Torpedoing fish.

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Alfiegee

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May 23, 2011
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I have seen a number of shows where fish are torpedoed back into the waters they came from. No revival at all. Mostly Salmon, Trout and disturbingly Musky.
Does anyone else think this " torpedoing " is wrong?
Just wondering if it is only me that is dis/perturbed.

Alfie.
 
I wish I could answer that Alfie.
Truth is every couple years new scientific facts come out on the best chance of revival release methods. Who do we believe? Myself holding the fish till I feel the strength of fish returning is my best method. Who really knows?
 
I'm as guilty as most.
I rarely keep a fish.
But I also ignore my say. 1 steel limit .
I release it but I will continue to catch and release well past my limit.
And by true regs I'm illegal.
 
tossing iron said:
I wish I could answer that Alfie.
Truth is every couple years new scientific facts come out on the best chance of revival release methods. Who do we believe? Myself holding the fish till I feel the strength of fish returning is my best method. Who really knows?
 
Personally I hold a fish uprite in the water and release it when I feel the strength return. They normally let you know.
The torpedo method seems questionable to me.

Alfie.
 
i don't agree with it, i mean you just battled the fish, which is not tired and full of lactic acid, remove it from the water, to snap a pic or two, unhook it, then you just fire it back in hoping it can swim away healthy. its not right. as with any physical sport we do, there is a recovery time for the lactic acid to receed
 
This is done to bust them through the warm surface water otherwise the temperature change kills them.
 
most of the time if you do that with a carp or sheephead it helps them "take a deep breath" I find.

unless little bass or perch (which i just toss back in) - the rest you can and should revive before you release as long as you are in a boat or on foot by the water..pier fishing you often have to torpedo unless you lower the net into the water and let the fish relax before it swims away (dont do this if there is an algae bloom - torpedo it) - i'd say 18-19 out of 20 of the time i torpedo a fish it's fine, but once in a while it comes up and i have to re-net it and if the revive doesnt work il torpedo again and it usually works.
 
I did some googling to see if I could find a research based look at different release methods, but couldn't find anything.

I have noticed however that in a lot of salt water fishing shows the host "torpedoes" the fish back, this may be due to the fish being unable to deal with temperature difference as stated earlier or may be due to the fish being unable to deal with pressure changes...

If anyone comes up with something objective, I'd love to see it.
 
I've watched too many fishing shows...So far the only people who revive fish are the ones target trout. They toss muskies, walleyes & bass back in the water...there could be editing I missed but to educate the audience, that should be part of the show no?
 
DILLIGAF?! said:
I've watched too many fishing shows...So far the only people who revive fish are the ones target trout. They toss muskies, walleyes & bass back in the water...there could be editing I missed but to educate the audience, that should be part of the show no?
I agree.

instead we get daryl cronzy cooking shoreline feed after feed hahahaha
 
Hey, new here to OFF. Although I've fished all my life I don't consider myself an expert by any standards.

I've torpedoed and revived. It usually depends on the terrain from where I'm fishing. If I can get down in the water I prefer to revive and give them a chance to recover. 95% of the time this works quickly and benefits the fish. If I'm on a pier, bridge or other raised structure I'm limited to torpedo release. It's not ideal. No argument there. It has mixed success, which is a nice way of saying it's hit or miss. I've seen my share of floaters and don't feel good about it. I always want to see the fish swim away to continue its life and contribute to the ecology (don't mistake me for a tree hugger with that statement) because it helps our fisheries.

They won't always survive with either method. My 2 cents is to revive gently whenever possible but if you're in a situation where you have to torpedo the fish, do it as respectfully as possible.
 
I carry a 200 lb live well tank on my back at all times. Even at work. You never know.
All my fish survive.
Lol. You can only do what you can do.
Just make the best of the situation when releasing.
 
I've never seen a bass float. Tough as nails. Trout seem to love to try and die and you have to make a good effort. Pike are pretty easy. Musky seem to need help unless it's late fall where they seem to revive almost immediately.

Nothings perfect. Torpedo as forced respiration is funny. I'm not sure that's actually how it works. I think it's more of a shock that snaps them back into consciousness than anything.
 

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