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| Any tips or pointers or anything that will help me? |
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Posts: 265
Location: Manitowish Waters WI | Practice handling your net and making sure you have a game plan for what to do when you hook up. Also make sure all your release tool, especially you HOOK CUTTERS, are all lined up and accessible. Everything else is a cinch!!!  |
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Posts: 540
Location: Leech Lake, Walker MN | Have a rod holder on your boat that will accept your net Handel so when you land her shes in the net and you can do what ever you have to do ,hooks players what ever and she's in the net all the time and NOT out of the water. And be patient. |
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Posts: 537
Location: Gilberts IL/Rhinelander WI | I find it easier to land the fish from the bottom of the boat opposed to standing on the decks. I also have the net in the water and by using leverage , push down on the net handle , having the hoop come up as the fish is over the net. It defiantly takes experience. I've lost a few at the boat as I learned what works. Lunging with one hand didn't work for me. As stated, having release tools at the ready, is of the utmost importance. Good luck. |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | Consider going barbless you won't loose fish ( you were going to release them anyway "right") makes release easier and if the unthinkable happens while you are alone it will make your release much easier with a minimum of pain. |
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Posts: 252
| Guest - 7/4/2012 8:23 PM
Any tips or pointers or anything that will help me?
I've got a friend that was muskie fishing and landed a fish by himself back a few years ago. He wound up hooking a treble hook in each hand and still had the fish hooked as well. He stayed in that predicament until another boat showed up and helped him out. They came over thinking that he was just wanting a picture taken until they saw what was going on. Now, he will no longer fish by himself.
That makes for a painful story that I have to listen to from time to time, but it worked out well for me since he now takes me with him to his secret spots...
It's difficult to anticipate all of the things that can happen when a person is trying to carefully land a thrashing muskie. My son had to have his hand sewn up with stitches three weeks ago from a muskie swinging its head around and ripping up the back side of his right hand. When he saw the exposed bone, he passed out for a bit. Luckily, he was with someone who had some anticeptic and bandages.
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Posts: 20
| The hardest part, other than actually ctaching one, is netting it by yourself. Have your net handle extended, and keep the net positioned in your boat so it's easy for you to grab. After I net a fish, I like to wrap a few strings of the net around the boat cleat, it will keep you from having to hold your net all the time. I also like to get the hooks out of the fish and get my lure out of the net before I pick the fish up. |
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Posts: 540
Location: MN | Put your net in the water and scoop the muskie??? It ain't rocket science...my first year Muskie fishing I hand landed all of the 17 fish I caught (I've since bought a net) with 3 of those over 50". When your unhooking them you can't be scared of the fish that's how you get hooks in your hand and stitches in your thumbs. |
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| I fish solo quite a bit, I always go barbless for safety and also makes releasing easier. I tend to use a gaff when alone. It is really easy on the fish and I really don't need to take them out of the water. The net works as well, just take your time and I am sure it will go well. BR |
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| GAFF!?!? Really as like a long rod with an extreme large hook on the other end. |
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| Guest - 7/4/2012 11:21 PM
GAFF!?!? Really as like a long rod with an extreme large hook on the other end.
Yes, it is extremely fish friendly and effective. More popular out east as a release tool. BR |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | I used a gaff for 20 plus years because it was easier on fish than the old nylon knotted mesh bags, modern coated nets are much more fish friendly and fish can be netted green.
I still carry a gaff in the boat and if a fish has hooks near its eyes it is NOT going in a net.
Properly used a gaff goes in the lower jaw from the inside out taking care to miss the tounge. It is used to control the fish IN THE WATER for hook removal the fish is NOT lifted with the gaff. It is easily done alone the only downside is the fish must be played down. The small hole in the skin heals over in a couple of weeks.
I like to fish lakes through the week and hide from the crowds on weekends and fish small streams from a canoe for this a gaff is perfect no room for a big kahuna.
Edited by horsehunter 7/5/2012 3:58 AM
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Posts: 540
Location: MN | Guest - 7/5/2012 3:35 AM
Tim Schmitz - 7/4/2012 11:02 PM
Put your net in the water and scoop the muskie??? It ain't rocket science...my first year Muskie fishing I hand landed all of the 17 fish I caught (I've since bought a net) with 3 of those over 50". When your unhooking them you can't be scared of the fish that's how you get hooks in your hand and stitches in your thumbs.
