Slight off-topic:
What do you recommend for jaw-spreaders? Most of what I see are wimpy looking 8" wire things that don't look musky-worthy:
How do you land your muskies?
Moderator: Cyberlunge
I have the 8" spreaders but I just ordered the 10" ones from Thorne Brothers and I just figure you can't have too many pieces of release equipment. I bought a pair of the Knipex cutters and they are great but expensive. I really don't want to lose these cutters and when working on a fish in the net it is easy to drop them. Has anyone added a lanyard to theirs? I don't want to drill them and was thinking of wrapping the lanyard cord around the base of the cutters with hockey tape. Anyone know a better way to do it?
"I wish ignorance was painful".
that is basically what I do with most of my tools - tie a little rope to them with the other end being connected to a small caribbeaner (you can get them cheap at a lot of stores). When unhooking a fish simply attach the caribbeaner to the net so they dont fall into the water if you drop them. It may not look pretty, but it gets the job done.
The Musky Bandit strikes again!
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Chris Allen
- Posts: 181
- Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2005 10:53 am
- Location: Battle Creek, MI
![[smilie=applause.gif]](./images/smilies/applause.gif "applause"){kind=small}
re:
The purpose of this discussion is to give some help to folks who haven't handled tons of big fish, I stand by my stance that it is of FAR greater concern to encourage them to land fish as quickly as the fish will allow. It is beaten into the heads of fishermen out there to fight fish to exhaustion. What's the first thing people ask you when they see a picture of a big fish? That's right- "how long did you fight it"? They are expecting some Hemingway prose about counting how many times the sun rose and set during the fight. THAT is the idea that many people come into musky fishing with, but they quickly learn that the sport of musky fishing is the take, not the fight. A musky is not a dime store hatchery salmon, and you can't lump all fish in the same group when it comes to fighting, and especially releasing.
The other side of this argument- safety for fish and especially fishermen when dealing with an ornery "green" fish is certainly valid. But, I say there is just not much difference bewteen a green fish and a spent fish when they are resting comfortably in a big ol net. Once they are in, just give em some time to chill before you even stick your long handled tools in there. Then, if you want a picture, give em some more time to relax before securing that gill hold.
Unfortunately, there is no way to be comfortable dealing with these toothy critters until you've had some experience, there is no substitute. But being well-informed will eliminate a lot of the learning curve. I do NOT buy it that all of these rookies are getting hurt out there becuase they've been told to rush the job- that is not a "fact". Mistakes are made, obviously more often by inexperienced anglers, but there is no way anyone in their right mind is sticking their hands into a slimy buzzsaw just because they heard to keep it quick. Give people a little more credit. No one ever said you have to rush it once the fish is in the net and it gills are under water.
The other side of this argument- safety for fish and especially fishermen when dealing with an ornery "green" fish is certainly valid. But, I say there is just not much difference bewteen a green fish and a spent fish when they are resting comfortably in a big ol net. Once they are in, just give em some time to chill before you even stick your long handled tools in there. Then, if you want a picture, give em some more time to relax before securing that gill hold.
Unfortunately, there is no way to be comfortable dealing with these toothy critters until you've had some experience, there is no substitute. But being well-informed will eliminate a lot of the learning curve. I do NOT buy it that all of these rookies are getting hurt out there becuase they've been told to rush the job- that is not a "fact". Mistakes are made, obviously more often by inexperienced anglers, but there is no way anyone in their right mind is sticking their hands into a slimy buzzsaw just because they heard to keep it quick. Give people a little more credit. No one ever said you have to rush it once the fish is in the net and it gills are under water.
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Will Schultz
- Posts: 7675
- Joined: Wed Apr 06, 2005 11:06 pm
- Location: GR, MI
It's a good time of year to get this back to the top. Proper fish handling is extremely important!
This is from the MMA info/tips page.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FHyVsyMBeM
This is from the MMA info/tips page.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FHyVsyMBeM
Self interest is for the past, common interest is for the future.
I land my fish usually quite quickly, get them in the beckman, cut the hooks unless it isn't hooked too bad, then leave them in the net. Take em out as soon as camera is ready then hold them out for 5 seconds, then put them in the cradle and measure them then let them go. Most of my fish last year swam off faster than most bass i catch
I feel that it is the person holding the rod & fish that should dictate when the fish is netted, usually asap. One can many times tell when a fish is about to make a run or jump and if so it may be better to wait. We do have some control over the fish and how we want it to act but it doesn't always work out that way. Once the fish gets turned , head coming toward the boat, then the fish is scooped. Fish is then unhooked and left in the net if a photo is going to take place. Tools, bumpboard and camera should be ready and waiting before removing the fish from the net. Measuring a fish via bumpboard should really only take a few seconds.
I like to use the net as a pen while getting a bumpboard or camera ready if I'm fishing alone The fish stays in the water and should just be chillin.
I totally agree about mid 30" musky and especially pike. They can and will tend to throw a few tantrums once netted. Most of the hooks in hand injuries and blood loss have been from these size fish in years past.
