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| not to get off topic but several guys have said no need to take pics of small fish. my question would be why not. it kind of comes off as small fish don't matter. personally I value every fish i am fortunate enough to land. big or small. one or two quick pics and back in the water. i have a pics of every muskie i've caught for the past ten years. 20"ers up to my personal best 51". i do agree with proper handling though. do everything with the fish in the water. then a quick lift and and one or two quick pics and right back in. |
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Posts: 8848
| Guest - 4/3/2010 11:52 PM
not to get off topic but several guys have said no need to take pics of small fish. my question would be why not. it kind of comes off as small fish don't matter. personally I value every fish i am fortunate enough to land. big or small. one or two quick pics and back in the water. i have a pics of every muskie i've caught for the past ten years. 20"ers up to my personal best 51". i do agree with proper handling though. do everything with the fish in the water. then a quick lift and and one or two quick pics and right back in.
"How many pictures of 35" fish do you need?" Sound familiar?
If you do it right, a picture or two takes less than 30 seconds. Get them unhooked, pick them up out of the net, pause, smile, back in the water on the other side of the boat.
You know what the biggest mistake seasoned anglers and pros make? Telling other people how they should fish, and what they should or should not photograph.
I'd consider myself to be an intermediate muskie angler if I had to pick a category, so maybe my opinion isn't worth much... But it seems to me that you can horse a small fish into the net, unhook it easily, (because it rarely has the entire lure in its mouth) photograph it, and release it mush more easily than a larger fish. They usually shoot off like a rocket, because they are still pretty green when you are releasing them.
The bigger ones, however? They fight harder, it takes longer to get them in the net, you have to let them to where they want to go because you can't horse them like you can with a small fish, they engulf baits, they take a LOT longer to revive and they just don't release as quickly.
So why is it okay to hold a 52" out of the water for 6 pictures when it's completely spent by the time you net it and it took anohter 5 minutes to unhook it, and you have to spend 10 minutes reviving it, after which it may very well swim off and die?
But it's not okay to take a picture of a 38" fish that you landed in half the time and swam off strong in less than 10 seconds? |
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Posts: 69
Location: Pittsburgh | The biggest mistake for me as a long time angler is hanging on to a pattern even when my spider sense tells me its over. The second mistake would be pulling a bait away from a muskie because the sun reflecting on my pink PETA slippers blinded me. As a side note the muskys here have survived thru pollution, poor unenlightened management, redspot and the vast majority of anglers who have no CPR ethic or concern ,and I can tell you as of good friday here in SW Pa there doing just fine with large numbers per acre on a limited # of heavily fished lakes. |
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Posts: 518
Location: Cave Run Lake KY. | Never take your eyes of the bait. |
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Posts: 2322
Location: SE, WI. | Brian Malack; I agree with you, and could not of said it any better. Your views are like mine. Have in the neighborhood of 2,800 ski's over my gunnels. If there is an active fish in the 35 -40 inch range, I am figure 8 ing. The only exception is if I have a big fish spotted, and a 35" comes to call, I may pull the bait away to make as little comotion as possible to have a chance at the big girl!!!  Besides, my backyard is loaded with 35" ers...Its called Pewaukee!!!  |
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| I believe that in the next twenty years many of the seasoned vets and pros will no longer take pics of fish less than 40. Many already pass. It is a right and nobody can dictate otherwise if you want to continue taking pics of 30's, but what is the purpose if you already have 50-100 pics of fish below 40? T
IMO opinion the original intent of the of the photo encouragement was to prevent people from keeping fish. I believe that no seasoned vets would consider keeping a 30 inch fish, it is a useless tradition. It is clear that many of our "traditions" aren't necessarily good for fish management. MOST seasoned anglers can CPR without endangering the fish. However, some will go to great lengths to get that pic. I had a guy chase me down on the Fox Chain so I could take a pic of a 35. He actually found me after coming over from another lake with the 35 in the livewell. By the time he removed the fish from the 6 inches of water in his llivewell, the fish was pale. It swam away, but who knows if the fish made it, and for what?
If it is a tourney-go for it
If it is someones first fish-of course
If johnny only catches a few fish a year take a pic of course
If you catch over 10 fish a year, and you already have over 50 pics of 30 somethings, maybe it's time you just took a pass. Of course nobody can tell you it is illegal, but what is the point. In an era where we are constantly looking for ways to protect the resource, how many fish could be saved if they were released in the water rather than sitting in a livewell waiting to photographed? If the seasoned or pros are role models for the up and comers, wouldn't a better message be to be selective on the fish you photo and leave the little ones alone if you don't truly need that pic? |
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Posts: 485
Location: On my favorite lake! | Lack of concentration. Poor or no figure 8 |
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Location: Contrarian Island | pictures of smaller fish don't bother me and shouldn't bother anyone if done right...I don't typically take pics of anything under 40 unless it's a super fat one or a Tiger... I have enough in that range..but if you haven't caught a ton who cares if the guy takes a few photos of his 30"er ..to him that could be big at the time or special... it takes just as long to take pics of 35"ers as it does 50"ers...if you have half a clue, you and your boat partners know how to quickly get out of net, onto bumpboard, measure, hold up for a few shots and back in she goes...also it can take just as long to net a 35"er as a 50"er..they can be horsed to some degree... I'm not about to get down on anyone for taking pics of any fish... we all were novices and rookies once...and some still are...
