Fishing in frigid weather, C/R & Frozen Gills

[Phil Lilley]

I've never thought about gills freezing on fish caught in REALLY cold weather.  And I don't think I've seen it discussed on this forum.  

Thoughts?

If you haven't seen it - we've had a big brown come in here on Taneycomo this morning and we're trying to revive it.  Shane Bush brought the frozen gills to my attention.

 

[J-Doc]

Not heard of it either but could see it as a possibility.  

 

In my opinion (which isn't worth much), fishing below 32 is not worth your life.  I've done it yes.  Fished a few  tournaments where it was low teens at take off.  While the man card got holes punched, and my ego felt good, it was not smart. I used to be an all whether guy but as I've gotten a bit older, my comfort and safety is far more important.  If water temps are near 32, you're in Titanic-type water and won't survive after falling in. Even with a PDF, all those extra layers will really weigh on you and become much heavier after they soak up water.  Chances of boarding yourself or with a buddy on the vessel in that much pain due to 32 degree water temps are very low.  A buddy is a plus, provided he's strong enough to get you in immediately.  

And no I've not fallen out of a boat but came close. So my day is coming. Happens to about everyone eventually.

 

Just something to think long and hard about. And yes I have an e-survival blanket but no emergency heat source for a shoreline fire. Might add that immediately. 

[Flysmallie]

3 hours ago, J-Doc said:

Chances of boarding yourself or with a buddy on the vessel in that much pain due to 32 degree water temps are very low.

You would be surprised how fast you can get back in the boat when it's that cold. Been there done that. But I wouldn't be out there by myself. 

[Norm M]

 I am a wade fisherman . When it gets real cold , I try my best not to even take the fish out of the water when I get the hooks out  I've got a set of pliers that are real long that I use when I'm fishing for bowfin. I switch to those when it's real cold to try and spare my hands if possible. . I can dry my hands or go home if I get too wet, the fish needs the breaks more than I need to stay dry . If it's that cold, I don't measure them and I never take pictures so that isn't an issue . I use heavier tackle to reduce the amount of time the fish is actually on the line . Get them in and get them off as soon as possible .

 

 I've never landed a fish with frozen gills or seen one landed by someone else .

[Al Agnew]

I seldom fish if it's below 32 degrees, mainly because I get tired of the ice freezing in my line guides.  Have done it quite a bit in the past, especially fishing for winter walleye, when the best times are often right before sunup and right after sundown...when it's often dropping below freezing.  I used to chase winter walleye on the big gravel pit holes on Black River, fishing from my solo canoe.  Never had any kind of close call, but one day I suddenly realized that I was out there by myself, 100 yards from the bank in 20 feet of water, in a solo canoe that CAN tip over, and I wasn't even wearing my life jacket!  I guess it's called getting older and realizing that you're not immortal.  That was about the time I got a jetboat, which is a whole lot safer on winter rivers, but I never fished for walleye from the solo canoe after that.

As for gills freezing, I can certainly see it happening.  For the most part, I've found cold temperatures to actually be better for the fish you're releasing...they stay alive and healthy a lot longer in cold water.  I've had both bass and walleye stuffed into a big minnow bucket with just enough water to cover them, and driven home with the bucket in the boat an hour and a half, and the fish were still alive...and the bass survived when I put them in my pond, because I caught them later on that year.  Those fish would have been long dead and starting to rot if you did that in the summer.

[fishinwrench]

9 hours ago, Flysmallie said:

You would be surprised how fast you can get back in the boat when it's that cold. Been there done that. But I wouldn't be out there by myself. 

True that!  Adrenaline kicks in and you won't even realize you are cold until you are safely back in the boat and quit panting. But after that it gets miserable fast and it hurts BAD. 

Frozen gills is sure possible but I'd think only with air temps in the teens or below, and nobody has any business fishing when it's that cold out.  It isn't fun....And fishing should be fun. 

I do know that fish can be shocked by putting them into warmer water, but they can't be shocked by putting them into colder water.  Rapidly cooling down a fish actually seems to help them, but rapidly warming one up will kill them deader than a hammer in no time.

[Ham]

The general rule of thumb I've seen written about is that anytime the Air temp and the water temp added together = < 100, you are at greater risk for hypothermia. The lower the number the greater the risk. 

