He was at large for 206 days before being recaptured (and re-released). So how long did he grow in that span of time?
How Fast This Redfish Grew
I love tagging redfish and speckled trout, because it's another opportunity for me to learn about them.
That and it contributes to a higher cause, politics put aside.
Why?
Take a glance at the bass world: you'll see their biologists know everything about black bass.
They literally take big bass, breed them, and then stock freshwater lakes with their offspring and, years later, when they are caught again, can identify them as being the sons/daughters of those big bass they descended from.
That's just crazy!
And not just that, but these biologists also understand exactly how bass move, feed, breed, etc.
Since they possess this knowledge, it is feasible to create world-class bass fisheries from scratch.
They've become masters of managing their fish population!
But not so much for us...
For specks and reds, there's a lot we still don't know!
And if we knew certain things about them, we'd be able to manage them better, meaning we'd have more and bigger fish.
Who can argue against that? So that's why I take the time to tag and release fish.
But every once in awhile I will recapture one that isn't mine.
That's what happened earlier this year, and I wanted to share this recapture information with you.
Click to Enlarge
We caught her on a frosty cold morning in Geoghagen Canal, near Slidell.
It was so cold out that ice was literally freezing on our rods and, after a little work, had discovered that fish were holding at a specific depth of 16-18ft.
They were all rat reds, but still fun to catch!
How much did the fish grow?
If you didn't see it in the recapture report above, the fish was initially caught on June 12th, 2017 and measured 9.25 inches.
We caught him again on January 4th, 2018, measuring 14.5 inches.
Of course, assuming these numbers are accurate, that redfish was no slouch!
Which isn't surprising when you think about it, because at that length they're still very much adolescents, and young fish always grow faster than older fish.
This is to reach maturity more quickly and become bigger so as to increase their chances of survival.
What do you think? Comment below!
Wow.
That has to be a record for the tagging program.
My longest. just had a recaptured redfish out for 537 days grew from 12.0″ to 22.0″ traveled 8.09 miles
LOL Small world, indeed.
Good job tagging the fish! Not sure if you saw it or not, but we put her back.
She’s probably still out there somewhere.
Small world, I’m the one that originally tagged it.