Understanding Barotrauma

BASS ARE ROUGH CUSTOMERS, BUT they aren’t near as tough as they might look.

One of the perils of catching fish out of deep water is it can cause “barotrauma” — a scientific term for an overinflated air bladder. It often occurs in fish that are reeled in quickly from deep water.

A bass’ air bladder gradually deflates as it swims shallow and inflates when it goes deep. This allows the fish to maintain neutral buoyancy as it changes depths.

A fish caught from deep water that is released immediately can usually regain neutral buoyancy on its own. Conversely, a deep caught fish that is placed in a livewell may exhaust itself trying to adjust. In severe cases, barotrauma will leave an exhausted fish floating on the surface, on its side, where it will die unless some of the excess air is removed from the internal air bladder using a specialized hypodermic needle. Fish handling experts refer to the process as “fizzing.”

In 2010, former Texas Parks and Wildlife Department fisheries biologist Randy Myers of San Antonio led an extensive study on the fizzing of tournament caught bass and fish that were collected using electrofishing at Lake Amistad.

The goal was to determine if fizzing results in greater survival in fish suffering from barotrauma, and whether it is best to fizz fish through the mouth or side. Myers said that side fizzing resulted in the survival of 14 percent more fish than mouth fizzing. anymore. Several companies are building big lipped baits that will penetrate 25-feet plus on a long cast. Strike King’s 10XD,

The department produced a high quality video “Treating Barotrauma in Largemouth Bass” that shows in detail how fizzing should be carried out. You can see it at www.youtube. com/watch?v=pEeQrsHcwf8.

A big crank is a great choice for ring up big bass holding around isolated stumps, brush, rock and other hard bo om structures. It works best in combination with a long, forgiving rod and a reel with a low gear ratio.

ALABAMA RIG: At rst glance, the A-rig resembles the “umbrella rig” used for trolling for stripers for years. e di erence is the A-rig is built for casting. It has a plastic head with ve wires that protrude from the bo om at downward angles. Each wire has a snap swivel for holding jig heads and small swim baits that simulate a small school of eeing bait sh.

A-rigs are deadly on deep water bass, especially when used in combination with forward-facing sonar. e trick is to cast past the sh, allow it to sink to the desired depth and use a slow, steady retrieve. It’s not uncommon to catch multiple sh on the same cast with the A-rig.

IG SPECKLED TROUT are mysterious fish.

Just when an angler thinks he or she has cracked the code on their locations and habits, they get lockjaw. There are 367 miles of Texas Coastline with tens of thousands of square miles of bay and estuaries that comprise our speckled trout habitat.

Trout do not necessarily behave the same way in Port Isabel as they do in Port Arthur. With that in mind we thought it would be fun to look at some of our notes on trophy speckled trout from the surf to the short rigs and from the Louisiana to Mexico borders.

LAGUNA SPOOKY SPECKS: Fish in pressured areas in clear water are often spooky and speckled trout are no different.

A trout is probably more likely to try and remain camouflaged before it bolts as compared to a bonefish for example, but trout in the clear waters of both Lower and Upper Laguna Madre can be spooky fish. Anglers often talk about being quiet on the boat so as to not spook reds.

Trout can be just as spooky and think about this.

How many times have you sight-casted to reds? Probably quite a bit.

How many times have you sight-casted to big trout? Probably far fewer times. Eliminating noise, approaching areas slowly and making delicate casts can make a big difference in Laguna trout fishing.

MATAGORDA ISLAND: It doesn’t get mentioned as much as it used to, but Matagorda Island can provide some incredible speckled trout fishing on the surf side as well as the bay side.

While your chances of catching a 30-incher aren’t huge, getting in on those 20-25 inch trout here is highly possible. And it’s an adventure.

