Makes Me Mad

[flytyer57]

...that the fish that is handled least has the best chance of survival.

The fish that isn't caught has the best chance of survival.

[flytyer57]

I have only handled one trout under the gill plate, and that fish died due to the fight in warm water on Lake Michigan.

For handling toothy critters like Pike and Musky, the best way to land them is to slip your fingers under the gill plate. Just don't stick them in too far or you will feel the teeth.

It is possible to hold a fish under the gill plate without touching the gills. Just as long as that is not the only point of holding a fish, it will survive.

[FishinCricket]

Yeah, I'm not good enough at handling fish to be posting reports here...

Many other feel the same, I'm sure..

Sorry I torture your trout.

[Al Agnew]

While it only makes sense to handle game fish as carefully as possible, which means also as LITTLE as possible, in reality they are pretty tough critters. The red fronds of the gills are obviously rather fragile and should not be touched if at all possible. And big fish should not be held with all their weight on the connection between gill plate and throat, which means it isn't a good idea to hold them up with one hand by the gill plate for photos.

But...sometimes you have to consider the alternatives. A trout, unlike a bass, doesn't have a convenient big, tough mouth without big teeth to serve the angler as a convenient handle. And while you can cradle a trout of average size by the belly, or even upside down and have it sometimes remain docile long enough to remove a hook. If you net it, even with a wet rubber mesh net, you're probably removing some protective slime off a large portion of the body. So sometimes your only choice to hold the fish while removing the hook (by holding, I mean simply controlling it so that it doesn't continually flop all over the place and have to be chased down) is by CAREFULLY slipping a wet finger or thumb under the gill plate and holding your finger and the gill plate away from the gills themselves. I don't like to do it and don't do it unless I've got a very problematical hook to get out, but once in a while I do it for a brief time.

The 20 inch trout that I caught and photographed on my paddle on my Eleven Point trip a few weeks ago was a case in point. I was in the canoe, didn't have a net. Went to the bank to "boat" the fish. Slid it up into a couple inches of water. Carefully slipped my thumb under the gill plate to hold it still while it was still lying in the shallow water to get the hook out. Used my other hand and forceps to do so. Used my other hand to lay the paddle across the gunwale of the canoe. I believed the fish flopped a couple times at this point, splashing me with water but unable to get any leverage to flop out of my grip with thumb and forefinger on its gill plate. I slipped my other hand under its body, lifted it with both hands, set it on the paddle blade, held it until it looked like it would hold still for a few seconds, then reached into my shirt pocket for my camera. Temporarily removed my thumb from under its gill plate and held the fish by the lower lip as I would a bass (gingerly) while snapping a picture with the other hand. Set the camera down quickly, slipped my other hand under its body again, and eased it into the water. It took a lot longer for you to read that than it did for me to do it. At no time did I do more than possibly the lightest touch on the gills themselves, at no time did I have the fish's weight supported by the gill covers. I feel pretty good about the whole sequence of events.

[Zach Bearden]

Holding a large bass by the lip can break bones. Therefore the fish cannot open and close its mouth properly and will die because it can't eat.

If you google this the top 3 of 4 are all things on how to properly handle a bass. Of course, I know this is not about bass, but trout. I believe this could go the same way on a trout.

I don't like BASS because of the way they handle their fish. Keeping them out of the water for absurd amounts of time and holding the fish completely horizontal. Surely they're killing a few. When I was little my dad and I would compete in bass tournaments, when everyone had to go release their catch from the day you always saw fish just roll over belly up...

[flytyer57]

Holding a large bass by the lip can break bones. Therefore the fish cannot open and close its mouth properly and will die because it can't eat.

If you google this the top 3 of 4 are all things on how to properly handle a bass. Of course, I know this is not about bass, but trout. I believe this could go the same way on a trout.

I don't like BASS because of the way they handle their fish. Keeping them out of the water for absurd amounts of time and holding the fish completely horizontal vertical. Surely they're killing a few. When I was little my dad and I would compete in bass tournaments, when everyone had to go release their catch from the day you always saw fish just roll over belly up...

Fixed it for ya.

[ozark trout fisher]

I am with troutfiend. Never put your hands inside the gills of a fish. I'm not saying it kills them everytime, but why take that risk when there are other, better ways to hold the fish? The thing that bugs me is I so often see guys on T.V. gilling fish and handling them roughly in other ways too. Such a bad example.

I can understand a newby who doesn't know any better gilling a fish, but not an experienced fisherman. Why mess with such a fragile part of the fish?

If you're gonna release a fish, just do it and be done with it too. If you must take a picture (and I'm not at all saying there is anything wrong with taking a picture now and then at), handle it gently and preferably don't take it out of the net. Personally, I usually only take pictures of fish if I am going to kill them, because I don't like to have them out of the water for any extra time if I'm letting them go. The only problem is that some folks (Eric 1978........) will give you crap for not having photographic evidence. Small price to pay for knowing the fish will survive-and stream/landscape pictures are more fun than "grip and grins" anyway.

But if you don't need a picture, there's no reason to take the fish out of the water at all. Just reach in the mouth real quick, remove the hook, and let it swim away without ever picking it up. You know for sure they'll survive that way.

[taxidermist]

Also never hold a bass like this, it can pull the aorta and weaken it. In a large older fish the fish already has had a heart attack and this will finish it off in a couple days.

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/art2001/jasonhaney061901lmb.jpg

[flytyer57]

I am with troutfiend. Never put your hands inside the gills of a fish. I'm not saying it kills them everytime, but why take that risk when there are other, better ways to hold the fish?

Just reach in the mouth real quick, remove the hook, and let it swim away without ever picking it up. You know for sure they'll survive that way.

There is a BIG diference between putting your finger under the gill plate and putting your finger in the gills.

Not all fish released after being hooked and fought will survive and to think so is only fooling yourself. There is a LOT of stress put on a fish during the fight, and many do not survive, even if it swims away right after being released.

If you are really worried about keeping those fish alive, don't hook them in the first place.

[eric1978]

The only problem is that some folks (Eric 1978........) will give you crap for not having photographic evidence.

I don't care if you never take a picture of anything...that's your call. I was just surprised that you didn't choose to add a few pics to your reports of trout fishing near and far in the last couple years. I'm just saying a report is about a thousand times better with some photos or video.

And the point remains the same either way...if you find it acceptable to fight a fish to lactic acid overdose and complete exhaustion on light tippet, a few more seconds to snap a shot for memory's sake shouldn't be a major concern to you...that's the least of that fish's problem.