Edited by BNelson 4/6/2010 5:49 PM
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Posts: 2322
Location: SE, WI. | Nicely said Brad. The only pics I try to get now are fish 45"+. All smaller fish are water released, and try not to net them. Brad; How do I get on the gliders suck pro staff??? Although, I think I already am!!! 
Edited by jdsplasher 4/6/2010 7:11 PM
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| if its so important to protect the fish then you should skip taking pics of the big fish too and get them right back to protect them. those are the fish that need teh most protecting right? if it's okay to take a pic or two of a 50 then its okay to take a pic of a 35. like i said before i take pics of every fish. that way i can appreciate every fish i catch. some of the most beautifully marked and colored fish i have caught have been in the 30 to 36 inch range. i value every fish i catch. a musky is a musky if its 30 inches or 50 everyone is a trophy. imo |
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Posts: 906
Location: Warroad, Mn | I start to lose concentration. Been fishing for 36 days in a row. Usually caught a fair number of fish. Start to look at the sky, the cridders, the Sea Gulls, the Loons, etc. Sometimes I forget to look at the lure. Occasionally I really wish I had! Doug Johnson |
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Posts: 69
Location: Pittsburgh | Guest,On good friday I took a friends son fishing with me. At about 9am he caught a 35 or so fish the very first in his life,and the only one in the boat that day.A picture was taken and the fish was released.The boy seemed very happy about this, and he had a pic for braggin rights to his freinds.now it seems to me that replacing myself with kids that love the outdoors and place value on it is much more important than any misplaced over the top release ethic. For any young ones to respect the resource they must first love it. the path to that love is paved with ,braggin to there friends, dad look what I caught a 42"er and that feeling we all know once its in the net. I believe it is more important to enjoy fishing in your own way rather than worshipping it. my friends son is 35 by the way the oldest kid I ever took. |
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Posts: 5195
| They are probably to arogant or stubborn to listen to mesikomer.He has been doin what the so called pros are doin now for years and years.Big monsters in minnesota placing in tournaments,Hello!No matter if you like him or not he does it all and put his reputation on the line and comes up big in tournaments ,which he has nothing to gain ,and only lose when he fishes tornaments.b
Edited by 0723 4/7/2010 1:22 AM
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Posts: 2322
Location: SE, WI. | Speaking of Mesikomer. Bobs TV shows are my favorite to watch. He has the best Musky footage out there!!! They do a great job!!!:o |
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| I am much closer to a rookie than a seasoned fisherman, but I just can't believe that a musky fisherman would pull a bait away from a hot fish on purpose. Are you kidding me? I spend a lot of time in pursuit of musky doing the whole "not catching" thing. If I have an opportunity to catch one, the last thing I am going to do is judge it to small. That's like saying, well I wanted to catch 20-22" bass today so I am going to rip my spinnerbait away from that charging largemouth that is only in the 15" class. It just seems kind of silly to me. Again, I really like to "catch" fish. That's not the ony thing that I like about fishing, but I sure do enjoy it.
As for mistakes, I make many every time out. I am actually starting to recognize them, so I believe I am learning from them. |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | Actually, my biggest mistake is telling my wife when I can catch a nice fish. Because then she thinks I don't need to go fishing for a while... |
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| Bob M was the first muskie pro in my eyes. He was also the first pro I saw water release and choose not to net all his fish. For me, his shows and videos have been the most entertaining and influential out of all the shows and videos currently available. I have learned more about muskie fishing through watching Bob's videos than through any other educational outlet. He and his crew have captured some truly captivating footage. If you haven't seen his videos, especially the vintage ones, do yourself a favor and check them out.
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Posts: 5195
| Guest one time pre fishing at leech lake in 2000 staying next to sworall,I pulled a bait away from a mid 50s fish,never to see that fish again.I will never do that ever again.Doub j had some nice thoughts here,a true legend of the game.b |
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Posts: 4080
Location: Elko - Lake Vermilion | I do pull the lure away from any size fish when Pre fishing for a Tourney,... and it's very hard to do,.... but you don't want to burn that Tourney fish before the event,, do ya ?
Jerome |
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Posts: 97
Location: Pickering, ON | Milk runs that never change.
Marked maps are usually the perpetrator in that regard. 10 spots marked on the lake and they are the same 10 that get fished from June to December. Totally fails to consider seasonal movements.
There are spots that are dynamite in June but a waste in late season, and vice versa.
Another one is leaving fish to find fish. That was a 'doh'/'aha' moment for me a few years ago. If I for example just raised and/or caught a fish in an area, why was I taking off to the next spot rather than working through the area again? I would say I had the perspective that Muskies are loners. Wrong.
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Posts: 311
Location: Ontario | Both those go under the Rookie Mistakes thread IMO. |
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