The island is secluded enough to feel like you’re in some distant land and the fishing pressure is much lower than other areas due to not being located near a large population center. e surf trout there are known for ghting super hard. And that’s probably from evading sharks. at surf has plenty of those as well. e water around these rigs ranges from only 20-40 feet deep and the sh will hit a variety of lures and baits. A good tip is that some of the biggest sh will be on a particular spot on the rig. ey always seem to congregate on a certain ladder stand or pipe and not be spread around much. If you catch one big one, there’s a good chance there will be another one right there. e key is ge ing out early or shing late because much like the je ies these sh like to feed on the surface early and late. e amount of bait in this area can be overwhelming so look for small slicks forming when they feed and areas where you have shallow shell dropping o to the deep channel.

RIBBONFISH: Ribbon sh are a top prey item of speckled trout in some areas. When you see ribbon sh in the 6-12 inch range being chased by a predator, it’s one of two things - specks or Spanish mackerel. And if it’s in the bay as opposed to the surf, it’s probably specks.

Silver spoons or eel imitations are a great way to score when they’re on the ribbon sh pa ern.

SPECKS THAT HATE CROAKER: Live bait is a controversial way to pursue big trout, but it is perfectly legal and popular in the Sabine area. Live croaker is the ticket for big trout on the Lower Coast but is not very e ective in Sabine Lake. Mullet is a much be er big trout a racting bait in the lake itself.

SHORT RIGS: e nearshore oil and gas platforms o the Texas Upper Coast and the bordering Louisiana coastline have lots of trout around them in the summer. And they grow to huge sizes.

To save you from wasting time, don’t venture out if the water is murky. If the water is sandy-green to clear the trout will bite. If not, forget about it.

WOLF PACKS: ere are small packs of monster trout that will cruise the shorelines along our bay systems. ese big sh will be in groups of a few to perhaps a dozen or more. ey tend to be most prevalent in early summer in these locales, but we have a feeling they roam together like this more o en than we know. We’re not talking about six 30-inchers hanging out together although it is possible, but we have personally seen numerous schools of trout 20 inches plus.

JETTIES AT DAWN: Many anglers would be shocked to nd out how many big trout can be caught on topwaters at the je ies a half-hour before sunrise to about half an hour a er.

Topwaters and the je ies might seem like a strange combo, but the big girls will feed close to the surface early in the morning in places like the Galveston North Je y and over at Sabine.

INTERIOR CHANNELS: ere is a system of channels dug in the bayous along the Upper Coast bay systems. Go in quietly with a good pair of polarized shades, look for concentrations of mullet and even the big trout themselves. Bring slow-sinking plastics or big topwaters to score.

RIVER TROUT: During summer, look for the Upper Coast Rivers to hold big trout.

Big trout are unique, mysterious creatures that drive thousands of anglers to spend thousands of dollars on specialized gear. Keep these observations in mind and you will greatly increase your odds of catching one this summer.

LLIGATOR GAR HOLD A special place in Texans’ hearts as the largest and longest-living freshwater species in the state. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) works to ensure healthy populations remain in Texas for future generations. As gar fishing heats up this summer, TPWD is working with anglers, who play a key role in conservation efforts through proper catch-and-release practices.

“Catch-and-release fishing for alligator gar has become quite popular and data from a current evaluation in progress indicates high survival rates for released fish,” said Dan Daugherty, TPWD Inland Fisheries senior scientist. “We’ve even recorded some fish being caught and released three or four times over multiple years.”

TPWD biologists have put together some best practices for anglers to follow when they head out to the water in search of these massive fish. Alligator gar can grow up to eight feet long and weigh more than 300 pounds. The best available science suggests gar anglers follow these key guidelines to maximize survival:

1. Use non-stainless-steel tackle and hooks no larger than 3/0.

TPWD recommends the use of single hook styles no larger than 3/0 when fishing for alligator gar. Larger hooks are more likely to result in damage to internal organs, particularly for smaller fish. Stainless steel hooks and leaders have been shown to persist in fish for years, while bronze hooks and leaders degrade relatively quickly.

