Black Seabass - be ready to sucessfully release one

[lamb]

This stuff made me sick in my stomach... :( I'm sure all of you feel the same way.

This thread has been on BloodyDecks for some time; I just managed to see it tonight. For all of you that may have missed it like I almost did, please read it... and see all the gut wrenching videos. :( A-B.Cs of how NOT to handle your BSB catch:

http://www.bloodydecks.com/forums/inshore-islands-fishing-reports-southern-california-usa/180676-bsb-thread-story-updated.html
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I'm not getting into whether it's cool or not that DFG didn't even cite the folks involved... :redface:

With all the new blood on BWE, I figured it's a good opportunity to remind and educate.

Black Seabass is protected spices that has been making a remarkable comeback in our waters. If you're fishing an open ocean often enough, it's just a matter of time when you'll hook one. You've got to be ready to handle it properly and promptly release it, to reduce a chance of harming the fish.

If you're on something heavy for 10+ mins and the fish seems to show now signs of slowing down, pulling you with powerful yet steady pace, you likely hooked either a thresher or a black seabass. If you're not interested in keeping the T, it's the time to tighten up a drag and horse it up. The longer you fight the BSB, the more worn out it will be when you finally get it to color... The harder it will be to revive it.

Please don't drag the fish out of the water to take a picture... If you must, snap a quick one while it's still in the water.

BSB will likely roll over on it's belly once on the surface - get the hook out, cut the line as close to the hook as you can if gut hooked.

Straighten the fish up, get the water moving through its gills...

Call on a radio for help if you can't handle it yourself (not sure how, the fish is too big to handle, you or the fish is too tired)... Kayakers always help each other out, majority of boaters will come to land a hand as well.

There are many threads on BWE and other fishing and boards on this subject - do your research, put the forum search buttons to work.

I feel the black seabass has the best chance of swimming away if you don't let the fight last till the fish is totally spent.

[T Bone]

That guy should be smacked.that is so sad.what a great fish.

[stairman]

BSB are very suseptable to embolizing also.This is when the air bladder expands due to the release of pressure due to being brought to the surface.The air in their bladder will double in size every 33 feet they are brought up.This is why they float belly up .The pressure in their belly also puts pressure on their central nervous system somewhat paralyzing them.

If you really want to be ready to quickly release the fish you need a three way swivel some 8lb test and a five pound rock cod sinker.
Take a very small hook tied up with a couple of feet of the 8lb, tie to the threeway.Tie your heaviest line available to the swivel and a snap swivel to the threeway for the weight.
Lower the bsb slowly to the depth you caught him at and troll as slowly as possible in no time the fish will revive and break the 8lb and be fine.

If the bsb is very small you will need to hook the fish under as small a bit of mouth skin you can ,lower the fish and yank sharply on the lineto break the hook away.

this works for small rock cod too and if your gonna fish them you will catch small ones that are so small to be not worth filleting.This has to be done quickly.once recompressed the fish will be able to swim off like you caught it in ten feet of water.If you have ever caught reds up in the north in real shallow water they will swim just like a calico when released.Recompressing them does this same thing but be fast about it.
This is what they do for divers in recompressure chambers.They increase the pressure to make the gas bubbles of nitrogen that have formed in your body from too much bottom time...then they gradully let the pressure return to normal.Fish don't need to have the recompression chamber ,they live in one just, put em back where you found them.

my .02$

[dsafety]

The BSB are out there. I caught a small one last week on an iron. It was my first so I have not had to deal with how to release one of these fish until now. The good news is that while this kind of fish can be very large, they are also quite docile after being brought to the surface.

Their skin is very tough and I had a hard time removing the hook. Once released, my fish slowly swam away with no apparent damage. In my case, no resuscitation was necessary. This is not always the case.

There is a thread somewhere on this forum that shows a great video of a guy jumping off his kayak after catching a large BSB. From the water he gently rocked th fish back in forth until it had regained enough energy to swim away. Very cool.

