Black Seabass venting?
 

How about some sharing of experience...

if you vent any fish what method do you use?

Just poke them with something sharp?
An actual venting tool?
The low cost milk crate method?

Re: Black Seabass venting?
 

works great on offshore seabass, the head right back down

Re: Black Seabass venting?
 

I was speaking with an aquatic veterinarian (top in his field) at a local veterinary teaching hospital and he had some very interesting insights on venting.

He said they have looked at lots of fish post venting and the majority of them had scarred or infected tracts from venting, scarred swim bladders and had a very small rate of survival. His main opinion was that anything brought up from the depth should be kept and humanely euthanized, but unfortunately regulations prohibit that at times. The new tools that allow you to very slowly lower the fish back down to an appropriate depth may increase survival and definitely don't do more harm to the fish than poking it with a non-sterile needle (and probably with the wrong technique).

Re: Black Seabass venting?
 

Seabass cranked up from 200' water. Stomach blown outside the body, scales blown away from the skin from air, gill linings exploded in their heads and eyeballs blasted outside the eye sockets. And thats only what you can see
Venting?
Total joke.
Makes ya feel good when it can swim down 30 or 40 feet (then expire).
At 200' plus survival is probably zero.

Re: Black Seabass venting?
 

I agree that inshore vs offshore are two different ballgames.
I've vented BSB from about 70ft with a non sterile needle and tracked them 3 months later. Fish are way more resilient that we think...Oh and those fish had surgery to embed an acoustic transmitter(I've been at the top of that field too).

I'll find the study done in NC waters that has some interesting things to say...
That study wasn't done very deep.
I'm going to be talking to someone about this this weekend...I'm leaning towards NJ inshore not so important-offshore important but is it worth the effort?

Am I way off base?

Re: Black Seabass venting?
 

Have tried many times offshore fishing in 180+ fow. Have used non sterile needles trying to release small fish. They seem to make it down 20 - 30 feet only to pop back up to the surface to become gull dinner.

Re: Black Seabass venting?
 

I call BS on this one.....if it makes you feel good do it. Other than that, fillet it and eat it, better you than the birds and crabs.:rolleyes:

Re: Black Seabass venting?
 

Snapper and grouper it seems to work, sea bass, not so much. Moderately deep sea bass, under 150, tend to do well with a slow steady burping pressure on the stomach. But at a certain stage they are too far gone with bubbles all through the blood stream.

Re: Black Seabass venting?
 

Re: Black Seabass venting?
 

Very easy way to return a fish that has a chance to survive ( not the ones with eyes bulged and guts hanging out), simply hook the fish through the skin of or near the head and then drop them back to the bottom. When they get to the bottom lift sharply on the rod and the hook will pull out and the fish will be back at the pressure you brought it up from. As Research Dude said they are pretty tough.