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| What do you do when you pick up a muskie for the picture and it starts shaking violently? |
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Posts: 646
Location: In a shack in the woods | Depends on where it is. Is if 1/2 in the bag I set it back in then try again. If its in my hands already I grip it like I have a pair and hold on. Wearing musky gloves really help get a better grip too. |
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Posts: 621
Location: Seymour, WI | Take your pics with sitting or kneeling poses so if the musky does shake free they're not getting dropped from 3'. |
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Posts: 1040
| Never drop a fish onto the boat. Get a really good grip on the fish before you take her out of the net. I pinch my thumb between my 2 or 3 fingers that I have on the inside of the fishes jaw. And when I say pinch, I mean I squeeze tight. Dropping the fish is not an option. If they shake. Pinch harder and they will stop.
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Posts: 538
Location: northern indiana | I'd risk my life before I'd risk the life of a Musky. If it's shaking, I will leave it in the water and get a good pic of me next to it. =) |
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| If a musky starts shaking while getting ready for a picture, I hold on tight as a I can but swivel my body toward the water just in case. If I start losing my grip, I'd rather drop her in the water and miss out on a picture than drop her on the bottom of the boat. I like pictures of fish as much as the next guy, but I have enough pictures of mid thirty inchers that I don't lose too much sleep missing a couple. |
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Posts: 90
Location: Ohio | vegas492 - 7/5/2011 3:53 PM Never drop a fish onto the boat. Get a really good grip on the fish before you take her out of the net. I pinch my thumb between my 2 or 3 fingers that I have on the inside of the fishes jaw. And when I say pinch, I mean I squeeze tight. Dropping the fish is not an option. If they shake. Pinch harder and they will stop. Off topic but I have a Rapala Lock N Weigh, they are tight and works pretty good but one time I had it puncture the skin under the bottom jaw and I am leery of them now I have also heard to not put my hand in the gills as it will damage the red part and there is small, sharp curved teeth inside the gill that will cut ya up, don't know i fthis is true or not So what is the proper way to hand handle a muskie without damage to the fish and myself?
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Posts: 3913
| I throw it to the floor over and over until it decides to sit still for the picture. |
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| bring a bat sometimes u gotta crackem in the head |
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Posts: 20263
Location: oswego, il | Often times you can tell when they are.going to go nuts. They will move slightly wit the tail a.slow snake motion and then it will come. I tell the camera person to hurry up and I will put it back in the net if I need to. |
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Location: Grinnell, Iowa | Ranger - 7/6/2011 12:04 AM
I throw it to the floor over and over until it decides to sit still for the picture.
HAHAHAHAHAHA |
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Posts: 719
| So seriously, a good gill hold with commitment on your part including supporting the fish's mid-section is going to work every time. Slide your hand between the outside gill plate and the red gills themselves, lock your thumb into the pocket just below the jawbone...under the chin and grip tightly...start your lift from the net and get support under the belly as soon as possible...you will be able to control the fish if you just keep a good grip and stay commited to your hold. This is not the time to be tentative...once you have a good hold maintain it and all will go well. Right hand right side, left hand left side for the grab...looking down from the top of the fish's head. |
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Posts: 444
| Usually I'm the one shaking...... |
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| One addition to bob's perfect post: Properly fitted landing gloves are now a permanent part of my release kit. I carry several sizes because I fish with many different people. Both Musky Armor and Lindy gloves will work. I prefer the lindy gloves because of the grippy surface. Two main reasons for gloves: First, like Bob said, handling muskies requires commitment! The gloves help protect hands and prevent the freak out when less experienced folks feel those gill rakers for the first time. Secondly, they greatly improve grip and minimize poking fingers through the thin membrane that connects the lower jaw plates. I know those raker cuts are cool and are a badge of honor for the muskie man but, they can get badly infected and, if bad enough, can shorten your day on the water, ruin clothes, ect. Wear the gloves; they protect you AND the fish! |
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Posts: 1040
| I guess the only way you truly learn how to hold a musky is to catch a few hundred or so and get used to handling them. I've dropped fish in the past and just learned from it.
You should never reach through the gills? Ah, more or less a true statement. If you reach your fingers up through the gill slit, your finders should be much farther forward than the actual gill. So yes, you go in through the gill slit, but make sure that your hand doesn't actually grab gill.
They have small curved sharp teeth? I think you are referring to the gill cover, which is quite sharp and can cut you. Of course there are plenty of teeth in the mouth, but none around where you should be handling the fish.
