Hi Italo... Was fishing perch on Lake Simcoe this past weekend and had some borderline keepers that i would normally throw back but we were fishing them deep and it looked like an airbag exploded and was pushing out of their mouths.. are these fish alright to throw back or should I try to bring them up slower from the deeper water to prevent this

Hi Italo… Was fishing perch on Lake Simcoe this past weekend and had some borderline keepers that i would normally throw back but we were fishing them deep and it looked like an airbag exploded and was pushing out of their mouths.. are these fish alright to throw back or should I try to bring them up slower from the deeper water to prevent this

Posted on January 19th, 2010

Hi Ken….If you reel fish up too fast from deeper water (deeper than 33’/1-atmosphere), they will not have time to adjust to the pressure change. To prevent this reel them in slower. If the air bladder is expanded and in their mouth, just puncture it with a pin or small knife-point and the fish will be able to swim to the depths. The puncture will heal quickly…God bless you, Italo