From: glhurst@onr.com (Gerald L. Hurst)
Newsgroups: alt.engr.explosives
Subject: Re: Fairly safe BIG banger
Date: 30 Jan 1997 05:56:28 GMT

In article <5cp8b6$5ut@camel4.mindspring.com>, hummas@pipeline.com
(Bill M) says:

>By the way, using explosives for fishing is not a practical
>method, contravening hoards of old Westerns. The fish die, right
>enough, but they stay right where they are, until, many hours later,
>swollen with putrifying gasses, they finally float to the surface.
>Unless the shock is so powerful that their swim bladders are
>punctured, in which case, they sink. The shockwave kills
>them, but doesn't change their neutral buoyancy.

You've picked on the wrong urban myth.

Explosive charges can effectively stun fish and cause them to 
float immediately to the surface.  After a brief period the 
fish regain consciouness and swim away.  This information is 
based on personal observations made while testing seismic 
charges in a test pond. 

Jerry (Ico)