02-06-2007, 07:59 PM
[cool][#0000ff]The visible "protrusion" from the mouth is only part of the problem when bringing fish up from deeper waters. There is also a rapid change in blood chemistry...just like "bends" in human divers that decompress to quickly when coming up from the depths. Some species of fish don't suffer the "float" problems and can quickly recover if released down the ice hole and they dive to high pressure conditions quickly enough. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Perch seem to suffer more than many other species. School is still out as to whether they can be fizzed. Back in the early days of ice fishing on Deer Creek, we "quick fizzed" a lot of perch, by needling the protruding air chamber. We also clipped fins of the ones we so released. Not only did we catch many of those same fish on other days, we caught some of the ones we released on the same day. We knew that because of being isolated and by other distinguishable marks or hook scars left on the fish. Of course we could not go down and see how many died...sooner or later. But, because they were apparently not traumatized too badly to bite again, we figured that they at least had a better chance by fizzing than by leaving them on the ice or taking them home and cutting them up for bait.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There is no doubt that many more deep water perch die when released than are noted by the anglers. Sometimes the released fish will valiantly dive down and disappear into the depths. Survival? Sometimes not. Often those fish will succumb later and float up under the ice where they are not seen until iceout. Then there will be piles of dead perch on the wave washed shoreline...like there were at Rockport two springs ago.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I am proposing at the spring RAC meetings that special winter regulations are applied for perch fishing in waters where perch are an important part of the fishery...not pesky illegal introductions. That regulation would be mandatory keep and kill until the limit is attained...regardless of size...and that the angler then has to cease fishing...period. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That would not be unfair to trout fishermen. It is a simple matter to fish for trout up off the bottom, to avoid perch. But, it would curtail the guys who ice a hundred perch to keep 20 of the larger ones...culling.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Perch seem to suffer more than many other species. School is still out as to whether they can be fizzed. Back in the early days of ice fishing on Deer Creek, we "quick fizzed" a lot of perch, by needling the protruding air chamber. We also clipped fins of the ones we so released. Not only did we catch many of those same fish on other days, we caught some of the ones we released on the same day. We knew that because of being isolated and by other distinguishable marks or hook scars left on the fish. Of course we could not go down and see how many died...sooner or later. But, because they were apparently not traumatized too badly to bite again, we figured that they at least had a better chance by fizzing than by leaving them on the ice or taking them home and cutting them up for bait.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]There is no doubt that many more deep water perch die when released than are noted by the anglers. Sometimes the released fish will valiantly dive down and disappear into the depths. Survival? Sometimes not. Often those fish will succumb later and float up under the ice where they are not seen until iceout. Then there will be piles of dead perch on the wave washed shoreline...like there were at Rockport two springs ago.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I am proposing at the spring RAC meetings that special winter regulations are applied for perch fishing in waters where perch are an important part of the fishery...not pesky illegal introductions. That regulation would be mandatory keep and kill until the limit is attained...regardless of size...and that the angler then has to cease fishing...period. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]That would not be unfair to trout fishermen. It is a simple matter to fish for trout up off the bottom, to avoid perch. But, it would curtail the guys who ice a hundred perch to keep 20 of the larger ones...culling.[/#0000ff]
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