Guest Don R Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 * Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm M Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 it really helps if you can release the fish without taking it out of the water. i realize that is not always possible but it is something to strive for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rich mc Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 don i think that topic should be in the next newsletter will you volunterr? perhaps demonstrate holding a big smallie in the proper way too .similar thing happens with holding a big musky by the gill plate WITHOUT supporting the body weight, all the weight puts a strain on the spine rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Kral Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 I use a landing net for all fish I catch. I'm always using a fly rod, so a net helps when using a 9' rod, but I never take them out of the water. I just keep the fish in the net right at the surface, and pop the fly out, for bass, trout, carp, etc. If its a fish I feel the need to take a picture of, I just cradle it by tail and body, or I just leave it in the net in shallow water and snap a shot next to my rod, which I have marked so I can get a quick measurement at the same time. That's just me, I try not to handle them if I don't have to. Good topic! Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronk Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 I'll have to try holding the bass on the side of the jaw as mentioned instead of in front(assuming I ever catch one again). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest airbornemike Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 I've caught plenty of fish with obvious injurys from carlessly unhooking fish, I wonder sometimes if they starve by not being able to feed as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 it really helps if you can release the fish without taking it out of the water. i realize that is not always possible but it is something to strive for. This would be a great article for the Bronzeback Bulletin. Make sure the issue is fish-free. Just pictures of anglers holding their hands apart and giving the, "It was THIS big!" look. The cover can just be a dotted outline of a smallmouth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Oh the humanity! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Sarcasm aside.... It's wise for the members of the ISA to know how to hold smallmouth bass. Why strain and most likely injure the jaw of your bass if you don't need to? When I glanced at the bulletin's front and back cover shot the way the guys were holding their bass struck me as a bit odd. A quick "how to hold a bass" Google search produced the above informative article. I tried too and got this. Son of a gun! Crazy Google! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dodge Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 I tried too and got this. Son of a gun! Crazy Google! HA! I love cabin fever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm M Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 This would be a great article for the Bronzeback Bulletin. Make sure the issue is fish-free. Just pictures of anglers holding their hands apart and giving the, "It was THIS big!" look. The cover can just be a dotted outline of a smallmouth. There are going to be times when it's necessary. Sometimes for hook removal, other times to measure a really big fish and other times to take photo of really big fish. No need to take photos or measurements of every fish though. This is supposed to be a C & R oriented organization with an emphasis on education. Teaching folks how to minimize possible injury and stress to the fish should be one of the things we do. It is just like emphasizing proper tackle to bring the fiah to hand as quickly as possible to reduce lactic acid build up and possible post release mortality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev-mo Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 I tried too and got this. Son of a gun! Crazy Google! Now my jaw hurts... from dropping... Seriously though, we should be good stewards of our sport and that includes treating the fish w/as much care as possible to avoid extra or excessive or undue injury. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 It's called a promo shot. Meant to be fun and exciting and provide a differentiator in the industry. Just like the trucker hat, sunglasses, choice of clothing, sponsors, etc. When your livelihood depends on your persona, you build it and market it. Most of Drew's shots are action shots and some are a little over the top. It's all part of his persona. I find any critique of his shots debatable (and comical) ... especially by other fishermen. It's splitting hairs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Don R Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 it really helps if you can release the fish without taking it out of the water. i realize that is not always possible but it is something to strive for. Fantastic point Norm! I use a landing net for all fish I catch. I'm always using a fly rod, so a net helps when using a 9' rod, but I never take them out of the water. I just keep the fish in the net right at the surface, and pop the fly out, for bass, trout, carp, etc. If its a fish I feel the need to take a picture of, I just cradle it by tail and body, or I just leave it in the net in shallow water and snap a shot next to my rod, which I have marked so I can get a quick measurement at the same time. That's just me, I try not to handle them if I don't have to. Good topic! Ryan Thanks Ryan and good advice as well! I'll have to try holding the bass on the side of the jaw as mentioned instead of in front(assuming I ever catch one again). Oh, you'll catch 'em again Ron. I've caught plenty of fish with obvious injurys from carlessly unhooking fish, I wonder sometimes if they starve by not being able to feed as well. Great point Mike. This would be a great article for the Bronzeback Bulletin. Make sure the issue is fish-free. Just pictures of anglers holding their hands apart and giving the, "It was THIS big!" look. The cover can just be a dotted outline of a smallmouth. Not sure what this is about. The article above says nothing about not photographing your catch. But after reading your post I was reminded of the bulletin's front and back cover shots. Other members called and pointed out the photos as well. This isn't a personal attack on anyone. I wouldn't have brought up the bulletin if you didn't mention it and if others hadn't called me about it. I started another post leaving out the sarcasm banter in hopes that the moderators would delete this thread and just leave the informative article and responses in the new thread. This is supposed to be a C & R oriented organization with an emphasis on education. Teaching folks how to minimize possible injury and stress to the fish should be one of the things we do. It is just like emphasizing proper tackle to bring the fiah to hand as quickly as possible to reduce lactic acid build up and possible post release mortality. That's the point I was trying to get across. Thanks Norm. Seriously though, we should be good stewards of our sport and that includes treating the fish w/as much care as possible to avoid extra or excessive or undue injury. Exactly. It's called a promo shot. Meant to be fun and exciting and provide a differentiator in the industry. Just like the trucker hat, sunglasses, choice of clothing, sponsors, etc. When your livelihood depends on your persona, you build it and market it. Most of Drew's shots are action shots and some are a little over the top. It's all part of his persona. I find any critique of his shots debatable (and comical) ... especially by other fishermen. It's splitting hairs. I find any critique of the above informative article on the proper handling of bass debatable (and comical) ... especially by other conservation minded fishermen. An action shot with the fish held the right way would've had the same impact without injuring the fish. The really funny thing is that I didn't even know who was on the cover shot until after you mentioned a promo shot. . --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I've held fish incorrectly in the past! In fact I can remember the feel and sound of a large bass jaw cracking as I held the bass up on a 45 degree angle. I've seen family and friends do this as well. I'll never do it again. I'll encourage, and if you will, educate those that I fish with to stop this practice. The post was never meant as a direct slam against anyone in particular. A few short decades ago we knew little to nothing about catch and release. Catch and keep was the way to go. It's what we grew up with.. Our parents caught fish to eat as their parents did before them. The limited press of that era showed stringers of fish. It was the thing to do. Fast forward a bit... I've seen far too many photos, film and video of celebrities holding fish improperly. Most of us grew up watching these shows. We saw how the "pros" were holding their bass. I'm not blaming them but surely some of us watched and followed without knowing what we were doing. I know I did. In my opinion fishing celebrities (tourney winners/competitors, promoters of fishing equip, etc.) should take it upon themselves to do everything possible to remedy the negative impact that improper fish handling has had over the years. I believe this is the only way this damaging practice will subside. Until then you can bet I'll do my part to inform those around me and I encourage you to do the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Kast Posted February 4, 2012 Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 Splitting hairs or cracking jaws..... it's your choice. Making light of a helpful article is ludicrous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tgoodmanii Posted February 6, 2012 Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 I appreciated the article and definately think we should handle the fish carefully as not to cause excessive damge or stress to fish. But what's excessive and what's acceptable? Hooks cause damage...should we continue to use them? We should all be willing to be educated so that we can be more responsible fishermen and better stewards, but I don't think it is helpful to nit pick everyone elses practices becaue we personally disagree with them. Lets educate, inform, and encourage one another without expecting everyone to aggree with us on every single point. We should avoid extremes in either direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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