the bottom and not seen..[/quote]


That is what I though as well.
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[#0000FF]Without a proper autopsy there is nothing conclusive to prove it died of old age.

I suspect that it died of a combination of age and spawning stress. The big cutts have just finished spawning. And if it was otherwise healthy it would not get skinny before dieing. Also, most fish float after dieing. The gases of decomposition and the air bladder both make the fish float...at least for a time.

There is also the possibility that it was deep-hooked and broke free...but was mortally wounded by a big ol' treble hook. Or even caught and released after rough handling.

Call in the CFI...Cutt Floater Investigators.
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[quote TubeDude][#0000ff]Without a proper autopsy there is nothing conclusive to prove it died of old age.

I suspect that it died of a combination of age and spawning stress. The big cutts have just finished spawning. And if it was otherwise healthy it would not get skinny before dieing. Also, most fish float after dieing. The gases of decomposition and the air bladder both make the fish float...at least for a time.

There is also the possibility that it was deep-hooked and broke free...but was mortally wounded by a big ol' treble hook. Or even caught and released after rough handling.

Call in the CFI...Cutt Floater Investigators.
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Agreed...not that I'm a fish biologist but when a fish dies under water and the body eventually makes its way to the surface after a period of time one will see it being dark meaning death of body tissue aka necrosis. We've seen this on large fish primarily the fish we go after they died below surface and had been below surface for a little period of time. A fish that dies and on the surface or close to the surface and doesn't sink won't have this dark necrosis look to it.

Again like you stated unless a fish biologist looks at the fish its hard to say...based on the pic I didn't see any dark colored tissue but with it on shore who knows covered in dirt really hard to say...but based on what we've seen and including what we've read a fish with dark tissue died under water and eventually rose to the surface.

Not all fish that die will immediately sink to the bottom never to be seen again nor are they skinny...fish that are skinny and die again based on our research died due to some other reason...lure lodged or interal blockage or whatever....Eventually if the body of water is large enough a dead fish will sink. What we have read and researched on fish we've seen with blackened and dark color fish floating on the water surface died below the surface and eventually came back up to the surface...This fish I highly doubt died from old age...FWIW...[][]
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i guess it may have been hooked deep but i did not see any hook or line and it had alot of groth of some kind in its gills may of happened after it died but i have seen this in other sickly looking fish in the past
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he also didnt smell yet so couldnt of been dead to long
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"i guess it may have been hooked deep but i did not see any hook or line and it had a lot of growth of some kind in its gills may of happened after it died but i have seen this in other sickly looking fish in the past"

[#0000FF]Sounds like a combination of spawning stress and rapidly warming water temps. That fungus is common in some streams...like the Provo River...when browns spawn in the fall. It is especially common when water levels are low and water temps are too warm. The combination of poor water conditions and the stress of spawning weaken the immune responses of the fish and they get that fuzzy crud all over them.

It is likely the same thing that appeared on some bluegills at Mantua recently. Look for even more of it on several species if water levels fall very low and water temps rise too high this year.
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Like I said most old fish die of starvation and disease with nothing in the innards so they don't bloat like fish that die from disease or from injuries..
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Nice sized fish to bad it wasn't caught by you and released.
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i keep a few that size but i do release more then i keep sometimes its hard to convince people i take up or my kids to let them go but most the big fish are 26 to 29 its rare to more the one or 2 a year over 30
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