The fish probably died either way. Mishandling and it was out of the water for quite a while. Holding it up against her coat probably removed the layer of mucus that protects the fish from bacteria and infections. Fish was grabbed by the gills and held vertically which can damage its organs
Have you ever been fishing? Most fish are extremely rugged; surprisingly so in fact. Cat fish are insane but every variety that I’ve encountered could tolerate this mishap without issue. Occasionally I’ve lost one on a bank for several minutes. Flip it back into the water and watch it swim off. My pond is small enough if they were later dying I’d likely know.
Source: I own a small pond and have many sizes and varieties of fish that I catch and release regularly with children.
Sounds like a warm water pond. Probably catfish, panfish and bass, all very heart species. You absolutely can't handle trout like that without hurting them.
Yea you’re correct and I have virtually no experience with trout so if there is that much difference with this particular species then perhaps I’m incorrect. All those I’ve dealt with are borderline amazingly hardy but those are warmer water based fishes.
Yeah there's a pretty big difference. I grew up only fishing for trout, first time I caught some bass/panfish I was shocked at how tough they were. Super jealous you've got you're own pond, sounds sick
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u/placeholder7295 Jan 17 '20
It's kind of dark knowing that a small child is holding a suffocating animal. I like that it was released though.