Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - 7.9lbs

Good day! Wish I had the catch on video.

Everything about the handling of the fish after the first 6-7 posts is just beating a dead horse. Would I have handled a fish like that? No. But the message has been sent, so let's move on. Bottom line is the OP was proud of his fish, and he should be.

Clarifying how to properly display a fish is fine, so let's stop targeting from both sides of the isle.

Same fish

Attached Images

Gorgeous. My pond record is around 7 lb, and I have a lot of Florida genetics. Hybrid stripers have done better than LMB for me, to be honest.

I get it. There's a good chance the fish could die. I should have had scales handy, and got him back I'm the water faster. However, after that, there are no negative consequences of turning him back. There are replicas I couldd make had he been bigger, and I didn't want to eat her. Whether the survival chance is 10% or 90%, why not take it?

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.

Holding a LMB that large by just the lip generally kills them after release. Best to just keep them after that.

Possibly, but studies show they often die days later.

Most dead fish never float. What is the name of your pet fish? Does she have distinctive markings? Nothing personal, I am a scientist and routinely push back on anecdotal evidence that conflicts with documented evidence. That said, we all can learn new things. A friend caught a 6.4lb LMB out of my pond in hot weather. He kept it and ate it because I knew it had a poor chance of survival after the fight in hot water. He caught another a year later and I did the same thing. Don't think it was the same fish.

I've fished this pond for 26 years. Caught a fish that big 4 times, a handful of 4.5lber, the rest are TINY! I've finally gotten serious and tried to start harvesting, adding a little structure, f1's, golden shiners, and crawfish. Hopefully, I get some decent bass in the next 4 to 5 years. I'd love to catch a 10lber. They're not common in NC.

IMO, a barbless hook is easily removed with obviously less damage than a barbed hook, so less time to remove the hook and less physical damage to the fish all appear on the plus side of the equation.