2. Land large fish on shore rather than on a boat.

Whenever possible, landing the fish on shore is a better practice than lifting the fish over the gunnel and onto a boat deck. The use of lassos or snares to lift a fish over a boat gunnel may result in internal injury to a heavy fish like alli- gator gar. If possible, keep the fish in or near the water; fully support the weight of the fish when taking photos before release. Minimize handling time. ey have become that and much more. ey have become extremely popular with hunters who can’t a ord an out ed bighorn hunt or have had no luck drawing tags. ey outcompete all of the above for food and water and have recently been proven to be carriers of a deadly pathogen that can wreak havoc among bighorn populations.

3. Cut the line or leader on deeply hooked fish.

Hooks lodged beyond the mouth cavity (in the throat, gullet or stomach) should not be removed — most studies suggest additional damage is often caused by attempting to remove a deep hook. Long-term survival is more likely if the line or leader is cut and the hook left in place. Non-stainless-steel hooks degrade relatively quickly and can be more easily shed by a gar.

TPWD’s alligator gar webpage provides comprehensive information on the species, including management practices and additional tips for anglers.

OUDAD ARE BIG, STRONG AND impressive animals. Originally stocked in the Palo Duro Canyon in the Texas Panhandle in the 1950s, they seemed like a perfect new game animal for that region of the state.

Aoudad, also known as Barbary sheep are natives of northern Africa where an estimated 10,000 survive in countries like Chad and Morocco. In Texas alone, the lowball estimate for their free-ranging population is more than 20,000 and there is likely that many behind high fences.

And they are causing problems for native Texas bighorn sheep, mule deer and other desert wildlife.

“We know we can’t eliminate aoudad and we’re not going to try, so we are going to focus on dealing with them on public land where we have leeway and communicating to landowners the value of bighorns and other native wildlife,” said Froylan Hernandez, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) Desert Bighorn program leader. ere is no bag limit on aoudad, so if you have landowner permission and see one on your lease, by all means take it. And don’t just wait around on a big ram. at’s a win for everyone, perhaps except for the aoudad.

Hernandez said the sheer amount of aoudad in some areas is amazing.

“We have seen herds of more than 200 on mountain ying helicopter surveys,” he said.

Aoudad are a highly challenging game animal.

In this writer’s opinion, they are superior to a whitetail in intelligence and have an incredible sense of vision, hearing and smell.

Taking an aoudad is an accomplishment for any hunter and I believe taking a free-ranging aoudad by bow is the hardest hunting challenge in Texas.

Most hunters pursue rams for the big horns but ewes have horns too and some are fairly large.

If hunters would like to contribute to conservation by helping reduce aoudad numbers, ewe shooting is a must. And despite popular reports, the meat is good. A big, old ram will have tough meat, but I have eaten ewes and it tasted like whitetail to me.

Harvesting a ewe can be good for our wildlife and its habitat and put some meat on your table.

And as much as they’re winning in the realm of population expansion, they need a few losses.

THE FALL HUNTING AND FISHING season is just around the corner.

While many automatically connect fall with hunting, the pursuit of game is not the only game in town deep in the heart of Texas. Our shing reaches its peak during fall months and in reality, our hunting never stops. Since we have so many opportunities to get in the woods and on the water in the coming months, here are some reminders, tips and strategies to help you be prepared.

MAKE SURE YOU’RE LEGAL

As simple as it sounds, make sure you have your hunting and shing license and any other additional tags or permits you might need.

Will you be needing a federal duck stamp? What about an annual public hunting permit?

Make sure you have all of the above before you hit the eld and nd yourself in an uncomfortable position in a game warden check.

BOOK IT!