It was great to finally see one of these majestic fish up close but I got a better feeling watching this beauty heading home.

Bob

[-scallywag-]

:iagree: That is the best way if you have the sinker. There seem to be alot of BSB's around so having that setup around is a good thing, specially if your fishing for WSB w/bait, but they hit the iron too.

FOR HOBIE USERS: Just gently remove the hook and grab it by the lip and tow it around, even if the swim bladder is inflated it will eventually deflate as you tow it around to keep the water moving, usually takes only five min and the fish swim back happy.

What ever you do, DON"T POP THE BLADDER, and don't be "that guy" on the pier.

[blitzburgh]

Thanks for all of the good tips guys. I've never caught one but I'm sure it's just a matter of time. Now I will be ready!:luxhello:

[Useful Idiot]

This video makes me absolutely sick. Thank god I wasn't on that beach that day, I think you would've seen one live seabass and one dead human. Unbelievable.

[Billy V]

That whole incident is fu*ked up.

-Thats hard to believe that no charges were filed.

[j mo]

shirtless "tuff guy". Saw this on BD last week. Even w people yelling in the background that it was a BSB and not legal... whata DOUCHE

[Oolie]

this thread should be stickied, it has great tips for releasing BSB, something everyone should be aware of.


i have yet to catch one myself, but i one fished on a guy's boat, when he caught one, he had no idea what it was and was about to gaff it.


there's many people out there who don't know what they are or how to handle catching one.

i vote sticky!

[WahooUSMA]

I not only would have booked the shirtless trailer trash, but would have cited the crack head boat operator for assisting in the catch as well as endangering his kids by damn near beaching his boat! What a goat*&^!

[Gino]

there wasnt anythign they could have goten him on. becuase the video wouldnt hold up in court. He did release the fish aparently, they would have had to have full proof that the fish died. some peopel said it did, but cant confirm it legally.

the newport beach police were involved as well as the DFG. if they wanted to get him im sure they could have. Lots of complaints.

When they interviewed the angler he apeard to play dumb. I will say that, im sure he knew what he was doing, He was informed it was a protected fish and continued to "go on with his buisness" The boat owner should have gotten the shaft to, but they didnt have anythign to convict him on either. Sad.

I wa shoping they would cite those guys to set an example to everyone that what they did was wrong and that even if DFG arent watching law abiding angler are.

That pier is crowded regularly, they should have had DFg monitoring it more frequently. It could have stopped that.

[WahooUSMA]

there wasnt anythign they could have goten him on. becuase the video wouldnt hold up in court. He did release the fish aparently, they would have had to have full proof that the fish died. some peopel said it did, but cant confirm it legally.

the newport beach police were involved as well as the DFG. if they wanted to get him im sure they could have. Lots of complaints.

When they interviewed the angler he apeard to play dumb. I will say that, im sure he knew what he was doing, He was informed it was a protected fish and continued to "go on with his buisness" The boat owner should have gotten the shaft to, but they didnt have anythign to convict him on either. Sad.

I wa shoping they would cite those guys to set an example to everyone that what they did was wrong and that even if DFG arent watching law abiding angler are.

That pier is crowded regularly, they should have had DFg monitoring it more frequently. It could have stopped that.

Ignorance is not a defense.....

[Gino]

Yeah, i agree, it is worth all the money theyd spend against a lawsuit.

This was one fo those guys you have to make an example of, becuase it caught so much attention. but they didnt, so not it sends the wrong message.

:the_finger: x 10 to that guy...

[WahooUSMA]

They made an example out of the guys who killed the seal....Last I heard DFG served a warrant (hi-risk style) and kicked his door in.

[Gino]

Ya well aparently seals are more important than the BSB.

