Thread: Question of the day

I am not possitive, but I think barametric presseure would play a role in this. So the depth may change from day to day.

Here is some interesting reading


Top Ten Reasons Why You Don’t Catch More Fish.
by Wayne Kelly, aka Special K




Reason # 3 ~ Failing to Understand Basic Environmental Facts about Crappies.


Quick Review: In my previous post I said that biology, migration and environment are the basic elements that you absolutely must consider when laying your foundation for everything else… whether you are just learning to fish for crappies... or you have been doing it for a long time.... because these three factors deal primarily with the natural or instinctive behaviors of crappies and tend to determine more than anything else where crappies will be located and what they might be doing at any given time of the year. (See “As Promised ~ Crappie Fishing 101 ~ for Newbies”).

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTS

“One ounce of environmental knowledge is worth more than many years of aimlessly wondering, pondering and head scratching.”



In the last post, (Reason # 2 ~ Failing to Understand Basic Migratory Facts about Crappies), we talked about where fish should be located and some of the tactics that you should use during this time of the year, early to mid-fall; now we should talk more about the reasons that crappies are where they are and why you should expect them to move shallower and subsequently go deeper as water continues to cool into the fall and winter months.

In the summer months, up until early fall when crappies begin to look toward the shallow water they have the “maddening” habit of ‘suspending’ in relatively open water, without any regard or relationship to structure. They appear to just sit there and ‘sulk’, refusing to bite anything unless it is placed (nearly) directly in their mouths. My brother made me laugh many years ago when he made reference to these suspended and “no biting” fish as being in “la-la land.” You may have also noticed that crappies have a tendency to get “lockjaw” during and immediately after major barometric pressure changes and cold fronts.


Whenever there is less pressure squeezing their bladders, the bladder expands a bit. When their bladders expand, this puts pressure on other organs and fish become increasingly uncomfortable and distressed. They usually relieve this discomfort by moving deeper in the water column (which increases the pressure on their bladders) or by absorbing extra gas into their bladders over time. Because of the anatomical and physiological stresses exerted on fish during these changes, they’re not nearly as worried about eating and are far less active or aggressive than normal. During this time of low air pressure, crappies are more concerned with trying to find a depth where they can stabilize their bladder pressure and find comfort… a “comfort zone” of sorts …where the pressure is reduced or more equalized. (We will talk more about crappie “comfort zones” shortly). According to many studies and articles that I have read… crappies experience this discomfort or distress during any periods of low pressure, causing them to tend to lay low and limit activity until they find deeper water or until high pressure returns. I feel sure that you have read the reports and even noticed “first hand” for yourself that the “bite” drops off dramatically and immediately following sudden changes in barometric pressure and returns when pressure stabilizes again in the area.



This brings us to another very important subject of barotrauma. In the late fall and winter months when crappies are typically in deep water and are bottom oriented--and when these deep fish are caught and rapidly brought to surface, the fish experiences a sudden and progressive decrease in ambient (or surface) pressure, which negatively results in an increase to the pressure of dissolved gases within the blood and tissues. As the blood and tissues become supersaturated, gases may leave solution and form bubbles (emboli) in the blood, and various tissues and organs, including the eyes, brain, heart, arteries, gills, spleen, fins, musculature, and the dermis beneath the scales can be affected. These emboli may occlude the heart and arteries, affecting circulation to the heart and gills.

Any fish species with swim bladders may suffer additional injuries as the swim bladder expands when caught in deep water and brought to the surface, causing compaction and displacement injuries to internal organs, as well as hemorrhage and hematoma of, the eyes, heart, liver, kidneys, and other internal organs. That's why it is important to bring deep water caught crappies to the surface slowly and return them as quickly as possible when releasing them--as they must return to deep water immediately in order to relieve the pressure, trauma and to survive. Please be responsible and conscious of the realities of barotrauma and always remember to bring these fish to the surface slowly and carefully--releasing them quickly without holding them in the live-well for periods of time while culling for a better limit.

WATER STRATIFICATION & TURNOVER



In the pertinent part, and without trying to over complicate something that is really pretty simple stuff, most lakes form distinct layers with the seasons and each layer differ in water chemistry. This process, called stratification, greatly affects the location, condition and even activity levels of all fish species at different times of the year. In late winter and early spring the water temperature of most lakes is about the same from the top to the bottom. As the days get longer and warmer, into the mid to late summer months, however, the surface water warms faster than the water below it. The difference in water temperature with depth results in the formation of three distinct layers of water that are defined by their temperature differences and amounts of dissolved oxygen.



