Michigan Muskie Alliance

This subject was touched a little on another post about torpedoing fish back. There is one problem with the use of Live wells in that its not legal to put undersized fish in a live well. I believe it is ethical to use a live well to revive an undersized fish that might otherwise die but the risk of being ticketed is always out there. Its simply not legal to revive or detain an undersized fish in a Live well. It is for this reason that I stopped netting smaller fish during trolling sessions on St. Clair choosing to just turn the hook around and let them go. This practice however put a 6 /0 hook in my wrist that could have killed me had it torn into arteries and main blood vessels. I was lucky and have returned to using the net and slowing my boat to a crawl. Common sense tells us all that a still boat is the best type of situation there is. Follow the video and they go back quickly and safely but bigger boats, waves, winds, planer boards etc all lead to finding ways to get them back as safe as we can. I am for a law change that would allow the use of Live wells as a tool for release of sub legal fish. For now anyone practicing this is taking the chance of being ticketed. Ive seen it all this year. Captains swimming with fish, hooks in my arm, good releases and bad ones. Bad weather plays a big part in whether or not one is able to perform all of the steps properly. W e must all just do the best we can and remember even on our best days some of them will not make it. They fight so hard to get away only to die a few days later but the good news is across the board, the big picture is that great strides have been made in release tools and tactics. The percentage of fish being killed is way down from even 10 years ago. I would like to see a change in the law that would allow limited use of live wells for the revival of undersized fish. Mike

ill agree with that whole heartedly...I have been reading about all of this the last couple days and its got me thinking about how to get a livewell in my little mirrocraft. we tried when we rebuilt it, but couldn't come up with much.
I will say that if a CO gave me a ticket for trying to revive a short fish...

Wow "could have killed me" .....................I think thats a little extreme!

Honestly, it was not stretching the realm of possibility for Mike to have died. I've seen firsthand, from my years as a police officer, how quickly people can bleed out when a major artery is damaged.
Combine large hooks, thrashing fish, and being a long distance from competent medical attention, the worse case scenario could happen to any of us.

Charlie

Good thing he brings a nurse along with him! Too bad she outfishes him. Still, small price to pay...

(Only kidding, Michelle! You outfish me, too, but then that's not hard. )

I would have to say that if that fish had been able to thrash more than he did I would have been bleeding real bad. We acted fast and got the fish cut off of me . Cant say enough about good hook cutters. Imagine a 6/0 hook just millimeters from your main artery, all the way in. By my self I would have been in real trouble. Dont ever try water releasing alone. You will get hung with a hook and might not have the help to save your life. My wife is trained in this type of emergency and knew exactly what to do. It took a scalpel to make an exit hole and 5 pain shots before the hook was out. I still shudder when I think about it. stupid stupid stupid!!!! Its always the little snots that get you as well. Use the net every time. Mike