You guys are killin' me..
I had to make a few calls to some of our Hatchery techs and see what data we actually had available and I'll share the consensus on that, but there is another "huge" issue, the time that fish was out of the water. Per the video, nearly 3 minutes coming out of the bag.
I have no dog in this fight but without any other consideration, I would not have returned that fish without a soak in salt, electrolytes and a sedative for 30 minutes with a slow drop of 5 degs in that 30 min just due to high surface temps this time of year and the fact the fish was laid on the ground and then see how her color and attitude were.
Data shows water temp affects mortality more than any other factor but is made much worse with increased time hooked and played, doesn't matter if 1lb or 10lbs, there are still chemical changes in the fish's blood that dictate rate of recovery.
2 of the bios I talked with found the same document that had the same findings of a 12lb bass having the same survival rate as a 4lb bass if exposed to the same amount of time hooked and played.
The only thing we could find on survival % post release tied back to water temp, not size of bass, and the length of time the fish was fought.
I have to agree with RAH on this, I think that fish has a very low chance of survival, but I hope I'm wrong.
15-20 sec out of water is all it takes for brain damage to start. Following up with salt/electrolytes and sedatives is a must for fish handling and increasing the chance of survival significantly.
Last edited by Snipe; 08/21/23 12:43 AM.
