By Louie Stout

Fizzing a bass

We’ve all heard the pros and cons of forward facing sonar (FFS).

“Older anglers don’t want to adapt.”

“It’s not fishing. It’s video gaming.”
“It provides an unfair advantage.”
“It’s boring to watch online or on TV.”
“It’s perfectly legal and enables an angler to fish for fish that were previously unmolested.”

I see both sides, but frankly, there’s an underlying issue that is being overlooked, especially here in Michiana.

Big fish are dying of barotrauma because some anglers using FFS in deep water aren’t taking care of their catch.

Your responsibility does not end just because you got your fish to the weigh-in scales alive.

I don’t fish a lot of tournaments, but there have been released seen fish struggling along the bank at several events where FFS produced top catches.

Those struggling fish were brought to the surface quickly and their swim bladders filled with gasses. When this happens, the fish cannot swim naturally. The ballooned air bladder pushes against the heart and restricts the heart from pumping blood, hence the fish dies.

Of course, there is a solution – fizzing – a delicate practice that needs to be done the moment you see a fish floundering sideways in the livewell.

I fished a weeknight event with a 13-year-old neighbor boy. As I was backing the trailer at the end of the night, the boy was in the water trying to revive a 4 pounder, struggling to swim upright, that someone released off the dock. Another angler was attempting to fizz another 3 pounder – not his - in the darkness with a cellphone flashlight.

The 4 pounder, and likely others, died.

Scoping is a rapidly growing practice among tournament anglers. It’s perfectly legal, but when you multiply this incident times hundreds of other tournaments held in both states, one has to wonder how many bass are dying unnecessarily.

The point is that anglers who learned to utilize the technology have an added responsibility for taking care of their fish.

Especially on smallmouth bass lakes.

Smallmouth are highly susceptible because of their preference to roam, and a lot of giants are being caught from the middle of the lakes. Those fish, along with big largemouth, carry genetics that assure big, quality fish in the future.

Regardless of whether you scope or just fish deep, you need to learn the PROPER method of fizzing a fish that struggles to remain upright in the livewell.

And do it promptly.

Take time to watch this video. A northern BASS Nation Conservation Director, who has dealt with a lot of smallmouth tournaments, explains the truth about barotrauma and demonstrates the proper method for fizzing.