# Sauger question



## wright7414 (Mar 30, 2007)

I was wondering if any of you have had issues with swim bladders and saugers. We were fishing yesterday and a majority of the fish we caught were in 15-25 ft of water and when we would get them in you could see the sack in their mouth were it had come through the throat. Do you have to puncture the sac for them to be able to swim regularly, or are they able to re-swallow the sac without a problem. When they were released the seemed to dive fine but I don't want them not to be able to eat and eventually die


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## hatteras1 (Jan 18, 2011)

salt water fish will do this also, if they come up too quickly. the fish will be ok if their not beat up and bleeding, or they are not lathargic, and if you release them quickly. they will hold a depth til their air sack equalizes.


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## wright7414 (Mar 30, 2007)

I knew about saltwater fish and them using a needle to puncture the sac so it deflates but they are also coming out of very deep water. I have fished the river for 20 years and never noticed this before so I was a little concerned. I dunno if the cold water had anything to do with it or not but temp was 36 degrees. The ones we did keep and put n the live well, their sacs did not recess down the throat.


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## hatteras1 (Jan 18, 2011)

maybe it wouldn't hurt to contact odnr


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## puterdude (Jan 27, 2006)

This should help you guys.I have used a diabetic needle and just remove the plugger from it.


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## Canoerower (Jun 28, 2011)

I've seen it in lake Erie with perch outta 45 feet even 25 if pulled up fast enough. The seagulls flock to the boats cause even if you through them back the fish still dies once the swim blatter comes up.


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## BigFishHunter (Dec 14, 2011)

Yeah like Canoerower said once their swim bladder comes up they are going to die. Puncturing it doesn't help either. They can swim away, but most usually don't make it.


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## wright7414 (Mar 30, 2007)

I contacted the ODNR yesterday and was told that as long as the swim bladder is not fully protruding out of the mouth that it does not need to be punctured. They said that if it is only partially out of the throat that when release the fish will either suspend until the pressure in the water re-regulates the sac and they can re-swallow it or that on the swim back to the bottom that they will deflate the sack. As long as the fish are able to dive and not float they will survive and that you should not puncture the sac. They said it would cause more damage and the fish would have less of a chance to survive. They also said that its very rare and that they haven't heard of this happening in this shallow of water or around here and did not have an explanation for it. We did not see any fish floating or dead while we were there but hope the released fish were able to survive.


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## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

> This should help you guys.I have used a diabetic needle and just remove the plugger from it.


If you are going to carry around an insulin syringe, make sure you have a prescription or the plunger is removed and thrown away so it is not able to be used for injections. You do not want a charge of possession of a drug abuse instrument on your record.
I used to carry a 5cc syringe and needle in my tackle box for putting air in nightcrawlers that I would carolina rig. Not anymore.


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## hatteras1 (Jan 18, 2011)

poking a hole in the bladder is comparitive to sticking a hole in a lung. scuba divers decompress and fish have a bladder. and we as humans, our ears pop when we change altitude 
also..........was told by an officer if i want to carry a syringe, to cut the tip of the syringe (point) off..


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## TRAPPERBECK (Mar 23, 2010)

Anyone catchin any saugers down at any of the locks on the east side of Ohio River ?


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## Doboy (Oct 13, 2008)

TRAPPERBECK said:


> Anyone catchin any saugers down at any of the locks on the east side of Ohio River ?


You'll have to ZOOM us in,,, better than that!?


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## jastew (Nov 18, 2011)

Read up a bit on this so here's a few things I learned

1. What you see in the mouth is NOT the bladder, it's the stomach..Don't puncture it!

2. Though fizzing(deflating with a needle) is common for a lot of species and even required for some saltwater species...I read a couple of studies that showed it actually increases mortality in walleyes. I would assume the same is true for sauger.

3. If you are going to fizz a fish, look it up first. It's done through the side of the fish so you need to know where the swim bladder is so you hit it and don't damage other organs.

Also..the swimm bladder has nothing to do with respiration so it's not like a lung. It's how a fish stabilizes itself at different depths.


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

I saw a TV show some time back where these guys were catching crappie from 30'-40' deep on one of those hill country reservoirs like in Kentucky or Tennessee. These fish had their stomachs coming through there throats as well. What these guys did was with the forefinger and middle finger of the left hand they would hold the mouth closed. Then, with the right hand gripping the fish about halfway back, they would sort of "fire" the fish back into the water! They were trying to get the fish about a foot or two deep, and get it heading downward to deeper water where the increased water pressure would help them regulate their swim bladder. Fish do that all the time, just at a slower rate than being suddenly winched from 40' to the surface. Maybe with the colder water, and the fish's metabolism being slower, the sauger can't regulate fast enough and that's why you're seeing it from 25'.

The method seemed to work. Those guys were there all day and no dead or dieing fish popped up.


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