Dead fish

Do they always float up? Or can they just float down to the bottom and decay on bottom never to be seen?

When they die the swim bladder fills with air. Once that air is released they will sink. or get eaten by another fish.

Yes... always "float" up and always sink down.

Its according to how much fat is in your diet and how well your pancreas makes lipase on weather you'll have a floater or sinker....ohh wait were talking fish...nevermind....

Depends if their sides are knocked off first. Those typically float up when ready

They don't normally float when you cover them in ice.

Depends on water temp and conditions but bass usually sink to the bottom and stay there

If you fizz a bass and take out to much or all of the air in their bladder they sink to the bottom. While there they may recover over time IF they are not eaten by a larger fish like a flat head cat fish, gar or even an alligator.

Here’s what I’m asking. You can’t have hundreds of bass die and never see any of them right, at least some would float to the top and you would see them? They can’t all be on the bottom. If you had a fish kill you would at least see some of them float.

Oh Yes. I was on Lake Granbury when the big fish kill took place fishing Angler's Choice. The fish were pilled along the shoreline and every Buzzard in the world was there working on them. We shagged dead fish suspended all day long. I had one 5 lb fish as far away as I could go up the river. Caught her on a jig with the gills bleeding the last 15 min. of the tournament. We won with that one fish. Trent and two 1 lb fish alive and took second. He was also up the river in fresh incoming water. It came a flood 2 days before this tournament causing the devastation.

They sink, then they float, then they sink.

I have rescued several bass with fish stuck in their mouths. They were floating and once I removed the stuck fish I could feel and hear the gas being released from their gut. I also released a fish i had fouled hooked. He swam to the bottom and buried his head in the mud (this was in a small private pond). About an hour later he swam off.

then snagged by a tff troll

That didn't take long AHAHAHAH

Any more explanation into the fish kill Donald? Curious what the cause of such a major die off a bass was.

What year was that fish kill?

Probably the golden algae on Granbury.

What happens to a fish that bites one of the thousands (millions?) of baits that’s hung up in our lakes? I picture the poor fish thrashing around at whatever depth until it’s exhausted and dies. No floating or sinking.