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[ratso]

   The surface temp was 80, the lead-core was working and the four pounder was ON!!!!!!!!

The tragedy is I could not get that puppy to CPR. Could not get her to go back down. Tried for 10 minutes
picking her up and trying to get her started back down. No cooler, no ice, the plan was for a CPR trip.
Well I wrapped her in a towel and wet it down and hit the gas ( electric motor - 55 pound thrust ).
I was wrapped and headed for home at 8:15 in the AM to try to salvage that trout.

As luck would have it, half way to the launch ramp I found a guy who had a cooler and gifted him.

I mess with home spun stuff all the time. Here's what I plan on building today to take on future trips.
Metal coat hanger, clipped in half, remove the hook. Weight on one end of the up side down "U" string on the
bottom of the "U" and use the unweighted point to lip hook a big trout and lower her back to the deep.
Once down if they don't get off by themselves, just lift and it should be released.

I am thinking 20 feet of line should be way more than adequate, this ain't Round Valley, it's north Jersey.
A 16 ounce sinker would take a 10 pound fish down. I would stay in the area for a few minutes just to make sure the fish did not float back up.
The one thing I am not sure about is that 80 degree water. Stress from the capture. You would need to act quickly.

Any other other ideas short of puncturing the swim bladder would be welcome. Lemon slices and the grill don't
count guys.

[fishgalore]

I don't know if your idea will work but it's worth a try. I'm a catch and release guy too but if someone else in the boat or on shore WILL eat it that's fine by me. I have a live well on board but the warm surface temps won't do that puppy any good. I commend your efforts and intelligence. COLD water will usually revive since it holds much more oxygen than warm water. Was it a rainbow, brown, or brookie? Let me know how the idea works....we try to bring ice ...enough to cool the live well if necessary.

[ratso]

The place I am fishing has mostly browns. I take CPR seriously, and was headed for the ramp with the fish so as not to waste it. I read someplace about an upside down milk box with weight and rope to lower a fish back to the depths. I thought a smaller lighter more portable rig would work just as well. Time will tell, the trout are still feeding and the smaller ones seem to have the juice to get back down. The big girls, may not have the go-go once they hit the warm water on top after a few minutes pulling on the line. We will see what works.


 

[ratso]

Typical post, 84 hits, one reply.

Everybody wants the magic, nobody is doing the work.

There must be a lot of people out there that don't fish and love to live vicariously through others.

The fish are biting, the temps on Tuesday dropped from 80 to 78, on the surface, in July. Gotta go deep, deep, deep.