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| http://www.wildlife.utah.gov/fishing/tiger_muskie_tips.php
here's a state (Utah) that does it right...no suggestions that muskies "taste good" but rather solid guidelines for successful catch and release.
i'm laminating a couple copies of this to carry in my boat as give-aways when i encounter someone in need of a little help.
what types of things have you done to help inexperienced muskie fishermen or "accidental" muskie catches you've encountered out on the water? |
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Posts: 434
Location: searchin for 50 | Do we really have the right to try and convince somebody to release a fish? Most of the time it is walleye anglers with light tackle and the fish is completely spent. On more than one occasion I have been told to mind my own business. If you bought a license you are entitled to keep that fish if legal. I would rather see it consumed rather than floating. Some fish are beyond releasing anyway. They have probably been dropped a few times and generally don't look healthy. The muskie fisherman i have seen generally release fish anyway. Just my 2Cents. 
Edited by Raider150 8/30/2006 11:58 AM
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Posts: 69
| I know what you'r saying Raider,but the strength of our Musky program the last 20 years has been as a group,our non acceptance of culled Muskies.I don't see getting militant about it,but accepting it,no. |
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Location: Contrarian Island | carry more than one pliers in the boat!  had to razz ya!
good tips on there...I saw what I would consider a very poor handling job last nite by what looked like 2 different sets of experienced musky anglers...it should not take 5 minutes to revive a 38"er should it? maybe it was the 4 different photo sessions that did it in....
I have offered to net peoples fish if their net is not big enough and have helped unhook them...
Maybe a class at the next Madison Musky School should be about netting, handling, releasing etc? if there isn't one already...?
Edited by MSKY HNR 8/30/2006 1:27 PM
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Posts: 1764
Location: Ogden, Ut | Part of the history behind that tips page was merely due to the fact that it was in Utah. Our minimum length limit had just changed from 30" to 40" and people were having varying degrees of difficulty coming to terms with needing to release a fish that big. Most anglers in Utah (primarily a trout state) had never even encountered a fish over 30" in length, let alone caught one; and now faced with the legal obligation of releasing a fish (up to 40 inches) in as good of condition as possible, a reasonably simple tutorial was needed. Tom Pettengill was our statewide Sportfish Coordinator at the time and he spearheaded an effort to get it put together.
The muskie fishery evolved as a 'by product' of managing the panfishery. Managers never anticipated the success of the muskie portion of the fishery and as a result, some quick education was needed. Please understand, MOST muskies caught out here are accidental catches; very few of us target them with what I would consider to be appropriate gear (both tackle and release tools). The concept of taking a bolt cutter along with you while you fish is incredibly foreign to a person used to catching rainbow trout on marshmellows. It isn't a matter of harping on people to release their legal fish as much as it is to give them the knowledge and skill set to safely release the sub-legals (the ones that are important to the management).
Yes, I believe there's a good message imbedded in the article's context of proper handling...wonder how it got there?
S.
Edited by sorenson 8/30/2006 1:39 PM
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Posts: 7037
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | People really fish with marshmellows? |
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Posts: 8773
| garlic marshmallows, MMMmmm!
"Mmmph, hey these fricken things are GOOD man!"
"DUDE, that's our BAIT you MORON!"
BWAHAHAHAH
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| it should not take 5 minutes to revive a 38"er should it? maybe it was the 4 different photo sessions that did it in....
those things are hard to gauge some times. the 32"er i caught yesterday on the same lake, same water temps took a long time (possibly 5 minutes) to revive and i'm still iffy about it after the release. i took no pictures since i was by myself, and the fish was only out of the water 10 seconds for measurement on a bump board.
two sets of pliers, yes.
of course, i find that if you drop your pliers in the lake, bolt cutters work nicely.
Maybe a class at the next Madison Musky School should be about netting, handling, releasing etc? if there isn't one already...?
this is a great idea. maybe we should do some filming of proper release techniques this summer to use at the school next spring??? |
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| Well I agree, that sometimes they don't release great... I guess I got a little hot when I saw him put it back in the net and out 4 different times for photo's...
I bet it is ok but it just made me realize how many people probably do mishandle them...
I have to catch them first to film them...ha ha...good idea though for sure...
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Posts: 434
Location: searchin for 50 | I guess it doesn't hurt to review proper release techniques for the new and old muskie hunters. I myself have been cutting a lot of hooks instead of trying to rip them out. Saves a lot of wear and tear on the fish. |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | was on mille lac last week and caught a 42ish fish .... had a real struggle in the net with a deeply hooked fish and the boat was in shallow water with 3-4' waves bangin' the crap out of us. had all the tools, but the waves made me worry a little about boat position and made it tough to keep the fishes face and the bait from getting stuck in the net and i was worried about the amount of time i had her face out of the water while i was working on her. we didn't have any gill damage, but had to cut hooks from the outside of the fish in the gill area and then really manipulate an open mouth to extract the deep bait without damaging the fish. i found that the most important tool was my glove because i didn't have to be "careful" with my hand so much by the way i had to work, i worried mostly about the fish being upside down longer than i was comfortable ... the call i made once she was free was to just take her out of the net and into an immediate release. she stayed upright and moved away albeit slowly, but i was able to follow her til she swam. so, (1) did i really catch the fish?, (2) was the fish really a 42"? ... but (3) i had a blast catching her and felt good about being prepared and doing at least what i felt was the right thing to do. to an outsider, maybe i might have been the guy working too long ... who knows? .... thankfully i got everything back together and back on the casting deck without wrecking the boat or killing a fish ... got paid back and scored on the second cast after starting to fish again .....
the game changes depending on the circumstances you find yourself in. i will tell you though that on that night if somebody would have cruised over to help, i would have thankfully accepted it.
Edited by jonnysled 8/30/2006 6:02 PM
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release tips