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Posts: 906
Location: Warroad, Mn | I'm going to try one more time also. From what I can see we are getting into sermantics about what is considered landing a fish, and getting the hooks out of a fish. To me the safest possible way of landing a fish would be to grab hold of the fish's tail. To me that would tell me that I have successfully landed that fish. I maybe wouldn't get a photo, but I already have lots of pictures of fish. The problem is not the landing of the fish, it's getting the hook out of the damn thing. This is when you get hooked or sliced. If you catch a good number of fish you are sooner or later have to figure out how to handle the fish. At times you will need to open the fishes mouth to extract a bucktail stuck down in the fishes gills. There will be times when you have a suick with one hook in the fishes tongue, one hook in the cheek, and one hook stuck under it's chin, and you will need to cut hooks. Just getting any hook out of a well hooked fish usually means that you need to somehow hold the fishes head. I don't care how you landed the fish, by net, cradle, boga grip, gaff or by hand you are sooner or later going to have to get one of your hands up near the head of the fish to hold the fish quiet or to hold its mouth open to get the hook out. There is no real easy or safe way to do this, a net is no safer than doing it by hand as you need to do exactly the same thing. I feel it is easier to do without the net in the way as I can see what I'm doing much better, and the hooks aren't constantly getting recaught in the net, even a coated knotless ones. Again the best thing you can do as far as I can tell is to gain control of the head of the fish, as that's what shakes with the lure in it's mouth. If you watch people who milk rattlesnakes they don't hang on in the middle. Once you have the head under control you now take the hooks out, with long nose pliers (11"). Ranger tells of a bad experience trying to get a hook out of a fish by just gragging the hook and snapping in out. I can also tell of several hooking experiences with fish, only all of mine have come while using a net. A few hooks in the hand will make you learn how to better control the fish. This not an easy thing to do, it takes practice and knowhow, using a net does not eliminate the problem. You don't get hurt landing the fish, you get hurt taking the hooks out of the fish. Doug Johnson |
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Posts: 2691
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin | Doug you hit the nail on the head with that post.
Every time you bring a fish to the boat it will be a different situation. A small fish you can release at boat side with a long if its hooked mostly outside of the mouth. When its in the mouth completly you need to control the fish so holding her by the tail would be a good option and use a spreaders to see what needs to be cut or removed. A fish that comes in with a Believer wrapped up in her face and big enough to want a picture can be a problem. Do you net her? She could and most likely wrap herself up in the net with hooks everywhere, this makes more of a problem than what you started with. Hand landing the fish is tough but can be your easest option, the tail grab with net close by and tools at your side would be my choise. Cut as many hooks as you can then gill her to finish the job. CONTROLLING the head is most of the battle. Now if that same fish engulfs the Believer I would net her because the hooks are out of the way and I could keep her in the net to work on her without net problems. I have hand landed most of my fish ever since I started to fish, never have I got hooked. Some will say you will but I have been doing it for 30 years. Larger baits with multiple hooks is when it gets tricky, if you net the fish she can and will wrap up in the net hurting herself and sometimes hurting yourself. Hand landing fish takes lots of practice and one must not let size of the fish fool you. Small fish can hurt you as easy as the big ones. Look at the situation and use the best method for the situation. This is a great thread with lots of great tips, lets kkep it going for all to learn from. Rolling the fish over is something I have to try, good tip Rich.
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Posts: 3928
| Great points. This is a very good discussion. |
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Posts: 1430
Location: Eastern Ontario | Everyone should read this post, there is enough information on releasing fish to write a book. Doug said it in many more words and a lot clearer then I did but no matter what landing method you use eventualy you need to remove the same lure as well as the lifting the fish up for a picture is the same no matter how it was landed. One thing that is common is to always be carefull when handling fish with teeth and lures with 5/0 trebbles. Everyone is going to get hooked or cut at times but we should learn from our mistakes. A side question about this subject for DougJ. During the season and after encountering many big fish my hand can have as many as 6 or more gill raker injuries at any one time, some minor others not so minor. Now when I look at my hands I think to myself how are they going to be when I have been doing this for 25 years? This should be something I would have to ask a guy like DougJ. Does the build up of scar tissue make your fingers stiffer or are they great healers? I would hate to think of using gloves to handle the hundreads of fish I do every year. |
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| I lost out on Ebay on a Quik Kradle a week or so ago. The seller was in Jersey. He later emailed me telling me of stories of fish jumping out of the kradles. He has since bought a fin-saver pen. Anyone ever hear of this "jumping out"? |
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Posts: 1430
Location: Eastern Ontario | I had one smaller fish jump over the net wich can happen with any net but also experienced one fish jumping out of the net. This actualy was a high 40's fish my buddy caught the last minute of the Can-Am 2 years ago. Now the fish was landed but it had one hook in her mouth and one hook caught in the net. So I grabbed her by the jaw as she was some 1 foot above water level and before I could do anything she tail kicked right out of my hand unhooking herself in the meantime. When I told my budd who was getting the plyers he tough I was kidding him as this was his biggest fish from Pigeon lake, we gave the fish a concervative 48 inches but it may of been 50. I believe this was my fault and could of happen with any net not just the kwick Kraddle, like everything else you need to calm down and concentrate. |
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Posts: 32960
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I almost never netted a fish for over 20 years, and managed to not ever get hooked up. I was lucky. probably, and the fact I caught so many on jigs helps. If the fish is on a jig or bucktail, I will continue to hand land it unless it is a pig or a very nice 'client fish'. If it is hooked up on a big jerk bait or the like, I will assess the situation to see if water release without really handling the fih will work with my XL pliers. If not, I will try to subdue the fish in the water. If that looks tough or dangerous, in the net she goes, then a few moments to get the proper tools and help holding the big ole Frabill, then the release. This has been a great discussion, thanks everyone! |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | As others said, it is simply a respect/experience issue. I look the fish over right away to see how it is hooked, and how big it is. If the fish is under 42-43" and there are not more hooks flopping around, than not, I will hand land, measure and release every time. Also when shore fishing,i have no choice, and it is often very intense! I will bag them if the fish is acting funny, barely hooked(like I will lose it before measuring), or jerkbait hooked with alot of hooks exposed to me. When I bag them, I take the same precautions, as it has been my experience that getting hooked by a netted fish is not so very tough either.
Luck to all!!! |
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