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Posts: 1316
Location: Madison, WI | Do you swim the fish back and forth or turn it side to side...
Edited by Magruter 8/11/2006 12:24 PM
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Posts: 1769
Location: Algonquin, ILL | In most cases just holding the fish upright will do the trick, it will swim away when it's ready
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | hold it still loosely and wait till she can hold herself upright and let her swim away... a tip i read i think from nelson was to create water flow with another hand to move the water ... i don't think moving the fish all over the place helps at all. |
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Posts: 2024
| Here are my .02 cents:
Push the fish's head down at a 45 degree angle (or more) to reach better DO (dissolved oxygen) levels. I was amazed to find fish that were taking a long time to recuperate began stiffening up and pushing against my hand, in some cases, less than ten seconds after pushing their heads down. For instance, in Canada after catching my PB I realized the water was 80 degrees; warm, especially for a big fish. As soon as I did the aforementioned procedure, the fish was gone in 30 seconds.
The other thing to do, as previously stated, is to just hold the fish. Pushing them back and forth does absolutely no good. Oxygen can only flow with the grain of the gill llamelae, and when you pull the fish back toward you the fish isn't getting any more oxygen. I like the idea of pushing water over the gills with another hand while keeping the fish still. I might have to try that (granted I catch another muskie...).
If you were to impart any movement on the fish, I would move it side to side. You'll get the water swirling around the fish which may facilitate more oxygen flowing through the gills (sort of like swirling your hand to create water movement as mentioned above). |
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Posts: 8782
| According to the DNR it's bad to force water over the gills backwards (pulling the fish backwards through the water), which is what I always did...
So now, I just don't catch them
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Posts: 2427
Location: Ft. Wayne Indiana | Just put a loose grip on their tail and hold them there.
When its tail starts to stiffen up, and she wants to go, just let her go.
I wouldn't suggest rocking them back and fourth or doing the "S" curve with them.
Just hold them with a loose grip and they will tell you when they are ready to go. |
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Posts: 2691
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin | Hold them lightly by the tail and keep them uprite until they can swim off without assistance. They will let you know when they are ready.
If the wind is blowing hard this can be hard. I believe if you hold a fish by the tail while the boat is rockin up and down the fish will fight to keep uprite. This can also cause stress. I like to just let them free asap and keep close to they with the electric. If they roll on to there side help them back uprite and let them free again. I find this works great in big waves.
One good tip for anyone fishing big water is to have an anchor and toss it in with plenty of rope. This will allow you to not have to worry about boat control and hurting a fish while releasing them. The extra rope comes in handy if you need to move to a fish that needs more help. Try this in big waves, you will be surprized how good this works. We did it on Mille Lac's and it kept us off the sand while we unhooked and released plenty of fish.
It's not good to be blown up onto the shallow sand in 4 footers while working on a fish. Toss out the anchor and you don't have to worry about boat control. Best bet is to tie it to the front of the boat and leave it ready for the next fish.
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Posts: 8782
| Maybe this is a dumb question, but why do they need to be held upright?
I mean we all do it because that's what we're "supposed to" do, but does it actually help them get their strength back? Do they recover any more quickly than they would if you just put them in the water and left them alone?
Or is it like walking a drunk buddy around holding him up when he can't walk on his own, all you're doing is making HIM feel worse and making yourself feel better because you think you're helping.
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Posts: 216
Location: Belleville, WI | EA: could you really just put the fish back in the water, and watch it sit sideways or bellyup on the surface, and drive away???
plus, it's fun to let them swim out of your hand(s). |
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