Whether you’re shing for tarpon down in Lower Laguna Madre, shooting sandhills in the Panhandle or venturing to Colorado for muleys, get it booked. Make sure everything is good from your out er to your accommodations. CONTINUED

30  FALL FORWARD: GET READY FOR FALL FISHING & HUNTING

Reported by TF&G Staff

36  TF&G REPORT: NEWS OF THE NATION

Reported by TF&G Staff

38  FISH & GAME FORECAST CENTER SALTWATER

Reported by Capt. Eddie Hernandez, Capt. Derek York, Capt. Mark Talasek, Capt. Joey Farah, Capt. Richard Thompson, Capt. Gerad Meritt and Capt. Brian Barerra

48  FISH & GAME FORECAST CENTER FRESHWATER

Reported by TF&G Staff

56  SPORTSMAN’S DAYBOOK

Tides and SoLunar Data

Check and double check. It’s frustrating when the time rolls around, and you realize the closest hotel available is 100 miles away.

Freezing Bait

Bait is o en in abundance in summer. Whether its perch for blue cats, shrimp for specks or shad for any number of species, catch as much as you legally can and freeze it. is can save you frustration when the bite is on, and you can’t get good bait and save you money as well.

FALL’S FAVORITE LURES

Fall shing can be intense and we mean that in a good way. e action can be red hot with the best numeric catches of the year both in our bays and inland reservoirs.

If you have favorite lures or favorite color/pa ern lures, now is the time to stock up. Don’t wait until your favorite DOA shrimp color or Gulp Swimming Mullet is sold out. Get them now and stockpile them away so you will be ready when the action hits.

Practice The Right Way

The archery-only season for whitetail deer is coming. TF&G Bowhunting Editor and master bowhunter education instructor Lou Marullo said the number one mistake he sees young hunters making in regard to shooting is not practicing with broadheads.

“It is extremely rare to find a bow that shoots with field points exactly like it would with broadheads of the same grain. All you have to do is look at the physical differences and see that there are some serious aerodynamic differences,” he said.

A number of broadhead makers claim their products match up to field points, but there are simply too many variables.

“It’s an absolute must to get out there and shoot with broadheads before going hunting. Even if you are just off an inch or two that could mean the difference between taking a big buck and suffering the heartache of losing an animal,” Marullo said.

When it comes to shooting broadheads at a target, there are many options on the market nowadays

“When it comes to shooting broadheads, I have found 3-D targets with the removable core or vitals to be the best option although there are some good ones out there that are specific for broadheads as well,” Marullo said.

File A Field Plan

This can be as easy as telling a loved one where you are headed and when you plan to return. Leaving this crucial information with someone on shore can help rescuers narrow down where to look if you don’t return when scheduled. If time allows, you should always try to fill out a completed float plan and update it as changes occur. Every piece of information proves more helpful than you may think.

On a boat, the easiest thing to have is a working marine-band VHF radio and a handheld GPS. This will easily allow you to call for help and give rescuers your position if necessary. Cell phones don’t always receive reception in the areas you may be going on your boat – so better to be prepared with extra equipment and not need it, than need it and not have it. e Coast Guard always monitors VHF Channel 16 for distress.

Venturing into the woods on a hunting or camping trip has some similar guidelines. A great option is to get a transponder which links to a satellite and can send the GPS coordinate of your location to all emergency response units in your area by the push of a bu on.

Scouting

For hunters, pre-season scouting is an absolute necessity. is is especially true for waterfowlers when looking at vegetation growing in areas. Many hunters over the last decade have experienced showing up at a spot that was beautiful and full of ducks the previous season but was covered in salvina the next. Spend as much time as you can looking at areas and always have backup plan a er backup plan.

at way any weather scenario or change in conditions will not ruin your chance to hunt.

SHARING THE EXPERIENCE is year, consider being intentional about bringing others in the eld with you. Whether they’re your children, grandchildren or maybe someone from work who has never been shing or hunting, you can be a di erence maker in their lives.

ink about the times the outdoors has been a safe haven for you and all of the great experiences you have had beyond the pavement. at’s something that you can instill in others by simply investing time.

Take kids perch shing.

Take adults on a simple live bait speck shing trip or a duck hunt in a productive blind.

Get them hooked for life and help them prepare to become the new stewards of our resources.