Tagging Fish

I have 5 private lakes withing my community, almost all of them receive
little to no fishing pressure. (Today was memorial day and I was the only
person out fishing or doing anything else on the big lake here), I catch
more than my fair share of Bass on these lakes and was wondering about
tagging bass. Anyone do it? I think it might be cool considering most of the
fishing pressure comes from me. I know nothing about it so a few questions

What effect does it have on the fish if any? Could it harm them?

Any websites that sell tag kits? Any preferred over another?

The reason I ask this is today I caught a fish that I caught a few weeks
ago. I know it was the same fish from a weird black mark on it's tail. It
was caught using the same type worm and caught in almost the same exact
spot. Got me thinking it might be cool to catch a fish that I had caught a
year or two earlier, especially anything with any weight to it, to compare
location/ conditions, technique and lures, Just something I was tinkering
with and figured I would find out more before going forward, any comments
ideas would be appreciated

alwaysfishking wrote:

I have 5 private lakes withing my community, almost all of them receive
little to no fishing pressure. (Today was memorial day and I was the only
person out fishing or doing anything else on the big lake here), I catch
more than my fair share of Bass on these lakes and was wondering about
tagging bass. Anyone do it? I think it might be cool considering most of the
fishing pressure comes from me. I know nothing about it so a few questions

What effect does it have on the fish if any? Could it harm them?

Any websites that sell tag kits? Any preferred over another?

The reason I ask this is today I caught a fish that I caught a few weeks
ago. I know it was the same fish from a weird black mark on it's tail. It
was caught using the same type worm and caught in almost the same exact
spot. Got me thinking it might be cool to catch a fish that I had caught a
year or two earlier, especially anything with any weight to it, to compare
location/ conditions, technique and lures, Just something I was tinkering
with and figured I would find out more before going forward, any comments
ideas would be appreciated

I'm interested in replies, myself. Bro-in-law who owns the tank I fish a
lot was asking me about that this morning. This tank is MAYBE a 1/2
acre. I have always caught nice size bass from it. We were wondering,
"How many bass could a tank that size be expected to hold?" He thought
maybe a tagging system would at least show us how many repeat catches we
are making.

Generally speaking, the 'spear' tags that inject near the base of the
dorsal fin are the prefered method these days.

Years ago, I was involved in a tagging project with the CT fisheries
bureau, and we used lip tags and I can't tell you how many huge holes they
made in the jaws of fish. Can't believe that some states still use them,
but I know NYS does.

Anyway, one of the most interesting occurrences during my tagging days was
the number of times that the guy who put the tag in the fish recaught the
same fish. Whether a matter of favorite spots, favorite lures, or just a
certain nervousness that puts a certain jiggle into a worm that some fish
seem prone to respond to, more than half of the 'recaptures' reported in
the program were made by the same guy who tagged the fish in the first
place. I had one fish that I named Ralph. Caught him 7 times over the
course of a season and a half. 5 times from the same blowdown tree in a
deep cove, on the same violet fliptail -- all during summer through early
fall conditions. Once from the point at the mouth of the same cove, on a
crankbait (mid-fall), and once on a smoke grub farther back in the creek
(early spring).

Also once caught and tagged a fish at about 7AM, caught the same fish again
a little after 10AM and again just before 4PM, all on the same
(size/color/model) worm from the same clump of cabbage located just outside
the main deep weed edge, in 18 to 20 feet of gin clear water at East Twin
Lake.


RichZ©
www.richz.com/fishing

See that's what I would like to know, how many of these fish are repeat
offenders. That's awesome Rich
"RichZ" wrote in message
...
Generally speaking, the 'spear' tags that inject near the base of the
dorsal fin are the prefered method these days.

Years ago, I was involved in a tagging project with the CT fisheries
bureau, and we used lip tags and I can't tell you how many huge holes they
made in the jaws of fish. Can't believe that some states still use them,
but I know NYS does.

Anyway, one of the most interesting occurrences during my tagging days was
the number of times that the guy who put the tag in the fish recaught the
same fish. Whether a matter of favorite spots, favorite lures, or just a
certain nervousness that puts a certain jiggle into a worm that some fish
seem prone to respond to, more than half of the 'recaptures' reported in
the program were made by the same guy who tagged the fish in the first
place. I had one fish that I named Ralph. Caught him 7 times over the
course of a season and a half. 5 times from the same blowdown tree in a
deep cove, on the same violet fliptail -- all during summer through early
fall conditions. Once from the point at the mouth of the same cove, on a
crankbait (mid-fall), and once on a smoke grub farther back in the creek
(early spring).

Also once caught and tagged a fish at about 7AM, caught the same fish
again
a little after 10AM and again just before 4PM, all on the same
(size/color/model) worm from the same clump of cabbage located just
outside
the main deep weed edge, in 18 to 20 feet of gin clear water at East Twin
Lake.


RichZ©
www.richz.com/fishing

Maybe chech with your local DNR for some help. Doc
==========================================

"alwaysfishking" wrote in message ...
See that's what I would like to know, how many of these fish are repeat
offenders. That's awesome Rich
"RichZ" wrote in message
...
Generally speaking, the 'spear' tags that inject near the base of the
dorsal fin are the prefered method these days.

Years ago, I was involved in a tagging project with the CT fisheries
bureau, and we used lip tags and I can't tell you how many huge holes they
made in the jaws of fish. Can't believe that some states still use them,
but I know NYS does.

Anyway, one of the most interesting occurrences during my tagging days was
the number of times that the guy who put the tag in the fish recaught the
same fish. Whether a matter of favorite spots, favorite lures, or just a
certain nervousness that puts a certain jiggle into a worm that some fish
seem prone to respond to, more than half of the 'recaptures' reported in
the program were made by the same guy who tagged the fish in the first
place. I had one fish that I named Ralph. Caught him 7 times over the
course of a season and a half. 5 times from the same blowdown tree in a
deep cove, on the same violet fliptail -- all during summer through early
fall conditions. Once from the point at the mouth of the same cove, on a
crankbait (mid-fall), and once on a smoke grub farther back in the creek
(early spring).

Also once caught and tagged a fish at about 7AM, caught the same fish
again
a little after 10AM and again just before 4PM, all on the same
(size/color/model) worm from the same clump of cabbage located just
outside
the main deep weed edge, in 18 to 20 feet of gin clear water at East Twin
Lake.


RichZ©
www.richz.com/fishing

"alwaysfishking" wrote in message
...
I have 5 private lakes withing my community, almost all of them receive
little to no fishing pressure. (Today was memorial day and I was the only
person out fishing or doing anything else on the big lake here), I catch
more than my fair share of Bass on these lakes and was wondering about
tagging bass. Anyone do it? I think it might be cool considering most of
the
fishing pressure comes from me. I know nothing about it so a few
questions

What effect does it have on the fish if any? Could it harm them?

***If done properly, there is no effect on the fish. However, if not, it
could cause infection in the fish. For this reason, many state Natural
Resource Departments will not allow private tagging programs. You have an
unusual situation with the lakes you fish. My suggestion would be to talk
to your DNR fisheries people and see what they have to say regarding
legality and suggested methods and/or tags.
--
Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com
G & S Guide Service and Custom Rods
http://www.herefishyfishy.com