# Fish that Bite



## Llew96 (Jun 26, 2014)

As some of you may have seen, this is my first season fishing central ohio. What I'm learning is that there are many species here that have teeth. I've never caught a fish with teeth.

So my question is. What are some good safe handling tips when it comes to handling and especially removing the hook from a fish that bites? I really don't want to have my arm gnawed off


----------



## ristorap (Mar 6, 2013)

Saugeye hold behind gill plates and use long needel nose pliars. Don't stick you're fingers in there mouth!!!!


----------



## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

There's a particular way to hold musky under the gill; other than that I don't think you have anything to worry about...


----------



## 1rod1reelfishing (Jun 26, 2013)

Deazl666 said:


> There's a particular way to hold musky under the gill; other than that I don't think you have anything to worry about...


How do u hold muskie under the gills? I would like to use that technique


----------



## kwizzle (Apr 7, 2012)

Saugeye behind the head slide your thumb and forefinger behind the gill plate usually flare gills when you grab behind heads. You can also gently place hand under there belly and lift up usually they play nice. Muskies are a fun fish to handle because of there size. Under30 inches or slightly larger depending on hand size you can grab behind head same as saugeye. For the gill grabbers be warned good way to grab fish but can cut hands up pretty bad from sharp gill plates or gills, also can be hard on fish if not done correctly. If you gently slide finger under gill plate and pull them Back you will see the 3 to 5 rows of red gills(not sure how many exactly never paid attention) in between gill plate and 1 st row of gills you can slide all 4 fingers and lift the fish with other hand around the tail. Important to look where you putting fingers because if you hope into red gills you will hurt the fish and your hand.Got pretty good at this several years ago when the spillway was flooded with musky quit fishing for them and would try to land them for others bare handed. Always best to keep them out of net if possible. Hope this helps hard to explain would be a lot easier to show you. Might also consider some form of boga grips lot of people swear by them.


----------



## 1rod1reelfishing (Jun 26, 2013)

Thanks! I have a net but wanted to know how to hold them outside the net, what you said makes perfect sense and great instruction too!


----------



## D-Bak (Jul 8, 2014)

Using the gill technique here on a pike I caught in Michigan. Don't mind my drunken brother in the back. 


Sent from my iPhone using Ohub Campfire


----------



## saugmon (Jun 14, 2006)

I'm sorry for the long post,but saugeye are vicious.Big,medium,small,they are just plain evil when they hit the deck or the net.There's so many ways they can get you and very dangerous when they have a crankbait lodged in their mouth. Gloves can and can't help you in certain situations.

Holding them under the gill plate can get you.Glove would work. Teeth are no biggie.It's their gill plates,cheek plates,and dorsal fins that will nail you. Their northern pike like thrashing is also something to be aware of.Once they hit the deck,just let them do their thing and stay away from them. I rarely use gloves because they are very restrictive on finger movement plus easy to snag with the sharp trebles that I use.

1st thing to do is release the bail as soon as a saugeye or any fish is in the net or on the deck.Any tension on the line and it will slingshot back at someone.I've seen it several times.

When a net is used,as soon as you get it back over the deck,release the bail and flip that net over as fast as possible to reduce the crank getting burried. This technique will make it easier for any species.Flip it over as fast as possible.Most of the time,the cranks pop out as soon as the saugeye is in the net with just a little slack of the line.Sometimes they don't but it'll be less of a tangle. Less time spent untangling burried trebles in fibers of a net = safer + faster time to get that crank back into the killing zone when the bite is on. Rubber net would be ideal but weight is a factor.Even those tangle proof black molded poly nets are not truely tangleproof.

Now if you have to untangle it from a fiber net,that is the most dangerous part.Get a pair of pliars in each hand and get the crank out of the fish.Most of the time you won't be able to get the fish out of the net with a crankbait tangling it all up.If possible,take a rag and cover up the fish to help calm them down.Take control of the swivel/snap along with the body of the crank and hold tight with 1 hand.Remove 1 treble at a time til the crank is out with opposite hand,then get the fish out of the net. Best to not even use a net unless it's a bigger fish.Gloves will snag very easy in this situation..If possible,flip the net and get the fish in the livewell without touching it.