I have a good/bad experience with a fish that may have been too green. I was with my 2 sons when they were young, 10 and 12 or so. I was showing them how to work a suick on LVD over a great weedbed. I was really working the bait with super long and hard pumps just to illustrate a point. A big fish hit and my 6'9" St croix heavy action rod was bent in half and throbbing like I've never seen before. The fish was going crazy!
I told Shane to get the net and if I got the fish up close to net it. The fish came right along side the boat not torpedo speed but not lounging either. I knew the fish was full of it and wasgoing to make another fast run so I said wait until the next time up and then net her. The big fosh made a run, stopped and began to chomp on my suick. I could feel her just sitting there but couldn't move her. A few seconds later and up pops the bait. I got a look at the fish and looking back I think I would have had Shane try and net the fish on that first pass although Shane was not an experienced net man at the time.
I like to use the net as a pen while getting a bumpboard or camera ready if I'm fishing alone The fish stays in the water and should just be chillin.
I totally agree about mid 30" musky and especially pike. They can and will tend to throw a few tantrums once netted. Most of the hooks in hand injuries and blood loss have been from these size fish in years past.
I have a good/bad experience with a fish that may have been too green. I was with my 2 sons when they were young, 10 and 12 or so. I was showing them how to work a suick on LVD over a great weedbed. I was really working the bait with super long and hard pumps just to illustrate a point. A big fish hit and my 6'9" St croix heavy action rod was bent in half and throbbing like I've never seen before. The fish was going crazy!
I told Shane to get the net and if I got the fish up close to net it. The fish came right along side the boat not torpedo speed but not lounging either. I knew the fish was full of it and wasgoing to make another fast run so I said wait until the next time up and then net her. The big fosh made a run, stopped and began to chomp on my suick. I could feel her just sitting there but couldn't move her. A few seconds later and up pops the bait. I got a look at the fish and looking back I think I would have had Shane try and net the fish on that first pass although Shane was not an experienced net man at the time.
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Jim tenHaaf
- Posts: 3126
- Joined: Wed Mar 19, 2008 12:48 pm
- Location: Kentwood
- Contact:
I think sometimes my adrenaline kicks in waaaay too much, and I'm yelling, "Get Her!" before she is probably actually ready. I know I'm an aggressive fisherman. My 50 almost came off because of too much pressure and bending out a hook. It never seems like I really get to enjoy a fight. I just horse them in. Probably why I lost so many fish last year as well. I'm going to put reminder signs all over the boat for myself.
Hey, Kid! Remember that muskie in Campau you got trolling? I probably shouldn't have reached for her like that, but I guess I'm an aggressive netter too!![[smilie=biggrin.gif]](./images/smilies/biggrin.gif "biggrin")
That fish was 1/2 way under the boat, but I got her!
Hey, Kid! Remember that muskie in Campau you got trolling? I probably shouldn't have reached for her like that, but I guess I'm an aggressive netter too!
That fish was 1/2 way under the boat, but I got her!All the opinions are interesting. I have a strong opinion on this topic because of one of my misadventures.....
I was fishing alone in the Yoop, really "alone", nobody within miles of me and I got in trouble because I was careless in releasing a fish. Rather than using the net, I chose lean over the side of the boat with a set of heavy LONG needlenose pliars in my right bare hand. The fish had only a single hook point (the bottom treble of a Poes Giant Jackpot) in the front top lip. I was just gonna grab the hook with the pliars, just pop it out, right? Well as soon as I touched the hook shank with those pliars the fish exploded next to the boat. My instinct was to jerk my hand out of there but 1) I was not fast enough and 2) those long pliars were not long enough. So I suddenly found myself attached to a healthy upper 30"s fish that jerked me around for maybe 5 or 8 seconds of boat-side thrashing. I'm laying over the side of the boat so the fish doesn't hang off my hand while I fumble to find those pliars. I find them and am lucky to reach over and with one grab/jerk the fish is unhooked. I lift my right hand and I am very hooked, the one hook in me was buried to the shank
in one hole and the hook tip was peeking out another hole about 2" away.
Ok, I have to shorten this story...here's the skinny from releasing the fish..
* I was unable to cut the hook away from the bait with the side cutters I had with me.
* I went into shock quickly but did not realize it at first. I was not thinking clearly - I used my hooked hand, with Poes Giant Jackpot still attached, to pull start my 15hp motor.
* The lake is full of timber and I can only go idle speed to the "landing". At one point I put the motor in neutral and try to jerk the hook out with another set of pliars. The hook didn't budge but the pain started. I put the motor back in gear and notice my face is suddenly sweaty and my vision is getting screwed up, like lots of flys are buzzing around and there suare a lot of them and....
* I woke up when the boat hit a tree dead on. Booommmmm! As I came back awake I realized I was now was hanging over the side of the boat, hanging far enough for the top of my head to be in the water. Don't know if i fell forward when I passed out or when I hit the tree.
* Load the boat and drive about an hour to get to the Dickinson County Hospital. Oh, I'm using my hooked hand to shift gears on my manual transmission Jeep. Drove slow and was really concerned about passing out again.