[dsafety]

According to a recent letter from the F & G commission, (See Holy Mackerel's post today), the F & G currently has about 200 wardens in the field throughout California... the entire state of California. This is not enough staff to completely cover San Diego County, let alone the whole state. Given this fact, we should not expect that someone from this agency will typically be handy to enforce the regulations when something like this happens.

The problem here is ignorance. I am certain that someone on that pier must have know that BSB are protected. They should have jumped in and explained things to those who did not know better. Why that did not happen mystifies me.

Bob

[nunyabizness1]

I was sick to my stomach watching this video and then seeing the guy pose with the BSB towards the end. His ego was more important than savng this fish! I did hear people in the video claim that it was a BSB. No one seemed to be worried about it. The DFG should have cited this guy bigtime! Yes it's true, the seals are more protected than a protected fish species. I don't understand the DFG's stance on this.

[Duke]

I'm not familiar with BSB regulations, but it'd be wise for regulations to prohibit the removal of such a large, protected fish out of the water, even for release.

That's the regulations for goliath grouper in Florida. You're not supposed the remove the fish from the water. If a conservation officer catches you posing with a goliath, even a juvenile one, out of the water for hook removal or pictures, you'll get fined.

Back to the video, it sickens me to see that poor fish lip gaffed and dragged like that, with all those tourists harping away. Ignorance is not an excuse. Someone should have jumped in and straightened that angler out!

[T Bone]

It looked like it swallowed his pier gaff while gasping due to decompression.all he had to do was cut his line short as possible.Since the fish was caught off the pier the BSB couldnt have decompresed much.It probably would have been fine.

[GregAndrew]

First I have seen of a couple of those videos. The one from the pier shows how he kept the fishes head out of the water when it obviously still had life. And how the hell would pulling it up onto the pier help to return it safely to the water? If there was no law broken by this idiot then shame on the DFG.

As far as deflating the swim bladder goes, remember that the bloated sack in the mouth of a fish is NOT the swim bladder but the stomach lining being forced out by the bladder. Don't pop it!!

[Tman]

I have read some of the thread, but personally, after reading it, I don't even want to watch the video...for obvious reasons.

I think we as kayakers have advantages for releasing BSB since we are close to waters edge, and need to take advantage of that ability. I have helped a friend send a BSB down, a big one, and it is the greatest feeling to finally push their head down, see them go down where they belong.

I saw 2 PBer's one time have one at their swim step, and they took their sweet arse time, enough time for me to paddle over and release the damn thing for them, while one guy was more concerned with taking off his sweatshirt, and the angler keeping pressure on the fish. I went over, cut his phookin' line, grabbed him by the tail, and used my foot to angle his head down to get his bearings straight...yes, I was gentle, and yes it worked. He swam down hard.

Not saying I did it perfect, and not looking for kudos...the fish swam down hard, and I had the advantage of being closer to handle the baby BSB than they, that is all that matters.

We as stewards of the sea, provide that assistance to boaters, if they get pissed, phook 'em.

I was very irked by the demeanors of these anglers, they were in no rush at all...hence the reason for not wanting to watch the video.

If I really had to, I would jump in, corral the big bass, get its equilibrium in the right direction, take it down a ways if necessary, give it a hug, and hope it remembers me...not too many boaters are prepared to do that, but I tend to think, if necessary, the majority of us would do what would be needed...

I just can't fathom the wrath we would incur from fellow yakkers if we took one of those beauties out of the water just for a photo op...yikes.

[Lil Dougie]

:confused:The guy should be hung by the pier he caught it on, by the gaff he put in its mouth and all the people should be burned alive, especially the guy who said "it is like a tuna"!! Disgusting:(

[MalibuJohnny]

<O:p</O:pIt is really too bad to see this fish taken the way it was, but was this group of people really at fault? Maybe the blame should go with the boater…they could of easily, cut the fish free. I am sure that the boater knew what type of fish he was enabling the pier fisherman to claim. (Hero in every one of us)
<O:p</O:p

Unfortunately things happen…I can’t remember the last time I heard or read about someone hooking a monster like that on a pier. Is this a good sign? Possibly that, this type Stereolepis gigas (Black Sea Bass) may be on its way back from the brink of extinction…How many of us have seen the mishandling of the same type of fish on this and other sites?
<O:p</O:p

Where were the DFG? Life Guards? Where did the fish end up? I hope it didn’t go to waste!<O:p</O:p

[T Bone]

they are legal in Mexico but still not taken by US boats.