Then how you handle the fish itself depends on what you want to do with it:

Ultra Dinks: Try to give them a little slack and most fall off beside the boat.Even the dinks can tear you up.

Super dinks-15": No net.If they fall off outside the boat,no biggie..
Onboard,let them thrash away with the bail out.When they subside, pick them up with 1 hand on swivel/crank body,1 hand on pliars with the treble,hold on the side of the boat and wiggle them off.No hands or fingers touch the fish.Works well with those dink channelcats as well so you won't get thorned.

Networthy keepers that may be culled out: Release the bail,Let the thrashing subside. I take 1 hand and hold the cheekplate/gillplate as tight as possible and remove hook with opposite hand with needlenose pliars and slap em in the livewell..That technique will work on any saugeye you catch if you don't use the bleeding technique.

Bigger/keeper :B size that you plan to eat or the smaller ones at the end of the trip that I want bled out: Glove can easily handle this job safely. I open up the livewell lid and grab them with my palm holding their dorsal fin down,and as far from their gillplates as possible.I squeeze them as tight as possible,using the top of the livewell to help pin their belly on it for the really big :B. Their jaws/gillplates will spread out in this position to make it easy to snip the gills with cutters.Impossible to do if holding them by the gillplate.Then slap em in the livewell to bleed out. 20 mins bleeding out in the livewell then you have a docile saugeye that is ready to weigh,measure,snap a pic,and then toss in a cooler of ice.A glove is easier to use in this technique but I usually go gloveless. I highly recommend that route that way they're well dead when you clean them,taste better,and a blood-free cleaning table. 

They'll even tear you up when they are dead on the cleaning table.That's where I highly recommend a glove on the hand that you hold their head down to fillet them.That's where the cheekplates can get you.Glove for retrieving live ones out of the live well.Their dorsal fins can poke you at any moment,dead or alive and they can still poke through gloves..


----------



## gerb (Apr 13, 2010)

just get some boga grips....teeth, no teeth, doesnt matter. no need to try and hold the fish up by the gills and risk mortal damage.


----------



## Gone Wishin (Mar 16, 2013)

gerb said:


> just get some boga grips....teeth, no teeth, doesnt matter. no need to try and hold the fish up by the gills and risk mortal damage.


Those things are so over priced. 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Ohub Campfire mobile app


----------



## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

Come fall/winter,cold dry air,braided line,and handling a bunch of fish in a day KILLS MY HANDS. When eyes group up and eating good you will handle 25/30 fish in an outing all sizes,lol action so hot i dont mess with plyers/nets/or gloves. If there to big to hold behind the head slip a finger in the gill near (but not in) the mouth and its like the bone was ment for someone to hold the fish there. Just put a tight grip on them,the more you handle them the easier it gets,but there gonna get ya.lol ive had a couple times during a hot bite(no pun intended)ive put my index finger inthe mouth of axsaugeye to get a better/quicker angle at the hooks.. Its the hooks you have to worry about. 

Lol or just do like "Bear" on that show Alaska Bush People and throw vicious right's to the fishes skull untilthe jobs done...


----------



## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

Gone Wishin said:


> Those things are so over priced.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900V using Ohub Campfire mobile app


Something not so pricey but just as good at handleing toothy fish,cabelas sell floating fish plyers. I havent tried them but seem to work well


----------



## Dana.Birrell (Apr 23, 2012)

My rule of thumb; if the fish is coming home with you, gill it if you're unsure. I've been able to lower jaw control many fish (except for catfish under 30" - I swear to god they're a fartin' pain)

If you're unsure. Use a net.


----------



## Llew96 (Jun 26, 2014)

Gone Wishin said:


> Those things are so over priced.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900V using Ohub Campfire mobile app


I agree. I am looking on amazon and it seems there are quite a few options. Any you would recommend in particular?