When the epilimnion, thermocline, and hypolimnon first develop in the late spring or early summer, there is an adequate supply of oxygen in all three layers of water to support all species of fish so, as an angler you should pay little attention to how stratification affects fish or pattern fishing during this time. As summer progresses, however, the amount of oxygen in the bottom layer, hypolimnon decreases. Water in the upper layer, epilimnon, on the other hand, is in contact with the rich supply of oxygen in the air so it is constantly supplied with oxygen and is constantly stirred by winds that encourage mixing and oxygenation of that surface layer. However, once the stratification process sets up in the summer, the thermocline acts as a barrier between the oxygen-rich water in the epilimnion and the hypolimnon. Oxygen used up by organisms and the organic decaying process of aquatic life, death and vegetation in the cool hypolimnon cannot and will not be replaced until the fall turnover.



It is at this time in the late summer and early fall that a savvy angler must take stratification very seriously and will need to change locations and concentrate (only) on the areas where crappies will be holding and migrating, as you have learned in the Crappie Fishing 101 Series. (For more on locations, tactics and bait presentations during this time, see Crappie Fishing 101~ Failing to Understand Basic Migratory Facts about Crappies). Stratification is a natural process in southern lakes and is one of the prime factors that affect fish and fish movement. This can certainly be a problem for stocked or introduced cold-water fish such as the striped bass. However, native species such as largemouth bass, crappie, catfish and bream live quite successfully in the warm epilimnion layer although they may be uncomfortable, less active or semi-dormant at times under the very warm water conditions. I hope you agree that your better understanding how the stratification process works and how it affects fish will help you better understand the yearly changes taking place in your area lakes.


So, in conclusion, I guess the overall advice one might take away from this article is: Always be aware of the changing environmental factors that surely affect the biology and migratory patterns of crappies. I can assure you that you will save yourself a lot of wasted time and frustration and you'll stop coming up empty because you are fishing the wrong places, using the wrong tactics, or making the wrong approaches. I am confident that you are beginning to see the importance and feel the impact of the biological and migratory instincts of crappies and how crappies react and change their habits and routines in response to these environmental factors. Now, make it work for you instead of against you.
I don't want to beat a dead horse when I say it,but, please... always be a good steward over God's creation that He gave us charge and dominion over. I am totally convinced it is His Will for us (both) as Christians and as sportsmen.

I hope the first three parts of this series have helped you to understand that the fundamental key to finding, patterning and catching more crappies for the most part and in reality, simply lies in your better understanding of basic biological, migratory and environmental facts about crappies. I hope you have taken some useful information from the series that will give you the confidence and the knowledge that you need to put more fish your fair share of fish in the live-well and have a whole lot more fun on the water while you're doing it.

Good Luck to You All & May God Bless. Thumbs Up Thumbs Up Thumbs Up Thumbs Up

Wayne, aka Special K

Deeper then most lakes I think. Fish can start showing signs of hyper buoyancy at about 20' depending on how fast they are reeled up and pressure. Most of the time you will not recognize the swollen bladder as much in fresh water but if the fish swims on its side when you release it and struggles to get down that is how you can tell that the bladder of the fish is swollen and trying to re-adjust. This can take a few minutes. We used to take a small needle and stick the bladder of red snapper in the gulf that were to small to keep. It increases their survival rate and the possibility of be eaten by a predator when released. The fish recover a lot quicker. One more tip would be if you ever keep fish in a live well for a period of time and then release later you will find their bladders swell and they will need time to adjust to the water when putting them back so give it some time to adjust when releasing these type of fish..........most of the time the live well means dinner but if you have two fish and decide not to clean them and let them go this can happen.

"A bad day fishing is better then a good day at work"

Great article E-Z

I've seen them caught nearly 30' and swim back down if pulled up slowly. The ones in my livewell caught 20 to 30 ft deep floated on their sides. Next day they would all be upright after given time to adjust. Deeper you catch them and faster you pull them up more air bladder expands.

I caught em last year out of 50 ft of water and when you got em to the top their eyes were popped out of their heads, was reeling one up recently that came of the hook about 5 feet below the surface , thought he got away but a few seconds later there was the fish floating next to the boat so took the dip net and brought him in!!!!

Originally Posted by NIMROD

I've seen them caught nearly 30' and swim back down if pulled up slowly. The ones in my livewell caught 20 to 30 ft deep floated on their sides. Next day they would all be upright after given time to adjust. Deeper you catch them and faster you pull them up more air bladder expands.

They are now making weights to attach to their fins to keep them upright so they wont die. I don't know the name of them but tournament fisherman are using them.

Originally Posted by clfarms1

They are now making weights to attach to their fins to keep them upright so they wont die. I don't know the name of them but tournament fisherman are using them.