# handling fish



## MEISTERICS (May 15, 2006)

Although abrasive Beterthenjoewalleye is correct. Steelhead have more gills then most fish and they are closer together. So when you pick them up by the gill plate it is more likely that you will grab them. I was too guilty of this in my early steelhead days. A good way to unhook a fish is to turn it upside down while in the water. It seems to really calm them down. If you bank them you are just asking for trouble and will also hurt the fish. Just grab the line and turn the fish over. Then unhook. Leave it in the water.

And a response to the guys who catch them in the lake. You are under a completely different scenario then river fisherman the presentation has not comparison. They bleed likely because extra hooks on your crank or trailer hook for your harness grabs them. Or they swallow the crank/harness when striking. Then they get picked up by the gill and hooked like a walleye. Or injure themselves when flopping around the boat.

Netting a fish overall is not good for the fish. Especially for a powerful fish like a steelhead or muskie. There fins will split and bleed profusely. A walleye is a weakling in the fighting world. Nets also remove slime.

You can take more procautions while fishing a river and releasing a fish then on a boat. Take them, its not hard. If you want a picture, unhook the fish and hold it under its belly and head. DO NOT reach inside the gills. And keep it halfway in the water.

Also, for those of you who like to use hardware. Try using single hooks. You WILL get more solid hooksets. You WILL be less likley to lose the fish. You WILL snag less of anything. And WILL do less damage to the fish.

Sorry kevin to disagree with you, but that is my experience. And you know how not so often Joe and I steelhead fish.

Believe me, I really had to tone this post down. You know how I can fire back at everyone, and make this post another 90 post bash off, which it will anyway.

And those who bash the TSS. I have learned more from TSS about steelhead fishing then from this site. Thats not a bash towards OGF, but the members who post on it. There are only a handful of people here who i believe give good info. The narrow mindness pushes the higly successful anglers out because they get bashed for trying to teach others. I wont mention any names. Some are always nice. Some are just plane ornary. There approach is another issue.

NO MORE POSTS FROM ME. I am out!


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## BFG (Mar 29, 2006)

I've found that if you lip 'em like the Bassmasters...it works out great for both you and the fish. 

My, killing my two and getting the hell out of this freezing azz river, Regards...


Seriously though...is all of this necessary?? For cripes sake...


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## Duckdude82 (Feb 26, 2007)

MEISTERICS said:


> NO MORE POSTS FROM ME. I am out!


thank god because i don't think i could handle reading crap like that again. once again they are STOCKED NON NATURAL FISH! while i don't prefer to grab em by the gills, in my 11 years of steelheading i have yet to see a fish die because someone picked it up by the gill place. 

have fun on TSS! the ohio forum is pretty much a joke anymore. was once a great resource. guys on the ohio forum should take note of how people are on the michigan forum  

enjoy and my your careful methods of landing and unhooking steelhead aid in the every complicated battle to protect the rare and soon to be endangered lake erie STOCKED steelhead....


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## betterthanjoewallguy (Feb 15, 2008)

why do I keep reading about how these are a stocked fish? what does that have to do with anything? I hear next year odnr is stocking 100,000 white tails, does that give us the right to misstreat, them abuse them, wound them, and release them, and say oh well theres thousands more plus there all stocked...?... think about the message you are sending


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## Duckdude82 (Feb 26, 2007)

i didn't send any message. please define "wounding" for me. if by sliding your finger between their gill plate and gills is considered wounding please prove to me how the damage is caused. if someone just ******* style gills them and shoves their fingers between the feathered gills then damage will be done. i have stated that it's not my preferred way of doing so but in the well over 1000 (and i know that number really isn't that high but i moved away from steelhead land some years ago) fish i have caught/seen caught in the river and released the only fish i have ever seen die had swallowed the hook. do i think redd ripping is stupid? YEP! do i think someone keeping their legal 2 fish is unethical or even possibly harmful to the population? ummmm no thats why there are limits and HUGE numbers of steelhead stocked into lake erie annually which far outnumber the ones taken out. 

i love how everyone says you have to delicately handle these fragile fish.....ever watched them spawn before!? good lord they are lucky to have any flesh left on their bodies. the fact of the matter is that the whole claim that netting or "gilling" (between gill plate and not gills carefully) fish causing harm to them is based 100% on opinion. the day you prove that netting a steelhead causes it's ultimate death will be the day i quit netting them (i only do it on the lake and a handful of other places). good lord reading that mess is about as bad as reading PETA's stance on the effects of hunting. there is absolutly no reason for these types of claims in this region. perhaps if it was a wild steelhead on the west coast i could understand.


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## BFG (Mar 29, 2006)

> why do I keep reading about how these are a stocked fish?


