Replacing caught fish with new correction

[West Basin]

Changed the original post to this but wanted to make sure as many people read it as possible and know of the correction.

04/18/16 post update - Thank you Firetiger for the correction. I was wrong in saying - "I am 95% sure the rule is once you "possess" the fish it count's towards your limit and that's that... You can't then later, even a few minutes, toss it back and replace it with a newly caught fish, even if you are not at a full limit." I put the "95% sure" and "I don't have the regs in front of me" in the original post precisely because I didn't have the regulations handy and didn't want to say something for certain that I hadn't checked. This is a great example of 'check before you post.' I apologize to anyone who read the post before the correction and now thinks you can't "cull" fish in a limit.

Checked with ODW. It's been the rule / law for a long time. Don't know where the idea came from in my head, but I got it wrong. Maybe I got it mixed up with another rule. Anyway, yes you can release a possessed fish as long as it is alive and replace it with a newly caught fish. So if you already have a limit and catch "the big one" you can keep it and release one of your previously caught fish as long as it is alive. You don't have to be at your limit, you can do this at any point provided the released fish is alive.

However, as mentioned in the original post and commented on by pimplepounder, "fish involved in this process and later released have a high mortality rate... The fish may seem fine and swim away with a few quick tail thrusts, but the many stress effects of being caught and then kept out of the natural water environment take a hidden toll that often doesn't show up until later. So think twice before doing this, most likely you are releasing a fish that will not survive."

Just because a fish is "alive" doesn't mean it's good sportsmanship to release it in order to keep a freshly caught fish when it may be or is past the point of recovery if released. Each of us has to make that decision according to the situation, no matter where we are fishing.

[nate]

So all tournament fish probably die?

[pimplepounder]

So all tournament fish probably die?

Go to where they release the fish after a bass tournament the following couple of days. Take a good look around. Its not normal to see that many fish floating around of the same species in the same area. I know they do not all die, but a good share of them do.

I have noticed this quite a few times at different places. Fish placed in a live-well and having there bodies pounded around in there while bashing across the water is pretty tough on them plus the surface water temperature is much warmer which isn't very healthy either.

But what do you do?

[ebijack]

Well like mentioned, if your within legal rules, no harm no foul. BUT! I will state that after fishing tournaments and working tournaments for well over 40 yrs, there are some of us who know how to take care of fish and keep them alive for 8 hrs in a livewell and running 40+ miles in rough waters. Fizz fish ONLY if required and as a last option. And do it properly! Most boats out there do not have livewells large enough to keep say 5, 8lb walleyes alive and well for very long let alone 5 4 to 6lb smallies alive that long. There are things that can be done to help if folks want to invest in proper care of their fish. First off plug your livewell overflow so the fish DO NOT slosh back and forth. Keep the livewell full to over flowing onto the floor. Try putting a plastic bead in a partial full glass of water and shake the glass. Then do it completely full of water and see the difference. Keep the fish weighted to belly down/up right position in the livewell so the fish can burp out any excess air in it's bladder using clips on it's fins. Recirc only when not running, Recycle when running. As soon as you get off plane, refill the livewell! To state some basic's.

[pimplepounder]

I agree with everything that ebjack said here. It takes awareness and understanding of how to use good systems and methods to keep fish healthy and alive for a full day on the water.

[weekendwarrior]

I'd be more worried about commercial fishing, algae blooms and not having a closed season while walleye spawn than people sorting fish that they catch

[wakina]

I'd be more worried about commercial fishing, algae blooms and not having a closed season while walleye spawn than people sorting fish that they catch

Commercial fishing is, at least for walleyes, a Canadian problem that the Ohio/US cannot control and there is no commercial fishing for walleyes in Ohio waters! Algae blooms, while not yet controlled is a multi pronged problem that is being attacked in several different ways and areas, you are right that problem could use more attention. Having a closed season while walleye spawn has been proven in Lake Erie to have very litte effect on the overall population. One must remember that the lake can and has in the past had more walleyes than what the lake could sustain as they ate themselves out of house and home buy depleting their food base. It has happened before. Common sense should prevail in the fact that a hen/female walleye is just as much a hen/female walleye in the summer and fall as they are in the spring and they are just as egg laden in the summer and fall as in the spring with the only difference being the eggs are not visably developed yet to the point that a person can see them with their naked eye.

[pimplepounder]

Personally I think the rule that says you can cull fish as long as the one you release is alive and healthy is a subjective term.

Once they have been fought and released is one thing, but they still have a build up of lactic acid. If they are in a live-well banging around for a while or have their lower jar pierced and them tore to the jawbone by a stringer followed by being caught.. Its pretty sketchy in my own ethical view. Ones persons alive and healthy VS someone else's is the subjective component of this condition.

I personally can't do that, but the law is the law.

[wakina]

Personally I think the rule that says you can cull fish as long as the one you release is alive and healthy is a subjective term.

Once they have been fought and released is one thing, but they still have a build up of lactic acid. If they are in a live-well banging around for a while or have their lower jar pierced and them tore to the jawbone by a stringer followed by being caught.. Its pretty sketchy in my own ethical view. Ones persons alive and healthy VS someone else's is the subjective component of this condition.

I personally can't do that, but the law is the law.

I don't cull, if they go in my live well it is to bleed out before they go in the cooler. I know when I net them if I am going to keep it or not. They either get instant freedom or bled out.

The law is what it is ànd I will not chastise someone who is following the law. The place to complain is at your legislator of the ODNR District Office. They are the ones who can actually get the change one is looking for.

[pimplepounder]

Yes I agree with you .
Thanks.