Bonefish Hero Shots

[Bjorn]

What i was getting at was that when the mortality gets too high, that would be an issue for me. I don't have a problem with how many trout I kill, because it's a small percentage of the total number I land... 3-5% or so.

If it were true that 30%, 40% or 80% of the bonefish I release were dying, that would be a problem for me. What I was getting at and from the reseach I read, mortality rates can be very high if certain variables line up... those variablees being air exposure, handling and predator density.

If your goal is to have the fish survive its encounter with you, it is a good thing to know what will increase the odds for the fish... in some cases, you can dramatically increase the odds for the fish just by snapping one of those cool underwater photos, or otherwise not removing the fish fully from the water.

I found the research a bit shocking... not used to predation being such a factor being a fresh water angler 99% of the time. So, my own shock is what I was trying to get across.

[Bob Laskodi]

Gosh, I actually agree with Darian for a change!!!! ;>}
Bjorn, you may want to re-think about where you're fishing for bonies, if you suspect that 80% of them are getting noshed on. As I said on the DB board in all my years at XMAS I have never had, observed, or heard of any one in my group getting a bonefish noshed on, either while on the line or after release. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I dunno, maybe my guides were good at steering us away from flats that held large numbers of predators. If you think they're getting noshed on, IMNSHO, you shouldn't be fishing for them, period, and taking a hero shot ain't gonna make a whole bunch of difference any ways!

[mems]

Aloha Bob, at X-mas I only saw GT's on the flats inside the lagoon, no sharks there. I did see and hook a monster cuda hiding there, about 25lbs. The sharks I saw were on the outside reef that fringes the island. We were working our way towards Korean wreck, and I had a black tip chase down a bone after I released it and chomp it. I was standing on a coral head and landed a small bluefinned trevally and a larger black tip, like 5 feet chased it up to my feet. I told the papio, it is you or me and tossed him in the water where the shark went after him, but he got away through the reef. I saw more sharks on that outside reef while we were fishing for GT's. They would hit a lai, queenfish if you fought it to the boat. Thank god not too many sharks in side the lagoon, but they do sit right outside Paris flat, and I have a pretty good idea what they are waiting for. The bahamas was just another world as far as sharks were concerned. Mems.

[Bob Laskodi]

You've made my point exactly about XMAS! The sharks are mostly (but not always) in the deeper water, not on the shallow flats inside the lagoon. As for the GT's, well I saw a few inside the lagoon, but in all my years there I've only had one legit shot at a GT while on the flats (yeah, call me an unlucky SOS)! And I can count on one hand all the GT's I saw while actually fishing the flats for bonies. In fact, if you want to chase GT's at XMAS the guides don't even take you to the lagoon bonie flats. I saw tons, of sharks, cuda's, and GT's on the punt ride to the flats, and they may be predating on sport caught fish, maybe, maybe not. I did not see many while actually fishing on the flats. Most of the flats we fished were huge, and offered ample resting ground for a bonie before hitting the deeper water where the big boys lay, so I'm not giving up my hero shots! As usual, YMMV!

[Bjorn]

Bob, the point I'm trying to make is that you need to pay attention... if you release the fish quickly and don't take it out of the water too much, you aren't going to see 80% mortality. It is about practicing caution and a little restraint.

I have no idea how many fish survived when I was in the Bahamas last Dec. I assumed they all survived, but, I really didn't know too much about bones or their environments at the time.

I know full well that some mortality is unavoidable and I've come to peace with that (many, many moons ago). What I'm saying, again, is that if we, as anglers, practice a little more caution, more bonefish will survive. I don't know why this is a radical notion or why so many people see this as unreasonable.

Most of us go out there intending the overwhelming majority of our fish to survive, I'm just relaying some research that shows how best to reach that outcome and it means less air exposure and in some cases no air exposure. It means less handling and in some cases, no handling. It doesn't mean no fishing and it doesn't mean no photos.

Uff da.

[Bob Laskodi]

Well, Bjorn, I know who you are and what you've done for conservation and commend you for your efforts. I have no problem with the thought behind your message and I actually agree 100% with what you are saying. But I have big problems with a thread that announces "Drop The Hero Shot". Great message inside, but the title is a turn off for me. I also don't like the indirect message that hero shots are always bad, and the indirect dig that maybe I'm not as concerned about the welfare of my fish, especially since I'm a big hero shot producer. I also won't go into my scientific background here because I think you also know it. Just my two cents worth!!!!