Because they are stocked to be caught and killed. 

As I sat on the bank taking a break watching Duckdude fish last year, there were a bunch of fish in the shallows fanning and such...and ya' know what?? A whole bunch of 'em had fly-leaders trailing behind them...from their backs, dorsal fin, and head...

Snaggers!! Snaggers I tell ya'!


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## MuskieJim (Apr 11, 2007)

I completely agree with you Duckdude82. I don't know if these guys are fishing for the same fish that I am, or maybe all the steelhead that I catch are on steroids. Steelhead are TOUGH. Nature made them that way. They can bash and scrape up the entire river to get to spawning grounds. I too do not hold the fish by the gills, simply because I don't want to put my hands into freezing water. I started bringing my BOGA grip and it works great. 

I am not saying that it is okay to treat these fish like crap or abuse them because they are stocked fish. All I am saying is that steelhead have been thriving and will continue to thrive for years to come. I am a HUGE practitioner and supporter of Catch & Release. 

And as for nets, if anything, they're helping the fish. Ever try to unhook a muskie as it's thrashing like a mad man? I use a Beckman Fin Saver, and in the 50+ Muskies that have been in that net, NEVER, EVER has one been injured. Ask any pro muskie fisherman, they ALL use nets. And they are the biggest supporters of proper fish handling techniques. Nets are a must for any serious muskie fisherman


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## betterthanjoewallguy (Feb 15, 2008)

I never ever mentioned keeping fish or limits and I know why these fish are stocked. All this started over some nubie sticking 3 fingers and a thumb in a beautiful hen. and having the sense to post it for the world to see, seeing that he is new I used all my tact to instruct this youngster in proper fish handling. so just because a fish is strong should we try to horse it?


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## krustydawg (Apr 26, 2004)

betterthanjoewallguy said:


> seeing that he is new I used all my tact to instruct this youngster in proper fish handling.


Boy you are tactful ! Not once in your post (quoted below) did you offer to instruct him on how to handle the fish. I'm sure you knew everything in regards to fishing the first day you crawled out from under the rock where you were created. You're so full of pucky you can't even remember what you posted or should I say what you did not post. 



betterthanjoewallguy said:


> Glad to hear you let her go , after you tore her gills apart. If your going to abuse them at least keep them!!!! Learn how to handle these fish.


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## BFG (Mar 29, 2006)

> I started bringing my BOGA grip and it works great.


Hey hey now....none of that...you'll injure their spinal cords and paralyze 'em!!!

tsk tsk....


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## K gonefishin (May 4, 2004)

Ohh Lordy Lordy, betta call that fish an ambulance.


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## betterthanjoewallguy (Feb 15, 2008)

Read between the lines all the info is in there, I live under the same rock that you dig up your bait , Its cool you can add me to your buddy list.


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## krustydawg (Apr 26, 2004)

betterthanjoewallguy said:


> Read between the lines all the info is in there, I live under the same rock that you dig up your bait , Its cool you can add me to your buddy list.


The info. is there, just not posted by you. I just read through all 21 of your posts and not once did you offer to explain the proper way to hold the precious steelhead.....please go back and read between the lines.


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## betterthanjoewallguy (Feb 15, 2008)

You read all my posts? and didnt come out better than before you started, you need to absorb not just read.


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## Fishaholic69 (Apr 6, 2007)

this better than guy is a riot!!! haha. he knows it all. you should of made your name betterthaneveryone instead. haha. I am confused tho is that one legged joshs smoked leg you are holding? haha this guy here is a hoot! rofl. but it seems he loves all of you tho so his ribbing must be all in good spirits.


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## betterthanjoewallguy (Feb 15, 2008)

Yes indeed that is hopalong josh's other leg, I got it on a size 12 olive wolly, fought like and old boot , omg an old boot , get it? lol lmao


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## Duckdude82 (Feb 26, 2007)

my god is he the tool also known as cornbread on a certain other steelhead related site? bout as knowledgeable when it comes to people's opinions of which they try push off as fact


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## MuskieJim (Apr 11, 2007)

Extremely childish. Musty Jim. Haha. He even went as far as to waste time with that avatar picture. You should probably get a life. Why don't you look at some of my pics? I'm sure that would probably shut your mouth.

I am an editor of the Cleveland Fishing Guide part time every year when it is published. Betterthanjoewallguy, you should probably send me the pics of all the trophy fish you catch so we can publish them. You are honestly a joke. Thank god the sport of fishing has people like you.


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

Okay guys I am puttting an end to this bicker session. Please remember that OGF is not the place to get in to this. Name calling and such are a no-no.

I think everyone needs to go fishing. And whatever you choose to do with the fish you catch please don't bother telling everyone.


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