Many anglers want to have a photo of their catch. Let’s face it: we may spend thousands of dollars on rods, reels, lures and tackle, not to mention travel and boats. A photo of your soon to be released muskie would be nice to have!

Once you have unhooked the fish in the net (being careful to keep the muskie in the water), now isn’t the time to put that care aside while you lift the fish for a photo only to find your partner searching for the camera. Have the camera ready before the fish is out of the water; then capturing a couple of photos for posterity shouldn’t take more than 30 seconds. When holding the fish for a photo it is important to support their weight horizontally and not hang them vertically. One hand carefully grasping the bone in the gill cover (see photo at right) and the other hand supporting their body (see photo below) will limit stress on their skeletal structure and internal organs.

Carefully grasping the bone in the gill cover

Hand supporting fishes body