[Bjorn]

I can see that your point... probably not a good choice of thread titles on my part. It does seem that once people saw the title, they made a lot of assumptions about the content and it certainly got in the way of the message. Live and learn, I suppose. Thanks for the kind words.
B-

[Darian]

Bjorn,.... I think I said that I practiced C&R and that it was a personal choice in my original post. Seems like everybody on this BB has discussed principles of C&R and even hero shots in previous threads and other forums. None of these things are assumptions about your choice of title. That's why I questioned the point of the thread.

Frankly, I feel that you were attempting to make a point by stretching support for that point (due to your passion for Bonefishing). Regardless of your prior contributions, I'm fairly sure that you were the only one making assumptions here....

[Bjorn]

Darian, I don't know what to tell you, really. I am not saying that every day someone fishes for bonefish they are going to experience an 80% mortality day. I'm saying that it is easier to have that kind of day than I, and I think many, anglers would have thought.

Here is what one of the anglers who was involved in the study told me...

With 15 seconds of air exposure 80% of the fish we released in one day were killed by lemons or cudas within 2 mins. If the fished avoided contact with the predator longer than 2 mins their chances increased substantially.

That's where the 80% number came from... from someone who was involved in the study. I didn't make it up to support anything, it came from a study participant. The guy told me that when he told people about this most folks didn't beleive him, even seasoned anglers, and would accuse him of fudging the numbers.

The bare numbers... fish released without equilibrium, in that study, had a mortality rate of 30%. In the study, fish released with equilibrium, had a mortality rate of 5%.

[Bjorn]

Not trying to be 'Mr. argument' here ......
This might sound nutty ...... but it could be helpful to invent and carry a smallish floating pen - fine nylon or wire mesh , 2-feet by 4-feet , a couple of feet deep , with floats . You could put Mr. Bonefish (or whatever fish) into it for 15 minutes to properly recuperate ??? Put a latch top on it , submerge the top opened and let the fish go without touching it ..... I know I could use something like that in Baja for Ladyfish , which are usually wiped-out at the end of a fight .

Turns out the some scientists think you have a pretty good idea here... here are the conclusions from the same group of scientists looking at bonefish mortality in another study...

5. Conclusion
The results of our study suggest that there are opportunities
for anglers, guides, resource managers and
conservationists to enhance the sustainability of recreational
bonefish angling. The material presented here
can serve as a starting point for the development of
species-specific catch-and-release guidelines (see Cooke
and Suski, in press) for bonefish. Species-specific
guidelines for catch-and-release angling are required to
conserve diverse fisheries resources threatened by recreational
angling. Our first recommendation would be
for anglers to land fish as quickly as possible and to
minimize air exposure during the hook removal and
release phase. A cooler or live-well aboard boats may
provide an appropriate holding unit to minimize air
exposure for this procedure. In fact, we recommend
allowing all captured fish to recover for 2–3 min in a
cooler or live-well prior to release. Fish that are returned
to the water without losing their equilibrium
should be better able to avoid predators and resume
normal activities more rapidly. Because the likelihood
that a bonefish will survive after release is substantially
reduced in regions where sharks are abundant, distracting
a shark by splashing may be helpful, but will
not prevent all predation. We also recommend, that
when sharks are in the immediate vicinity of release,
anglers hold their bonefish in a cooler or live-well and
transport it to an alternate release location. This action
may not be possible for anglers that are wading. If
sharks are present and the likelihood that a shark will
attack either angled or released fish is high, we encourage
anglers and guides to relocate to an alternate
location. If a captured bonefish is bleeding, we recommend
that it be held in a live-well/cooler for 2 min
to allow clotting before release or moved to an area
with complex cover such as mangroves. The conservation
of bonefish will depend upon anglers using
strategies to release fish in good condition, such that
they can avoid predators. Educational material related
to proper fish handling needs to be disseminated to
stakeholders around the globe that are involved in
S.J. Cooke, D.P. Philipp / Biological Conservation 118 (2004) 599–607 605
catch-and-release bonefish angling, or management of
these fisheries resources.