If you lay the fish on the gunwale of the boat to remove the hook, make sure to wet it down to avoid slime loss. NEVER grab a fish that you are going to release with a towel or cloth, as this will remove slime. Kneel down and place your hand under the belly of the fish for support as you land it into the boat. NEVER weigh a fish on a hand scale if you intend to release it. An approximate weight can be taken by recording the length and girth measurements and then multiplying the two numbers.
A de-hooker is a great tool to have on board to be able to extract a hook. If you have difficulty removing the hook the best course of action is to cut the line as close to the eye of the hook as possible and release the fish as is. Most of the time the fish can still feed and the hook will rust out in time. Avoid using stainless steel hooks of any kind, as these will not rust out.
If you are using natural bait, employing circle hooks is a great step for conservation as they almost always hook the fish in the corner of the mouth rather than the throat. Light wire, non-coated hooks are best because they will rust out much faster in the event that you do have to leave the hook in the fish. Other things to avoid also include the gill area of the fish. The gills are by far the most sensitive organ the fish possess.
Without it they cannot filter oxygen out of the water needed to survive. Even a minor brush with the gills can damage the small red filaments and lead to problems absorbing oxygen. This is the reason fish possess heavy gill plates, to protect this crucial organ from damage. Also, wet your hands before you land a fish, and all objects that you plan to place it on gunwale, measuring board, ect.
This will aid in protecting the slime coat of the fish which protects it from bacteria and pathogens in the water. Large fish that have had a long fight will almost always need a minute or two of revival at boat-side before you send them on their way. Long fights cause a build up of lactic acid in the fillets of the fish and this acid needs to be worked out before you let go of the fish.
If you do not relieve the acid build up, the fish will usually swim off about feet and seize up, turning upside down on the bottom and suffocating to death. Just because a fish swims off does not guarantee its survival.
Heading out to deeper water when it is in close proximity can sometimes make a difference as it usually contains much more dissolved oxygen than a shallow flat, especially in the summer time. Fishing shallow areas in the summer months can also pose dangers to the fish. When water temperatures skyrocket on the flats in the summer, it greatly reduces the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water.
That means long fights with tackle that is too light can be a death sentence to big fish. To put it into perspective, it would be like a human trying to run for his or her ife with a bag over their head. The faster you can land the fish, the healthier it will be when you revive it for release! If you utilize these easy steps the next time you have a trophy at the end of your line, you can assure that your fish will return back to its environment and successfully perpetuate the species, and may even be caught again by another lucky angler.
There are only a limited number of fish in our local stocks, and we have more and more people moving here every year fishing on our waterways. If we all follow the rules of good fish handling practices, these fish will be here for years to come for us all to enjoy. In the end, we are the stewards of our waterways, and it is up to us to conserve the resource and respect the fish. I would greatly appreciate it.
A great article! This is too commonly seen, especially with speckled trout. By reelfisherman - Thu Oct 18, pm. I've lipped some toothy critters too but I'm wimp enough to use the appropriate glove. By mrkm - Thu Oct 18, pm. By redneckyakclub01 - Thu Oct 18, pm. By Lagoonfisher - Fri Oct 19, am. Those things stink so bad that I had to give away one of my nets one time becouse it stunk it up so bad!
Those things have a smell that makes me want to puke!!! You are the man! By DelSol - Fri Oct 19, am. By Barnacle Bill - Fri Oct 19, pm. Won't be doing that again Tell em'!!!! I love catching sheepies in the winter!!! Just don't EVER lip em'!
They break oyster shell with them teeth so imagine how that's gonna feel on your thumb! By let's go - Fri Oct 19, pm. What happens in Palacios, stays in Palacious. Options 26 posts 1 2 Next Page 1 of 2 26 posts. Display: All posts 1 day 7 days 2 weeks 1 month 3 months 6 months 1 year. Coyote pups are leaving their dens and looking for territories to call their own, so expect to hear or see them in the coming weeks.
You must be logged in to post a comment. November 12, Sign Up Now. January Statewide NC. Next Neuse River speckled trout have stayed upriver much longer than usual. Dan Kibler Hunting , New Products. Greener Pastures. Be the first to comment Leave a Reply Cancel reply You must be logged in to post a comment.
Copyright - Carolina Sportsman, Inc. Just a word of caution, redfish have a NASTY set of teeth on the top jaw and will shred a thumb, I have the scars to show ya. Having a good quality net or lip gripper like a Boga grip is a big help. Use these lip grippers carefully and try not to hang a big fish from it if you can. Grabbing the bottom lip and then supporting the belly of the fish will help the fish from receiving injuries to internal organs and if the fish is big enough it can sometimes lead to broken jaws.
Next, remove the hook as cleanly and quickly as possible. If a redfish is hooked really deep and there will be more damage done to the fish removing the hook, cut the line as close to the hook as possible.
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