Can Soda Stop a Fish From Bleeding?

Can you stop a fish from bleeding from the gills by pouring soda on them? Or is this just an old wives tale getting spread around the internet?

Ever caught a fish that was bleeding from the gills? While some fish (like Largemouth Bass) are more resilient than others, this is a potentially life-threatening injury to any fish. For comparison, imagine what would happen to you if someone stabbed you in the lungs. Well, some anglers seem to think that it's possible to stop a fish from bleeding by pouring soda on the injury.

Watch the video and see what you think of this interesting technique.

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As you can see in the video, the bass appeared to stop bleeding and swam off after a few seconds in the water. However, it is unclear if the bass ended up surviving or just swam off and died out of sight.

Apparently, this is a relatively common technique for getting a fish to stop bleeding and different anglers use different beverages ranging from Coke, to Pepsi, to Sprite. Some people think that acid in the beverage causes the wound to cauterize. Others say that any liquid (to include water) will also stop a fish from bleeding because their blood needs water to clot in the same way ours needs air.

I haven't seen any scientific evidence to support the fact that pouring soda on the gills of a fish will stop it from bleeding. While that doesn't necessarily mean it won't work, don't mess around if you attempt to do this. The most scientifically proven method to reduce fish mortality is to limit the amount of time it spends out of the water.

Like what you see here? You can read more great articles by John McAdams on his hunting blog. Follow him on Facebook The Big Game Hunting Blog or Twitter @TheBigGameHunt.

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