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Hybrids die from stress ??

8K views 23 replies 6 participants last post by  Slowretrieve 
#1 ·
I have heard " If you catch a big wiper ...might as well keep it ,because it will die from the stress of being caught ! "
After catching a 26" ...cpr and back in the lake. The fish swam away. But was told "That fish will be dead within the hour ! "
This was on a hot summer day with water temps at 80° .. ?

True or false
 
#2 ·
80 degrees = true
70 degrees = maybe
60 degrees = false

The warmer the water the heavier the gear we use in order to bring em fast and release them in good shape

(I'm talking saltwater, non-hybrids, but the theory should hold anyway)
 
#3 ·
Ditto with Sudsy

If I may add...

Hybrids are far hardier than most people make them out to be.

It's not so much stress, but a build up of lactic acids in their muscles is the real killer. Just like a marathon runner that suddenly stops will cramp up. A hybrid or striper (especially larger fish) may appear to be in good shape upon release, only to drown due to the build up of lactic acid their muscle tissue. Wipers & Stripers need to move and to have water flowing through their gills in order to survive.

Warmer water temps also increase mortality as well as Sudsy mentions in his reply.
 
#4 ·
I think you guys are right on the money. Once thing about the hybrids that is true; they don't do well in a livewell. Even in a large livewell, they'll usually be belly up after a couple of thrashings and maybe five minutes in that confined space. They're like sharks. They need to be on the move with the fresh water moving over their gills.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the response .
I'm guessing that the size of the wiper may be a factor. Last year I put a 18" wiper in my live well for a couple of hours while we trolled for more . When I opened the live well hatch the fish exploded !! I quickly caught the fish and released it. There was no way this fish was going to die.
After that experience ...I'm guessing that the larger they are the more apt to die from the stress.

PS: We (my son and I ) are using 10' poles with 25lb fireline...so the fish come to the boat fairly quickly.

Next question : If they are going to die ?? Then what should we do with them ?? Eat them ?? I have never ate one but ...??
 
#8 ·
I hate to say it, but by all means, eat them. You're not likely to find a tastier fish. In fact, wipers are one of the only fish that can go right ont the grill without falling apart. Smoke 'em, bake 'em, fry 'em--they're great just about any way to like your fish. And if you have leftovers, mix it with some mayo, onion, little celery and you have a great sandwich spread for lunch the next day.

On the same subject, once you try wipers you will have doubts about the wisdom of releasing them in the future.
 
#9 ·
caught this one in the "heat of the year" down here and it was kicking hard upon release...salts don't seem to be as tolerant or hardy...Little Casino is right on all counts!! Eat 'em or release 'em..you won't be disappionted!
 

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#10 ·
Slo Ride, that is a BEAST! :)
It's a choice between fillet knife, and taking time to revive fish in water alongside boat before releasing.
When there's a surface blitz on, or a school of bait w/wipers under them goobling your lure or bait up, it's hard to not just pitch them back over board, or in the cooler and get your line back in the water QUICK!
I'm all for the water temp chart Sudsy posted, makes all the sense in the world to me.
I've heard of literally dozens of hybrids and pure stripers washing up below a dam upstream of Cincinnati, the "surf" casters catch one after another in the tail water, and they release them live, but many don't make it.
And I'm not sure, other than limits, why they don't keep them, I think it's the fast pace of the action, primarily.
LMJ
 
#12 ·
Those are gorgeous fish! Forty-three days and a wake-up: Spring! That Iowa wiper looks to be about 6.5 pounds. Alabama has an advantage on the rest of us--they've been growing the things a lot longer. Beautiful fish!

That makes me think of one other thing. People always bemoan the dog days of summer when nothing bites and the like. I've never found that to be true of wipers. Except for the winter months, you can pretty much figure on ample opportunities to catch a wiper, even in the blistering heat of August. In fact, I don't know about where you guys fish, but in Indiana August is one of the better months for wipers. They just don't seem to care much about the higher water temperatures.
 
