[Hardyreels]

Hi Frank,

I like the fish in the water by your wading boot method. The boot gives a sense of scale and the fish continues to respirate. My opinion or argument if you please is based on the biology or better put the respiratory system of fish. If you read my post analogizing the man running then being placed in an oxygen deficient environment for the first 45 seconds following his run, I think that makes clear what we do when we reel in a fighting fish and then beach it for about a minute.

My position is neither emotional or geographically related, it's just the way it works. When you consider that fish can not process the oxygen once removed from H2O it's not a good thing. I attempted to make clear that I did not mean to cast aspersions directly on any poster but to encourage people to more carefully consider what they are doing when they lay a fish on the bank.

[yatahey]

Mcnerney
Yes, the news reports say the fire may be fully contained by this evening. Winds are fairly calm but it's very hot. Tomorrow is supposed to bring some moisture to the area.
Firefighters jumped on this one big time. At 100 acres burned they put 225 firefighters on it and 4 aircraft. Way to go guys!!!
If you are interested in tracking any wildfire check out these web sites. Very interesting.
GeoMAC (Geospatial Multi-Agency Coordination) - Wildfire Support
National Interagency Fire Center

[mojo]

Originally Posted by Hardyreels

Hello,

Not looking to pursue or escalate an argument here but I have often analogized the fish on the bank thing as follows; imagine being tied to the rear bumper of a Ford truck by the hands, the truck drives down a road for one mile at 5 mph. somehow you are able to keep up and not fall down, finally it stops, you are exhausted, you drop to your knees gasping for air, the driver of the truck gets out and promptly holds your head under water in a tub in back of the truck. Forty five seconds would seem like death to you wouldn't it?

Remember, supposedly we love these fish. That's why we fish for them. Why torture them at the end of their mile long run? Think about it, why not just reach down and gently slip that barb-less hook from the jaw and let them remain in the water where they can breathe? Try it you'll like it.

Don't get me wrong I'm not some whack job who belongs to a save the fish group but I take no pleasure in causing unwarranted discomfort to any animal.

Since fishing of any kind is a blood sport, maybe you ought to think about getting into something a little less bloody. Birdwatching comes to mind. And leave fishing, picture taking of fish- (not necessarily because we're bragging as some close minded people think-) to people that are out for more than pulling in a fish. Memories are made from scenes (and pictures) like these. If you don't want to come off as a whack job, don't write holier than thou posts. If I offended you, sorry. That's how I look at it. These posts come up all the time and for a while people are afraid to post pictures of fish they caught. Taking a picture is no more damaging to a fish than catching the thing. It's the handling of it and playing it with the wrong size rod, tippet and inexperience that kills fish.

[Hardyreels]

So that's what the man meant when he said this could get emotional. I believe you should re-read carefully all posts I've made to this thread. My point is not meant to attack anyone. I simply state a biological fact regarding the respiratory abilities of fish. Perhaps I come off as a bit of an elitist with my thinking but that's what the combination of theory and practice will do to a person.

You could be physic. I studied ornithology and zoology in school as part of my education. I have a cursory understanding of blood sports also. As for memories, I hope my seeking to enlighten any of our readers with a different perspective on handling fish which initiated this rather spirited exchange wont leave me with any bad memories regarding airing progressive thoughts in this forum.

Disagreement is healthy, it often leads to a better understanding of another persons position.

[MrEsox]

What a great looking fish, the coloration is amazing.

Now on to the breathing question. Here goes, hope I don’t lose anyone. First off, fish can be out of water for years and still survive. Maybe not all fish, but there are some. With that out of the way here is a little tidbit for ya all. Gills are a sight of gas transfer much like our lungs. Some fish can actually do it not only on their gills but through their swim bladder also. Some fish like a bass, walleye, pike have a closed bladder and cannot "gulp" air. Fish like trout (lakers are a great example) and carp have an open that allows air to be stored for use. Now a fish that is out of water yes has some what harder time breathing then one in water. But research has shown not much. See all a gill needs to do is be moist and it will function. To most peoples surprise, we as humans can breath water. Its not that hard of a concept. Fist you have to understand that between air and water there is an oxygen difference. The amount of O2 that a lung or gill takes in also then differs. Since fish dont have skin like we do they tend to dry out and lose water that is naturally in the body. This tends to also dry the gills leading to a loss of O2 and CO2 being exchanged. In short, dry gills cant pass gas. In us humans, too much water means not enough O2 that leads to the brain being starved of O2. Now here is where I may lose a few of you. NASA and the Navy have been looking into the Abyss for many years. Yes I did say Abyss. The movie back in the early 90's or so that had a guy put a water suit on and dive to a depth that would not only crush him but the O2 in his tissue would have become too deadly (ya we breath it but it kills us). See since the lungs are moist anyways, having O2 saturated fluid that will not hurt the lung tissue can allow for a person to breath, more or less, water. In contrast a fish can live out of water as long as it can stay moist and keep its gills moist. If you can keep the time a fish is out of the water down to around a few minutes there should be little harm. Things like wind and temp can make a change in time. Often if a fish can swim away on its own, there is a good chance it will make it. So remember that as long as the fish is still wet and the gills are too, it will be ok. Or just think of this, a carp jumping out of the water don’t hold their breath and think that they may suffocate...but yes fish can drown.