Aging Fish?

MrPhotographer06 · 03-23-09, 08:56 PM

is there a way to age fish?

i know they can do it for deer and stuff but never heard it for fish.. just wondering if you can age it..

i wonder how old my fish is..

Bassboss · 03-23-09, 08:58 PM

Interesting question! I have no clue, but I'm sure that some nerds have figured it out!

Try googleing it!

WIUbassin · 03-23-09, 09:49 PM

I don't know if it works for bass but I went with one of our university biologists when he was shocking fish one time and he could age the crappie and blue gill by some small piece of bone or cartilage in there head. I would assume bass would be the same since they are from the same family.

Sorry I know that is a super vague answer but the way he read the bone was similar to a tree in had a ridge for every year it lived like a tree has a ring for each year.

MrPhotographer06 · 03-23-09, 09:58 PM

yeah its a otolith ... the best way is to cut a piece out of it and look at it under a microscope

WIUbassin · 03-23-09, 10:42 PM

yup thats the name of it, couldn't think of it for nothing...

cassidyta · 03-23-09, 11:17 PM

I thought you cut them in half and counted the rings?

It is my understanding that their external appearance is so specific to environment that there is not a way to tell and keep the fish alive.

aikenyounggun · 03-24-09, 02:03 PM

yeah i just know fish always keep growing so the bigger they are the older they are... of course a big fish in California could be younger than a big fish in SC b/c of feeding habits or a million other factors

MrPhotographer06 · 03-24-09, 02:27 PM

i asked the bio teacher at the school..shes going to call some dude at clemson and find out [yuck clemson]

fishin' fool · 03-25-09, 09:09 PM

Another way is to look at a cross section of a fish's scale. This too has rings like the otolith. The line that makes up each ring is called an annuli. To age a bass, the average length of annuals is taken.
Each ring on a scale is called an circuli. The seasonal growth of a bass can be seen with each ring like a tree. The wider the space between each ring shows a period of growing. In temperate regions this would be spring and summer. Fish that grow slow or that live in tropical climates may not show very much variation between each circuli.
Other ways to age a fish can be done by fin rays, or the vertebrae, really anything that is made of bone on a fish, witch some species don't have much or if any bone. Good fishin

MrPhotographer06 · 03-25-09, 09:14 PM

hmm.. i may just pass on figuring out how old she is..

i've got a lifetime to ponder..its goin on the wall

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03-23-09, 08:56 PM	#1
MrPhotographer06 BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Fort Bragg, NC Posts: 2,096	Aging Fish? is there a way to age fish? i know they can do it for deer and stuff but never heard it for fish.. just wondering if you can age it.. i wonder how old my fish is.. __________________ For Those I Love, I will Sacrifice: US Army since 2012

03-23-09, 08:58 PM	#2
Bassboss BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Shawano, WI Posts: 7,761	Interesting question! I have no clue, but I'm sure that some nerds have figured it out! Try googleing it! __________________ If you can't fix it with heavy squats or fish oil, you're probably going to die.

03-23-09, 09:49 PM	#3
WIUbassin BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: East Central Illinois Posts: 213	I don't know if it works for bass but I went with one of our university biologists when he was shocking fish one time and he could age the crappie and blue gill by some small piece of bone or cartilage in there head. I would assume bass would be the same since they are from the same family. Sorry I know that is a super vague answer but the way he read the bone was similar to a tree in had a ridge for every year it lived like a tree has a ring for each year. __________________ "Cuttin Class to Catch Bass..." www .wiu. edu/users/fishing

03-23-09, 09:58 PM	#4
MrPhotographer06 BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Fort Bragg, NC Posts: 2,096	yeah its a otolith ... the best way is to cut a piece out of it and look at it under a microscope __________________ For Those I Love, I will Sacrifice: US Army since 2012

03-23-09, 10:42 PM	#5
WIUbassin BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: East Central Illinois Posts: 213	yup thats the name of it, couldn't think of it for nothing... __________________ "Cuttin Class to Catch Bass..." www .wiu. edu/users/fishing

03-23-09, 11:17 PM	#6
cassidyta BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 2,928	I thought you cut them in half and counted the rings? It is my understanding that their external appearance is so specific to environment that there is not a way to tell and keep the fish alive. __________________ If you have ever wondered if you should retie, the answer is yes.

03-24-09, 02:03 PM	#7
aikenyounggun BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: aiken, SC Posts: 2,051	yeah i just know fish always keep growing so the bigger they are the older they are... of course a big fish in California could be younger than a big fish in SC b/c of feeding habits or a million other factors __________________ <>< Rather be Fishing ><>

03-24-09, 02:27 PM	#8
MrPhotographer06 BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Fort Bragg, NC Posts: 2,096	i asked the bio teacher at the school..shes going to call some dude at clemson and find out [yuck clemson] __________________ For Those I Love, I will Sacrifice: US Army since 2012

03-25-09, 09:09 PM	#9
fishin' fool BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Iowa Posts: 184	Another way is to look at a cross section of a fish's scale. This too has rings like the otolith. The line that makes up each ring is called an annuli. To age a bass, the average length of annuals is taken. Each ring on a scale is called an circuli. The seasonal growth of a bass can be seen with each ring like a tree. The wider the space between each ring shows a period of growing. In temperate regions this would be spring and summer. Fish that grow slow or that live in tropical climates may not show very much variation between each circuli. Other ways to age a fish can be done by fin rays, or the vertebrae, really anything that is made of bone on a fish, witch some species don't have much or if any bone. Good fishin

03-25-09, 09:14 PM	#10
MrPhotographer06 BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Fort Bragg, NC Posts: 2,096	hmm.. i may just pass on figuring out how old she is.. i've got a lifetime to ponder..its goin on the wall __________________ For Those I Love, I will Sacrifice: US Army since 2012

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