Maybe someone (think Griz Wilson) will find a pretty chart and post that. 

[Haris122]

I know this was kind of talked about in the past (not so much the gills freezing but cold and c&r), with me wondering about the cold and successful c&r and my mind was put at ease with this. But later on I do remember reading a study in In-Fisherman or maybe even a direct scientific article, that made fish exert themselves to some degree by swimming in simulated current or something when water was really cold, I think some of them definitely croaked after a bit of that, including fish like crappie that seem more cold water active than other species. So I guess, what I'm trying to figure out, is how exactly does that apply. I mean it seems for some things colder water and accompanying lower metabolism seem to help, but in other ways you figure by fighting to get off a hook, they would expend valuable energy reserves that they can't replenish easily in winter, while having to deal with the tougher conditions of winter. Where's my disconnect here?

[Al Agnew]

Haris, it's a good question.  My unscientific answer has several parts...

1.  I think cold water holds more oxygen than warmer water, all other things being equal.

2.  In cold water, fish expend less energy (because they are sluggish from the cold) in struggling on a hook...and are landed quicker.

3.  Once they are released, they go back to a sheltered area where they do not have to expend energy, and because their metabolism is slower from the cold, they use less energy in maintaining their metabolism.

So, cold water furnishes more oxygen to them while they are struggling, they struggle less violently, they struggle less of an amount of time, and they can recover more quickly.  Balance that against the fact that they are drawing upon a lesser reserve of energy during the struggle, and depleting that energy reserve more completely.  I suspect that it's pretty much a wash, or perhaps even skewed toward cold water being better for the fish attempting to recover from the struggle.  But mainly, I can only go on my own experience, as I said above.  If I can catch a bass, put it in a live well or on a stringer for hours, then put it in a minnow bucket and keep it there for two hours before releasing it, and it survives and prospers in my pond, I think cold water is a help rather than a hindrance in survival of released bass.  Do any one of those things in the summer, let alone both of them, and the bass probably dies.

[Chief Grey Bear]

14 minutes ago, Al Agnew said:

Haris, it's a good question.  My unscientific answer has several parts...

1.  I think cold water holds more oxygen than warmer water, all other things being equal.

2.  In cold water, fish expend less energy (because they are sluggish from the cold) in struggling on a hook...and are landed quicker.

3.  Once they are released, they go back to a sheltered area where they do not have to expend energy, and because their metabolism is slower from the cold, they use less energy in maintaining their metabolism.

So, cold water furnishes more oxygen to them while they are struggling, they struggle less violently, they struggle less of an amount of time, and they can recover more quickly.  Balance that against the fact that they are drawing upon a lesser reserve of energy during the struggle, and depleting that energy reserve more completely.  I suspect that it's pretty much a wash, or perhaps even skewed toward cold water being better for the fish attempting to recover from the struggle.  But mainly, I can only go on my own experience, as I said above.  If I can catch a bass, put it in a live well or on a stringer for hours, then put it in a minnow bucket and keep it there for two hours before releasing it, and it survives and prospers in my pond, I think cold water is a help rather than a hindrance in survival of released bass.  Do any one of those things in the summer, let alone both of them, and the bass probably dies.

I certainly agree that colder water has more oxygen. That has been proven in the scientific community. 

I have a differnt thought on your second point. Or maybe it's more of a question. But being fish are cold blooded, do they have to expend more energy to get the same or equal "movement" if you will, as they do in warm water conditions? And this only applies to warm water species such as bass, which though can live and survive in cooler spring waters, are not designed to live in cold water areas like trout.

When hooked, is a bass actually burning more calories and energy to attempt the same escape maneuvers? Sure we on the other end of the line may feel a difference in the amount of power of the fish, but is he actually using more enery due to the fact it is colder? 

I think you are right that they return to their place of shelter and begin the recouperation process. And I too think the colder water conditions aid in this process. One other point I think that helps is the reduction of different bacterias that could harm them. 

One thing to consider when fishing these conditions that you touched on is that these fish will spend far less enery foraging. Meaning they will eat far less often. And one reason is that to do so takes much more energy since the main diet sources are also scarce. 

As for your second point, I really don't know. I haven't researched that part of the equation. Interesting discussion though.