MOUNTAIN HOME — As water temperatures cool, most crappie, bass and other gamefish in large reservoirs head to deep water. Anglers wise to their movements will begin to target fish below 25 feet where fish gather on sunken brush and other cover during late fall and winter. But when they bring the fish to the boat from their deep water haunts, anglers can unknowingly contribute to a condition in fish called barotrauma, also referred to as “the bends.”
Barotrauma occurs when fish rise from the depths to the surface too quickly. The rapid change in water pressure causes their swim bladder (an internal gas-filled organ that regulates buoyancy) to expand, potentially leading to serious injury. Bulging eyes, a swollen belly, fish floating upside down or on its side, and even internal organs protruding through the throat are all telltale signs of this often fatal condition. Luckily, there are ways to help fish suffering from barotrauma.
Descending devices are weighted tools that allow you to gently lower the fish back to the depth it was caught, giving its swim bladder time to adjust to the pressure change. Some are designed as open-bottomed cages that allow the fish to swim away once at the depth they came from, but the most popular are clips the angler can trigger once the fish is deep enough. These devices are available through some companies and retailers and are seen most often around coastal waters or lakes where downrigging extreme depths are common.
