question? When you have brought a bass up and all you can see is the air bladder. Is it ok to insert tool directly into bladder through mouth. please advise someone.
question? When you have brought a bass up and all you can see is the air bladder. Is it ok to insert tool directly into bladder through mouth. please advise someone.
the organ coming out of the fish's mouth is not the swim bladder. its their stomach. try not to puncture or shove the stomach back into their stomach. in doing so you may introduce and infection into the fish.
the through the mouth technique is very popular but too many problems can happen. worst case scenario you may puncture their heart if you dont place the needle in correctly. way too many vital organs you can harm. i strongly advise not too.
i prefer to deflate a deep caught fish through the side.
lay the bass on its side and "gently" take its pectoral fin and push it flat relaxed against the body. 2-3 scales from the tip of the fin insert a needle with the flat side down at a 45degree angle under a scale. once under the scale, lift the needle to a 90 degree angle and press down. place the fish in under water and allow the air to "fiz" or release. when the fish becomes bouyant, and relaxes, pull the needle out and observe the fish. if it needs to be deflated more, start from the beginning. try not to stick fish multiple times. imagine having a needle stuck into you 5 or 6 times.
try not to use a bent fish hook, knife or any other sharp object. it will work, but i dont reccomend it. you'll rough the fish up unnecessarily.
hope this helped.
thanks for the info. just what i needed to know
might wanna call bass pro shops before you go and buy one because the time i called and asked for a bends mender or a "fizzer" the guy on the phone from the fishing dept had no clue what i was talking about....i got mine from Last Chance Tackle for like 6 bucks
cant beat that price. bps is like 29.00 go to last chance.
Got an easier way with no needles. We cut off the end of a good sized hook just past the barb leaving the j portion intact. Next we tie that hook onto a 1 pound rock cod sinker with about 6 inches of heavy line. We then take the heaviest rod we have and tie that line onto the J portion of the barbless hook (Not the eye) Attach the barbless hook to the lip of the bass and drop the whole rig with the bass attached (Place the hook in the lower jaw) to the desired depth. When you start to wind the rig up fast, the barbless hook pulls out because you tied your line to the bend in the hook. The bladder decompresses naturally as you slowly decend the bass and he swims off a happy camper. It is quick and painless and easy to do with no chance for an infection. I keep the rig handy when I am fishing deep knowing the fish I catch will have the blown out air bladder and it will be put to use. The sinker and hook release rig should be part of everyones boat gear.
Excuse me for asking this but, isn't fishing deep for bass in the winter without the knowledge of deflating them just as bad as keeping them or tossing them on the bank?
29 bucks? Geez, are you sure it's a bladder deflater? I've never heard of such a riduclous price. I get mine for under 4 bucks. Or you can just order from T.W. for $4.29.
Easiest way is just to deflate the fish, as Matt_Magnone stated. 2-3 scales after the pectoral fins, entering at a 45% angle. After deflating the fish a few times, you can do it pretty much blind-folded. There are a couple of videos on you-tube for some of you who wants to research it.
we have an order of bends menders coming in soon. currently sold out, but we expect them in a few days. ive been doing my best to send one out with every customer serious about fishing the deep bite. not worth the casualties when you can pay a small fee to keep these fish healthy.
the weight and barbless hook thing is awesome. we've taken milk crates with weights added to all 4 sides. tied a rope to the center of the milk crate. throw your bass in the water and put the milk crate over the fish. if you send the bass down at lease 20 feet with the crate, the gasses in the fish will subside and the fish will be cool.