[dsafety]

Nearly forty years ago, I worked with a semi-legendary guy named Bob Shea. Bob, at that time, was Captain of the San Diego Lifeguard Service. That year, Bob was also the reigning world champion spear fisherman. This guy could free dive to untold depths to chase down his prey. He was very good at his chosen sport.

It was a much simpler time back then. Once every summer the Lifeguards would have a huge party, usually on beach front City property with the other law enforcement agencies looking the other way. There would be lots of booze, great food and many pretty young girls, (this was before there were any women Lifeguards in the service).

For many years running, Bob and a couple of other world class speros who worked for the Lifeguard service, would take a day off and go foraging for fish to be served at this event. This particular year, the dive spot was somewhere off of San Clemente Island. As the story was told to me, Bob was suspended in the water at about 20 feet when he saw a huge shadow below him. He dove to see what was there and came face to face with an enormous Black Sea Bass.

This was long before Black Sea Bass were considered endangered. They were not on any protected list. In fact, I am not sure there was such a thing as the Endangered Species List back then. In any case, at this point in time, BSB were fair game, so Bob took his shot.

By the time the boat returned home, Bob's trophy fish had been strapped to the swim step drying out for nearly two days. It weighed in at something like 510 pounds. (There is a photo of this fish at the Diving Locker in PB if you doubt my story.)The world record for this species at the time was just a few pounds more. Everyone believes that this would have been a world record fish if it had been weighed when freshly caught.

As I mentioned before, it was a much simpler time back then. Most of us did not have a clue about things such as how to protect the environment or responsible fishery management. It was the wild west. We were ignorant about many things but had individual freedoms unthinkable in today's world.

Bob spent the better part of a day butchering his fish on his lawn in PB. One huge 8 inch thick fillet was donated to the Lifeguard Party. It fed the entire San Diego Lifeguard service as well as our dates and a few City big shots. (We also had plenty of abalone, remember them?).

This was the only time I have ever tasted Black Sea Bass. It was a long time ago but in my memory, it was the best tasting fish I have ever eaten.

The point of this story is that we have come a long way in 40 years. Back then, BSB were plentiful. In a few short years, they were nearly gone along with the White Sea Bass and Abalone. The good news is that, thanks to strict controls on pesticides, reduced pollution and sensible fisheries management, the WSB population has recovered fully and the Black Sea Bass are coming back.

Will I ever have a chance to taste that sweet white meat again? I hope so, but then maybe it is better to just cherish the memory of that warm summer night with a beautiful companion on my arm and some of the best that Mom Nature can provide sitting comfortably in my belly.

Bob

[Rocksmith]

Black Sea bass is definetily a tasty fish.
My Dad has been SCUBA diving since I was a lil boy. We werent a well of family but my father dove for our dinner. I was a rough childhood living on lobster, scallops, abalone and bsb or whatever he could scrounge.
Well he got a bsb on the skirt of table rock in front of Anacapa island. The beast was only 176lbs, but we ate well for a long time.

http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu38/vcguy/2009-12-29175649.jpg




It was caught with a homade speargun equiped with 100ft of 600lb nylon with 3 36" co2 poppers.

Sorry for the pic but its a pic of a wall picture.

Notice the death grip he has on it. Back then they were everywhere on Anacapa and the other islands. Mind you this was probably 25+ years ago. But they are on a recovery and hopefully someday thay will not have to be on the protected list.

Yea, my first post but thought I would share on this.