----------



## Gone Wishin (Mar 16, 2013)

Llew96 said:


> I agree. I am looking on amazon and it seems there are quite a few options. Any you would recommend in particular?


I Know the quality of the boga is far superior and I'm sure if you shop around you will find a deal on one and it wouldn't be a bad investment. Ebay for example. Berkeley and rapala make similar models for under 50$, both I think will handle anything ohio has. I'd stay away from an amazon special from overseas.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Ohub Campfire mobile app


----------



## fid (Apr 8, 2009)

Llew96 said:


> I agree. I am looking on amazon and it seems there are quite a few options. Any you would recommend in particular?


http://www.cabelas.com/product/The-Fish-Grip-Fish-Holder/738192.uts

That's what I have for when I got pike fishing up in Canada. Cheap, they float and they do the trick just as well as those really expensive Boga's and their name brand knockoffs...


----------



## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

fid said:


> http://www.cabelas.com/product/The-Fish-Grip-Fish-Holder/738192.uts
> 
> That's what I have for when I got pike fishing up in Canada. Cheap, they float and they do the trick just as well as those really expensive Boga's and their name brand knockoffs...


Exact thing i was talking about,thanks... i hate nets,they fustrate me during a hot bite and limit the time your baits in the water.


----------



## USMC-BUCKEYE (Apr 2, 2010)

Lucid fishing makes a really good one for about half the price!


----------



## gerb (Apr 13, 2010)

how can you say the grips are overpriced when we are spending $2-500 on a rod/reel setup?!

either way, im just talking about getting grips, im sure there are knockoffs that are cheaper.


----------



## Llew96 (Jun 26, 2014)

gerb said:


> how can you say the grips are overpriced when we are spending $2-500 on a rod/reel setup?!


Not all of us have that kind money to invest in gear. I was excited to be able to buy a $90 quantum spinner this year, and I was only able to do that becuz it was on sale at gander for $39. :Banane12:


----------



## TAG24 (Sep 29, 2005)

I have the cheap pair of floating grippers from Cabellas. They work fine. Floating was important to me. One time I got into a shool of LM and was C&R as many and fast as I could. One I had to dehook a treble with pliers then threw them into the lake. I was left holding the fish thinking, did I really just do that!

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Ohub Campfire mobile app


----------



## Llew96 (Jun 26, 2014)

TAG24 said:


> I have the cheap pair of floating grippers from Cabellas. They work fine. Floating was important to me. One time I got into a shool of LM and was C&R as many and fast as I could. One I had to dehook a treble with pliers then threw them into the lake. I was left holding the fish thinking, did I really just do that!
> 
> Sent from my SPH-D710 using Ohub Campfire mobile app


Thanks for this review, I was thinking they may be a little "too" cheap. I'm also still debating whether I want the scale feature the nicer ones have or not. Regardless, I want to get something.


----------



## MassillonBuckeye (May 3, 2010)

I dont think they actually bite. Their jaws arent strong(cept catfish)
enough to bite into you. Most injuries are going to happen from scrapes etc. Noone that I've ever heard of has had a chunk taken out by a fish. You get em out of the water they usually keep their mouths open. Will close em, but not with a lot of force. They'll trash around for sure. Just trying to escape, not trying to eat you.

Grab em up on the hard plates behind their head. If you squeeze the soft body too hard you can injure the fish. I always thought those fish grippers were frou frou. I'd say learn how to do it right! Thats cheating! 









Biggest things that get me at the hooks at the end of channel cat pectoral fins.. Even the small ones :/ If those drag across your skin, they'll get ya.


http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/...hwater-tips/walleye/how-to-hold-a-walleye.htm

also:
http://todayssportsfan.com/its-time-to-hold-a-walleye-in-the-proper-way.html

What you DONT want to do if you plan on releasing the fish:


----------



## Llew96 (Jun 26, 2014)

Great Info MassillonBuckeye!! Thanks for the pointers and especially the pics. Maybe I will learn to do it the right way, but I would want someone to show me a few times in person. As you said, it seems grabbing them by the gills as some have suggested is more likely than not to hurt the fish or my hands.


----------

