Handling Large Fish w/o Harming Them

I read an article in In-Fisherman that suggest that holding a large fish up by the head/gill area puts a ton of pressure on the spine and can separate vertebrae. The article suggest to keep the weight of the fish evenly distributed by supporting the belly and using two hands. With a lot of CPR going on (thankfully) I think it would be important to consider this when handling fish for photos. In the same magazine, they suggest that using a rubber or knotless landing net can reduce mortality as well. They said that nets are very damaging to fish that we plan to release. Something else to think about while practicing Catch-Photo-Release. This was the April/May issue if interested…

Great info Wade,handle with care and let them grow!!!
Ryan Hale

This is great info. I am always TRYING to handle them with care…They do not always cooperate. Those big pike are fun to catch but can they be slippery and shake like HE!!.

I sometimes use one of those gloves which helps a bit but at times they make it tough

CPR the only way to go!

Although it does put pressure on the head and lower jaw, I feel better about using a Boga grip (or the Rapala and Berkley knock-offs) for larger fish. This way you don’t actually handle the fish at all. You lock and lift, weigh and photo, then release, without ever touching anything.

Dave, this artice talked about these grips and said you should use something to support the body (like a knotless net) when weighing fish. I am NO expert on this, it’s just what these fish biologist are saying. It made sense to me and I just wanted to know what others on here thought about it. The article agrees with not handling the fish, like you are saying. But, they also don’t want us picking the fish up by the mouth/gills on larger fish. Makes it pretty hard…

Think how a fish swims and what gravity does to their spine and you’ll se what Wade is talking about. Now add the zero bouyancy of a fish in water and you can see it even more.

If you have a fish under the gill plates and it starts thrashing about, you are putting a very unnatural strain on it.

A fishes vertebrae are not meant to be pulled downward under the force of gravity.

I need to more careful myself.

Also use heavier line and get them in without a big prolonged fight. It takes a big fish days to recover from a tough fight. Heck, it takes me days to recover from a rough night on the town.

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Think how a fish swims and what gravity does to their spine and you’ll se what Wade is talking about. Now add the zero bouyancy of a fish in water and you can see it even more.

If you have a fish under the gill plates and it starts thrashing about, you are putting a very unnatural strain on it.

A fishes vertebrae are not meant to be pulled downward under the force of gravity.

I need to more careful myself.

Also use heavier line and get them in without a big prolonged fight. It takes a big fish days to recover from a tough fight. Heck, it takes me days to recover from a rough night on the town.

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I am also guilty. I have only started thinking about this lately as I hear about more fish being injured and the unfortunate mortality rate of big fish. We put so much effort (and money) into conservation and stocking effort that it makes sense to do what we can to protect the big ones we release.