* The ER doc says it's the biggest hook he's ever cut out of someone in his many years of working the ER. One nurse held my hand in a twisted posoition down while another nurse pushed the hook as hard as she could to get the barb to come out of the exit hole. Success, there's the barb! But a setback - the ER side cutters won't cut the hook. An orderly runs off and comes back with some mini-bolts and we start over and push harder to get the bigger tool under the hook barb.
* Doc tells me I am very lucky to have not suffered any nerve damage in my hand.
* Within a week I have a reason to drive to Marquette and there at Gander Mountain I buy a great big Frabil net, mini-bolt cutters and a set of Lindy Gloves.
I never have any problems leaving the fish in the basket in the water at boat side as I gather my release tools, ready the camera and put on my Lindy gloves. Once the fish is unhooked I lift it out of the water (leaving the bait in the basket) and with one wet finger I hit the delayed shutter deal on the camera. One pic if under 40", maybe a couple pics if the fish is over 40". With my improved tools and process I'm usually able to follow the rule "Don't have the fish out of the water longer than you can hold your own breath." and I've never had a fish die on me.
Ok, that's enough story tellin'. But I'll add this thought for your consideration...it seems to me that a properly working drag system on the reel, plus the amount of fight in the fish I've hooked, dictates how fast I'm able to get the fish to the boat. I've replaced the stock drag washers with Smooothies on all my reels, BTW. Any decent fighting fish will pull line on any of my rods. I don't need to freespool like most folks do, even on boatside strikes.
Man, sorry this post is so long!
I was fishing alone in the Yoop, really "alone", nobody within miles of me and I got in trouble because I was careless in releasing a fish. Rather than using the net, I chose lean over the side of the boat with a set of heavy LONG needlenose pliars in my right bare hand. The fish had only a single hook point (the bottom treble of a Poes Giant Jackpot) in the front top lip. I was just gonna grab the hook with the pliars, just pop it out, right? Well as soon as I touched the hook shank with those pliars the fish exploded next to the boat. My instinct was to jerk my hand out of there but 1) I was not fast enough and 2) those long pliars were not long enough. So I suddenly found myself attached to a healthy upper 30"s fish that jerked me around for maybe 5 or 8 seconds of boat-side thrashing. I'm laying over the side of the boat so the fish doesn't hang off my hand while I fumble to find those pliars. I find them and am lucky to reach over and with one grab/jerk the fish is unhooked. I lift my right hand and I am very hooked, the one hook in me was buried to the shank
in one hole and the hook tip was peeking out another hole about 2" away.
Ok, I have to shorten this story...here's the skinny from releasing the fish..
* I was unable to cut the hook away from the bait with the side cutters I had with me.
* I went into shock quickly but did not realize it at first. I was not thinking clearly - I used my hooked hand, with Poes Giant Jackpot still attached, to pull start my 15hp motor.
* The lake is full of timber and I can only go idle speed to the "landing". At one point I put the motor in neutral and try to jerk the hook out with another set of pliars. The hook didn't budge but the pain started. I put the motor back in gear and notice my face is suddenly sweaty and my vision is getting screwed up, like lots of flys are buzzing around and there suare a lot of them and....
* I woke up when the boat hit a tree dead on. Booommmmm! As I came back awake I realized I was now was hanging over the side of the boat, hanging far enough for the top of my head to be in the water. Don't know if i fell forward when I passed out or when I hit the tree.
* Load the boat and drive about an hour to get to the Dickinson County Hospital. Oh, I'm using my hooked hand to shift gears on my manual transmission Jeep. Drove slow and was really concerned about passing out again.
* The ER doc says it's the biggest hook he's ever cut out of someone in his many years of working the ER. One nurse held my hand in a twisted posoition down while another nurse pushed the hook as hard as she could to get the barb to come out of the exit hole. Success, there's the barb! But a setback - the ER side cutters won't cut the hook. An orderly runs off and comes back with some mini-bolts and we start over and push harder to get the bigger tool under the hook barb.
* Doc tells me I am very lucky to have not suffered any nerve damage in my hand.
* Within a week I have a reason to drive to Marquette and there at Gander Mountain I buy a great big Frabil net, mini-bolt cutters and a set of Lindy Gloves.
I never have any problems leaving the fish in the basket in the water at boat side as I gather my release tools, ready the camera and put on my Lindy gloves. Once the fish is unhooked I lift it out of the water (leaving the bait in the basket) and with one wet finger I hit the delayed shutter deal on the camera. One pic if under 40", maybe a couple pics if the fish is over 40". With my improved tools and process I'm usually able to follow the rule "Don't have the fish out of the water longer than you can hold your own breath." and I've never had a fish die on me.
Ok, that's enough story tellin'. But I'll add this thought for your consideration...it seems to me that a properly working drag system on the reel, plus the amount of fight in the fish I've hooked, dictates how fast I'm able to get the fish to the boat. I've replaced the stock drag washers with Smooothies on all my reels, BTW. Any decent fighting fish will pull line on any of my rods. I don't need to freespool like most folks do, even on boatside strikes.
Man, sorry this post is so long!