Maumee River Report-May 10, 2018- Catfish CPR

Wading to Bluegrass is permitted at this time but may shut down as the river rises.

White bass are all over the river. Pick anyspot and workit with a roostertail or leadhead with pink white or green tail. The purple and natural colors are working as well.

The Big Cats are starting to get aggressive as the water warms and they begin they spring hunt in earnest.   For those big cats over 20 lbs we always recommend CPR- “Catch Photo- Release” While it is legal to keep the big ones its pretty cool to know that those old guys are in there and to give some one else a chance to get the fish of a lifetime. After meeting a lot of catfish anglers, I would like to thank the catfishing community for showing how much they truly care about the future of the sport.

Large fish can be very sensitive to the landing process and there are a few key rules of thumb that you can apply while landing and posing your fish for pictures to eliminate or minimize distress and damage to the fish.

The best rule of thumb is to always keep the fish horizontal.

Never hold the fish in a vertical fashion whether it is with your hand, or a lip gripping device, and always be sure to support the belly of the fish, letting the stomach cavity rest on your open palm if possible.

If you lay the fish on the gunwale of the boat to remove the hook, make sure to wet it down to avoid slime loss  Dont grab a fish that you are going to release with a towel or cloth, as this will remove slime.

Deeply hooked fish should be handled with extreme care.

A de-hooker is a great tool to have on board to be able to extract a hook.

If you have difficulty removing the hook the best course of action is to cut the line as close to the eye of the hook as possible and release the fish as is.

Most of the time the fish can still feed and the hook will rust out in time.

Other things to avoid also include the gill area of the fish.

The gills are by far the most sensitive organ the fish possess.

Without it they cannot filter oxygen out of the water needed to survive.

Even a minor brush with the gills can damage the small red filaments and lead to problems absorbing oxygen. This is the reason fish possess heavy gill plates, to protect this crucial organ from damage.

This is the reason fish possess heavy gill plates, to protect this crucial organ from damage.

Large fish that have had a long fight will almost always need a minute or two of revival at boat-side before you send them on their way.

Long fights cause a build up of lactic acid in the fillets of the fish and this acid needs to be worked out before you let go of the fish. If you do not relieve the acid build up, the fish will usually swim off about 10-20 feet and seize up, turning upside down on the bottom and suffocating to death.

If you do not relieve the acid build up, the fish will usually swim off about 10-20 feet and seize up, turning upside down on the bottom and suffocating to death.

Just because a fish swims off does not guarantee its survival.

How To Relieve Lactic Acid In Fish

• To relieve the lactic acid build up, put your fish in the water while you keep a firm grip on it’s tail.
• Wave the fish side to side in a swimming motion, never back and forth.
• This swimming motion will alleviate the lactic acid build up and allow your fish a  fighting chance at survival.
• You will know when the fish is ready because you will feel it try to “kick” or escape from your grip.
• Once the fish is kicking with some vigor, let it go, and keep your eye on it for as long as possible to ensure that it doesn’t roll over belly up.

Have fun be safe and good luck fishing