Ooooh Tough Guy! I bet everyone wishes they were as was as great as you..think you are
I never claimed to be tough...I was just too poor to buy a net. Lol |
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Posts: 968
Location: N.FIB | first thing you need to do before fishing is extend the net handle and lock it in,and have it ready,then put release tools close to where you will be landing a fish,I like to put mine on the passengers seat along with camera if I want to take a pic.also have a first aid kit close incase you get cut and are bleeding like a stuck pig,also don`t try to open fishes mouth with your hands,might be bleeding like a stuck pig,lol |
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Posts: 375
| whether i am fishing alone or with somebody the set-up is the same. for me barbless hooks are #1 on the list like mentioned above...first you will get a deeper hook-set initially with a barbless hook vs. barbed...there was an article in an issue of muskies inc years ago where an experiment was done that proved without a doubt that a barbless hook will easily penetrate deeper without the barb on it, then it's up to you to keep slack out of the line while fighting the fish to the net. next is having a rod holder that your net handle will fit in like mentioned above...i always have one of my folbe rod holders locked in and angled some what down towards the water where the net handle will go once the fish is in the net then the folbe has a button on the side that will lock it closed around the net handle. to keep the net handle from sliding either way once it's in the rod holder, determine exactly at what point on the net handle you want it to be locked in the rod holder every time you put it in there and wrap electrical tape or something around that spot thick enough so the handle won't slide through the rod holder once it's locked around it but still allows the rod holder locking mechanism to work. once the fish is in the net lock it down in the rod holder and you are totally hands-free off the net from there. i also just swapped out the very thick and heavy net bag i had for one of the newer much much lighter weight frabil conservation series bags and it made a huge difference in how easy is it now for me to handle the net with one arm. i bought the deepest, i think it was 50 plus inches, and with the boat on the trailer in the back yard, i put the bag on the hoop of my net in the pre-set rod holder position that i would be using. then i cut the depth of the net down to give me about two feet of net below the water line when the net is locked in place which is deep enough for any size fish to have plenty of room while it's still staying 100% in the water. for this set-up it made no sense to me to have too much net below the water to let the fish get tangled up in it more while i'm working on it. another great thing about going with barbless hooks is that the vast majority of the time after a head shake or two in the net on slack line the bait is usually out of the fishes mouth without any hook cutting / digging out needed. works for me...
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Posts: 1220
| I too fish alone a lot, no doubt lack of friends due to a difficult personality disorder. For me, the difference is that when I have a skilled partner and high confidence in the strength of my terminal tackle...I just bring the fish straight in with no ceremony or extra "playing the fish" crap and trust in the net man's ability to perform his task regardless of the "hotness" of the fish. When alone, I prefer just a tad more stress on the fish than on me, so I will wait until I can sort of man-handle the fish into a large circular pattern. Then, as I begin what will be the last of the circles, I place the net in the water where it belongs and usually end up with a very smooth, calmer fish not knowing that the end of the last circle is my net. Clearly, I am not bragging that this method or my execution is always flawless--but it works for me good enough that I am sticking with it! |
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Posts: 2754
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | Bullet centered right behind the eyes always worked for Louie Spray - sure takes the stress outta possibility of getting hooked up to a live fish. Wonder why its illegal today? We have both open carry and concealed carry here in Wisconsin. I feel real safe, especially with the open carry guys!
I think Frabill has a new light weight net ( Joe Bucher model). I handled one at Milw. Muskie Show. Very light weight and easy to handle one-handed, seemed to be just the ticket for the lone fisherman.
Have fun!
Al
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Posts: 7090
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | ESOX Maniac - 7/5/2012 8:59 AM
I think Frabill has a new light weight net ( Joe Bucher model). I handled one at Milw. Muskie Show. Very light weight and easy to handle one-handed, seemed to be just the ticket for the lone fisherman.
Have fun!
Al
I have a smaller sized Frabill and though I'm a pretty strong guy, handling the thing with the heavy coating, heavy mesh, etc is kind of hard for me. Thusly, the new Frabill models sound like a possible alternative. Info spot from the 2012 Chicago Show:
http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/videos/01.14.2012/4618/Frabill.Cons... |
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| Make sure you can handle your net with one hand/arm. Have gloves; cotton garden gloves are all you need. Have your release tools--really all I take are long nose pliers--handy. If you are going to measure the fish, have your tape measure or bump board handy too. Be careful of a thrashing fish with a multiple treble hook lure in its mouth. You don't want to be hooked up to that fish. |
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| One more thing that really helps is the net will get caught on anything that is within 10' of it. I have flipped rods over the side already so when alone I try to have lures & rods out of my netting area. I also took a small rubber hose & stuck it on each end of a cleat so the net does not catch it. I got the Joe Bucher conservation net & it does work well.