Get your two or three fingers into the gill slit and move them towards the head of the fish until you feel the jawbone. Get your two or three (three preferably) fingers on the light part of the skin next to the jawbone. Pinch your thumb (which is outside of the fish) to your fingers. You should be hooking the jaw bone by doing this.
When they trash, you will feel it coming and you can simply hold on. Then when you release the fish into the water, you will have a great hold to do it quickly and efficiently.
And get yourself some of those Musky Armour gloves. They work great and will protect you (and the fish) if you are a little skittish. |
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| thescottith - 7/6/2011 10:24 AM
Usually I'm the one shaking......
X2  |
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Posts: 90
Location: Ohio | vegas492 - 7/6/2011 1:07 PM I guess the only way you truly learn how to hold a musky is to catch a few hundred or so and get used to handling them. I've dropped fish in the past and just learned from it. You should never reach through the gills? Ah, more or less a true statement. If you reach your fingers up through the gill slit, your finders should be much farther forward than the actual gill. So yes, you go in through the gill slit, but make sure that your hand doesn't actually grab gill. They have small curved sharp teeth? I think you are referring to the gill cover, which is quite sharp and can cut you. Of course there are plenty of teeth in the mouth, but none around where you should be handling the fish. Get your two or three fingers into the gill slit and move them towards the head of the fish until you feel the jawbone. Get your two or three (three preferably) fingers on the light part of the skin next to the jawbone. Pinch your thumb (which is outside of the fish) to your fingers. You should be hooking the jaw bone by doing this. When they trash, you will feel it coming and you can simply hold on. Then when you release the fish into the water, you will have a great hold to do it quickly and efficiently. And get yourself some of those Musky Armour gloves. They work great and will protect you (and the fish) if you are a little skittish. Ha ha I WILL get the gloves, why? because I caught the biggest muskie so far today I had a heck of a time turning him so I knew he was big, for Ohio anyway and we get him along side the boat, I was like YEHHHHHHH and I told my son to keep the net in the water because the water was warm. So the muskie has his bottom jaw sitting there, enticing me so I thought ok, I am trying this, I did as you guys said, fish doesn't move, I noticed my Mustad Treble hook is splayed open, the weld broke, 1 hook in jaw and 2 hooks together but outside of mouth I have a hard grip on the fish, reach down and grab hook with pliers and the fish exploded, I have a gash in my hand and a puncture in my thumb, I had the net handle under my armpit When all hell broke loose and I felt hook/teeth in my hand and thumb I rocked back and jerked my hand out Well I rocked back to far and the net handle slips out and net, fish and lure go in the drink I snatched the net up and think I still have the hog and like a rocket that fish took off It happened so fast, I got my net and lure with an exploded treble hook back but no pictures  Me and my son had the time of our life and a heck of a story for the rest of our lives !!! |
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Posts: 1040
| That is quite the cool story! Congrats on getting a big one.
But, I didn't know this needed to be said, but maybe it does.
When the fish is in the net and in the water, pop the hooks out BEFORE you grab the fish and hold it up. Get the hooks out, get the bait out of the net and move the pole away from the action.
If you do it that way, the fish shouldn't be out of the water for more than 20 seconds or so. |
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Posts: 90
Location: Ohio | vegas492 - 7/7/2011 12:02 PM That is quite the cool story! Congrats on getting a big one. But, I didn't know this needed to be said, but maybe it does. When the fish is in the net and in the water, pop the hooks out BEFORE you grab the fish and hold it up. Get the hooks out, get the bait out of the net and move the pole away from the action. If you do it that way, the fish shouldn't be out of the water for more than 20 seconds or so. I usually do this but my fish yesterday split a Mustad down the center, the hook was splayed open and the single hook was buried in the fish and the other side with the 2 hooks was exposed, wide open, I bled a little but have a hell of a fish story with my son and my biggest fish to date
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Posts: 1040
| A little blood is a fair trade for a nice ski. |
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Posts: 437
| I learned my lesson long ago when a 40 incher thrashed in the net while I was trying to unhook it. The back hook of a tandem spinnerbait went right through my middle finger on my left hand. Bad, what made it worse is the fish was still attached on the other end. I had no proper tools to cut hooks either, big mistake, since resolved and will never happen again.
Well I had a rookie musky fisherman with me and after I unhooked and released the fish we set out to "release" me. I had nothing to use, but a fillet knife. I had my buddy slice my finger so I could remove the hook. I will never forget the look on his face when I told him I wanted him to slice my finger. "you want me to do what!!!????"
Lesson learned, wear gloves, long needlenose pliers and have bolt cutters handy.
8 stitches later I was back at it. |
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shaking muskie