#13 ·
Toothfish, I saw on the Iowa DNR site today that you have two bodies of water with wipers in Iowa: one the river and the other is an impoundment. I am assuming your son caught that bully in the impoundment. How deep is that body of water--overall?

Where I fish them in Indiana, the lake is about 10,000 acres and the depth for the most part is generally shallow, maybe 16-30 feet for the most part.

Also, I don't see downriggers on you craft. When you were trolling, were you working the flats near shore? That is a good strategy in my area. Just wondered if it worked about the same out west.
 
#14 ·
There are a few lakes with Wiper stockings in Iowa . I fish Saylorville which is part of the Des Moines river chain. Red Rock is also part of this river and I believe is an untapped Wiper reservoir as well. "The Ville" is fairly close and I know the lake fairly well ...so that's where we spend those HOT summer days trolling for hybrids.
The hotter the better...their metabolism calls for a huge intake of shad during these hot water periods.
The Ville has some 30' water but most averages 20'. Wind and areas that they can use to trap the shad (and some luck) are the keys in this reservoir.
There are only 3 or 4 of us fishing for Wipers on this lake. No one is using down-riggers...(maybe we should?) I use a particular snap weight set up to reach the desired depth. That depth is dictated by what I see on the graph.
Although a nice pic of my son and his fish..it doesn't do the fish justice as I think it was pushing 10lb ...wasn't weighed. I could be wrong but here is a photo with it on a tape. The home made measuring devise is 6" wide.
I have a scale in the boat ...I was trying to quickly return him..I now know there is no need to release.

This was the first year for me and my son...targeting Wipers. Hope to duplicate this many more times in 07.
Glad to find a group so dedicated to these species.

 
#15 ·
It is a group, but it is a limited group. Last year on one of the sites I read about a guy who caught what he thought was a record wiper. He measured it and did everything but wieigh the thing and he was, as an afterthought, looking for anyone who had a length to weight scale for wipers. Last I heard, he was still looking for it. Lesson: weigh them. I was astonished when I started weighing the fish on digital scale who little they weighed relative to the fight they put up. I was thinking I was catching ten pounders, but I was weighing three and four pounders. It was a real eye opener.

My guess on the fish sitting in the measuring device is over 3 pounds buy not yet four. Since they (statistically) grow 3 lbs. on average annually, that fish is about two years old. Just a guess.

Good luck in '07 with your wiper fishing. If your son was not an avid fisherman before he took his first wiper, I'm sure he is now. My son (now nearly 30 years old) never caught a wiper until a couple of years ago. Needless to say, his is counting the moments until he catches his next one. There's no telling what might have happenend to his life if he'd taken one of those vermits in his teen years.
 
#17 ·
That may work. I was absolutely amazed when I started weighing my fish on a digital scale. For a year or so I thought I was catching 10+ pounders. People would see the fish and ask if it was an 11 or 12 pounder. I figured it was in the ten pound range, and like all wipers, it gave every indication on the end of the line that it was heavier than that. When I started weighing them, I found that most of my fish were about 4.5 pounds, though they occasionally got larger than 8 pounds and 6 punders were no uncommon. Now, my goal for the past two years has been to break the 10 pound mark, and despite fishing in a large, clean lake with lots of forage, and fishing at least once a week, 8.5 pounds is my largest. I am confident I will break that mark this year. I got a copy of the stocking report for the lake over the past 10 years, and I'm pretty sure that elusive fish is in there in spades. Weigh them. You'll be surprised.
 
#23 ·
Here is the top three wipers entered on our club leaderboard.
Mike is on top , then my son and me at third.

1 - 32.5" -18lb 12oz -Des Moines River -#7 Firetiger Rapala -08/12/2006
2 - 26" -Saylorville Lake -3/8 oz Cicada -07/30/2006
3 - 23" -Saylorville Lake -3/8oz Cicada -07/30/2006
 
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