Mike |
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Posts: 1150
Location: Minnesota. | Good Lord. Ya know all it takes is common sense guys. A big, heavy, thrashing fish and big trebles...keep the hands out of the bloody way for Pete's sakes.
In the net, let her settle a bit. Keep the hands away until after you reach in with those 14" or so long pliers and one strong pull along the same line as the hook will take each hook out singly and if you just pull the leader a little bit it'll help keep it from further tangling. Just pinch it between index finger /thumb and if she lunges the leader slips away...then try it again.
I feel terribly sorry for the guy above. I couldn't imagine and fear that like all heck.
I fish alone 99% of the time and typically don't have any trouble with a fast. simple release. Only once did I need to go back into and behind the gills to to take out a big treble lodged too deeply and that was before I knew to simply clip/clip if I'd been alone.
Man, you just need a teeny bit of common sense after-all. Accidents do happen but I'm a firm believer most a re just sheer ignorance. I'd best quit now b/fore I get booted but this just boils down to using yer head boys.
Jeremy. - edit: I really, really hope ol' Murphy's not listenin' in!!!
Edited by Jeremy 7/5/2012 11:32 AM
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| Saw this on here a long while ago, so I learned from someone else's methods on here (cannot remember who) but I took their advice and taught myself by going crappie and bass fishing and taking my Frabill muskie net to net those fish, as I fish by myself much of the time. Now, it's hard to have a bass or crappie duplicate the chaos of a musky catch, but it helped to get the timing down, the feel of the much larger muskie net, and getting the left hand (with the net), to work in concert with the right hand (rod and reel) and when/how the best way is to get them in the net. It took me 2 or 3 trips of practicing (I had plenty of time here in Indiana during the summer, as water temps get too high to muskie fish) but you'll get it down and you'll have it down pat for the muskies. Saw it on another post above, but I too, find it easiest to go to the lowest part of my boat and net the fish there. And I always keep the net unfolded and at the ready, with the handle leaning up against the gunwale and the basket on the floor free from any tangles, and within a step's reach so you can net fish quickly. |
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| Anybody have any experience with Joe's conservation series nets? I've been thinking about getting one for solo fishing but have heard hooks tangle in the net like crazy. |
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| I fish alone most of the time and have had almost everything happen from net in trolling motor, net tangled in boat to fish in big motor prop; so I have learned some things from experience. You need to play fish longer and try to keep a distance from the boat. Your net should be extended and ready to go and clear from things that can get caught in the net. Be careful to lift net straight up and not to entangled with anything on the boat; keep other rod on the side of boat and not on the floor, when fish is a little tired place net in water and lead fish to net head first ( do not try to net any other way as this usually leads to a lost fish). When netted I have placed a spring hook at the end of the net with a rope and attach that to the rail on the other side of the boat with the net rim about 2/3 over the side of the boat; this will place the net on it's own and you have both hands free to release the fish. If hooks are deep in fish cut them. I have a small box with all of my tools right there so I can get them easily. If a nice fish I place my camera on the back seat on time delay and take a quick pik sitting in front seat; you can figure the right place out before you catch a fish. Release fish and take extra time to be sure the fish is in good shape. I use a old beckman rim (light) and a beckman tangle free net this reduces the weight of the net and helps a little. Your motor props can also be a problem, I once had a nice fish on and managed to get the trolling motor up so I was confident of playing the fish but when I went to net her I swung the net arund the front and got the net tangled in the prop so lost the fish. Things will happen but you can minimize the mishaps with some preparation. |
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Posts: 127
Location: SUN PRAIRIE WI | Do you buy your hooks barbless or do you file the barbs off I was thinking of using A dremel |
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| I fish by myself 90% of the time and have no trouble...
If it's even remotely hairy, just cut the hooks and get the lure out of the way, then remove what's remaining with your pliers.
Hooks are cheap. Your hands are not. Nor is your time on the water.
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Posts: 720
| Well if it worked for Louie. I don't see why it wouldn't work for the rest of us. Man think how much this sport has grown.
Edited by Hunter4 7/8/2012 11:25 PM
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Posts: 375
| TEX - 7/8/2012 6:42 PM
Do you buy your hooks barbless or do you file the barbs off I was thinking of using A dremel
yes use a dremel with a grinding stone bit...you can de-barb a treble in less than a minute... |
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Posts: 3913
| No problem. Keep your boat clean, no lures laying around. Get a really big net. Release tools next. Lindy gloves are expensive but I love wearing them while removing hooks, and you can lip walleye with those buggers, which is really handy for me lately. |
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