Fizzing the air bladder?

[Les Young]

How many of you fizz a deep caught crappies air bladder? Does the B&M slab slayer make it easier to do? I caught some the other day that were in bad shape even though I took my time bringing them up & this made me wonder about fizzing. Thanks

[Ketchn]

if them eyes do the pop eye thing they are done ....
this is why we have the first 25 have to be kept no matter the size on several lakes in the winter
it is quite likely most of the punctured fish don't survive is my guess anyway ....
last time I did that puncture one and let it go thing, about 5 minutes later up came a nasty bird with what appeared to be the one I set free in its beak

[Happyfisherman]

Probably a cormorant, some Asian fisherman raise them and fish with them exclusively, no rod and reel or net. Like Ketchn said probably better off to just keep em for the fryer or guve to someone that eats crappie if you know anyone

[Les Young]

So if they’re not keepers they just end up being turtle bait?

[Les Young]

if them eyes do the pop eye thing they are done ....
this is why we have the first 25 have to be kept no matter the size on several lakes in the winter
it is quite likely most of the punctured fish don't survive is my guess anyway ....
last time I did that puncture one and let it go thing, about 5 minutes later up came a nasty bird with what appeared to be the one I set free in its beak

No doubt if the eyes pop they’re done but if not I wonder how well they’ll live if fizzed?

[Auston22688]

The bass guys do it and it seems to work. I would try it.


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[Happyfisherman]

Was just reading this thread, may have some useful info

https://www.crappie.com/crappie/miss...-deep-crappie/

[CrappiePappy]

The bass guys do it and it seems to work. I would try it.


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Actually, there's been a division between the fizz & don't fizz camps ever since the practice started.

Crappie use the air bladder to "suspend" in the water column ... but, when the air bladder is punctured & air released the fish no longer has that ability and is forced to continually swim until that puncture has healed.
Also, if done incorrectly (even by a millimeter or two) there's a chance that a vital organ can be punctured. And even if done correctly, if the needle isn't clean it may cause an internal infection.

[6poundtest]

I've never done any of the fizzing or puncturing mentioned above, choosing to look for shallower fish; personal choice. However, if you've got some time to spend, check out this video and the ones linked in the video about the MI or MN DNR study (I forget which state it was that did it).
Aaron from Uncut Angling is certainly controversial but I think this video makes some very strong points about more than just barotrauma and feel it's well worth the time to watch. His LS footage after the release showing the angle the fish take to get back down to depth is very telling. This is done ice fishing and don't know if applies to the warmer waters or not.

[Central Minn]

Arron has a few videos about barotrauma around 17 minutes the release is critical on deep water crappie.https://youtu.be/6AdfSoPfxr0?si=P2Iqv1nq55Tf3ZnB I see 6 pound beat me to it