Is it just me or...

[NCbassraider]

...is there a disturbing number of people who don't have a scale to weigh their fish and who lay the fish on the ground to take a photo?  I don't care what someone has told you, this is bad for the fish.  There is a reason there is a time penalty for fish on carpet in MLF.  Try to remember that.

[mixel]

It's not just you.

 

My take is this. We live in the look-at-me era of digital everything. GoPros, camera phones, selfie sticks, social media, and a whole lot of crafty marketing from some really big companies has convinced the current generation that a selfie is worth more than any 'experience' and above all else, make sure you 'get the shot'. That's what really matters these days. Sadly.

[dwh4784]

I weigh any fish I think is even close to 2lb. I like to document my trips so I can remember weights/methods etc. My scale fits easily in my tackle bag, really no reason not to have a weight on anything. My wife caught a smallmouth last year she proclaimed "huge". I felt a little bad when I burst her bubble with a 13oz scale reading. Still a good fish for her, and that smallie was as black as coal.

[samwise2u]

I too measure most fish. Will weigh them when they get up to the 20" mark. I do know that bass have a protective coating on them and anything that touches the fish affects that coating, hands, net, carpet, grass and the side of the boat. I try to get the fish back in the water as quick as possible. Usually take a picture of the first one and anything 5lbs or more.

[Logan S]

Meh, people are going to do what they do.  I take pics of fish on the carpet occasionally if I'm alone in the boat.  I boat flip fish a lot too.  I'm not going to intentionally cause undue harm to the fish, but I'm not going to walk on eggshells either.  Everyone starts somewhere, new anglers are often so excited to catch a nice fish that they don't realize what they're doing.  As they catch more fish their fish care will get better.  

 

On 1/15/2017 at 11:35 PM, NCbassraider said:

There is a reason there is a time penalty for fish on carpet in MLF.

MLF is a made-for-TV program and the penalties are just TV fodder...If MLF's rules were actually geared toward protecting fish they would force the anglers to land fish in rubber landing nets while still not letting it hit the carpet.  The landing penalties are there to make the angler flip or hand-land the fish, which provides more of an opportunity for lost fish or barely landed fish - AKA Drama.  I enjoy MLF very much, but I recognize it for what it is.  

[Hawghead]

30 minutes ago, Logan S said:

Meh, people are going to do what they do.  I take pics of fish on the carpet occasionally if I'm alone in the boat.  I boat flip fish a lot too.  I'm not going to intentionally cause undue harm to the fish, but I'm not going to walk on eggshells either.  Everyone starts somewhere, new anglers are often so excited to catch a nice fish that they don't realize what they're doing.  As they catch more fish their fish care will get better.  

 

MLF is a made-for-TV program and the penalties are just TV fodder...If MLF's rules were actually geared toward protecting fish they would force the anglers to land fish in rubber landing nets while still not letting it hit the carpet.  The landing penalties are there to make the angler flip or hand-land the fish, which provides more of an opportunity for lost fish or barely landed fish - AKA Drama.  I enjoy MLF very much, but I recognize it for what it is.  

 

 

Yeah, i agree on the penalties.  The rip their face off hookset, and skip across the water like a stone, and sling into the boat from 15' out through the air is actually "good" for the bass.  

[Fishes in trees]

I take pictures from time to time, but I don't use a scale.   Scales lie.   My scale will read a 6 lb dumb bell perfectly, but when I put a fish on it that is obviously 5 lbs +, the  scale reads out a 3-14, or 4-8 or something in that range.   I've just gotten totally tired of my scale lying to me and so I don't use it any more.  It stays in the truck.

[A-Jay]

14 minutes ago, Fishes in trees said:

I take pictures from time to time, but I don't use a scale.   Scales lie.   My scale will read a 6 lb dumb bell perfectly, but when I put a fish on it that is obviously 5 lbs +, the  scale reads out a 3-14, or 4-8 or something in that range.   I've just gotten totally tired of my scale lying to me and so I don't use it any more.  It stays in the truck.

 

I had the same situation my self. 

Couldn't for the life of me understand how my scale could tell the difference between a certified weight and a bass ? ? ?    

Then I realized I needed to recalibrate my "obviously". 

Once completed, the scale was very accurate.

A-Jay

 

 

[Darren.]

I remember one of my digi-scales, it was new at 

the time, was set to kilograms. I couldn't for the

life of me understand why the bass I weighed

were so under the visual weight.  After I realized

my error, all the bass were proper! Then I lost

the scale to Davey Jones' Locker...

 

As for bass on the ground, it is not good for them, 

of course, but hopefully those who do such get 'em

back ASAP.

 

I do lay bass on my Hawg Trough in order to measure.

But I also consider myself a conservator when it comes

to nature, so I try to get each fish back ASAP.

[NCbassraider]

On 1/17/2017 at 7:20 AM, Logan S said:

Meh, people are going to do what they do.  I take pics of fish on the carpet occasionally if I'm alone in the boat.  I boat flip fish a lot too.  I'm not going to intentionally cause undue harm to the fish, but I'm not going to walk on eggshells either.  Everyone starts somewhere, new anglers are often so excited to catch a nice fish that they don't realize what they're doing.  As they catch more fish their fish care will get better.  

 

MLF is a made-for-TV program and the penalties are just TV fodder...If MLF's rules were actually geared toward protecting fish they would force the anglers to land fish in rubber landing nets while still not letting it hit the carpet.  The landing penalties are there to make the angler flip or hand-land the fish, which provides more of an opportunity for lost fish or barely landed fish - AKA Drama.  I enjoy MLF very much, but I recognize it for what it is.  

 

Some truth to this but we'll agree to disagree on the rest.

 

[TnRiver46]

"Is it just me" or does this discussion seem like it came from a trout magazine?

[J Francho]

Carpet is a no-no.  A wet, smooth surface is okay.  Wet grass is fine, breaded in gravel and dirt is not.  You should see how delicate trout fingerlings are handled at hatcheries, and how they're added to streams when stocking.

[A-Jay]

8 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Carpet is a no-no.  A wet, smooth surface is okay.  Wet grass is fine, breaded in gravel and dirt is not.  You should see how delicate trout fingerlings are handled at hatcheries, and how they're added to streams when stocking.

 

A-Jay

[RichF]

29 minutes ago, NCbassraider said:

 

Some truth to this but we'll agree to disagree on the rest.

It is not great for them.  Over handling or lying them on anything is not a good idea, no matter who tries to justify it. They're made to be in water.

 

I'm not trying to be a butt, but...you may be climbing a slippery slope here, especially since you're pic shows you spreading the mouth of a bass pretty wide with a foreign object, all while holding its body with your bare hands (which we all know aids in the removal of the fish's slime coat)...

 

Now in all honesty, I don't like seeing fish on the ground/carpet in pics either and do my very best to handle fish with the upmost care.  That being said, I also think that bass are a pretty hearty species and can handle being handled quite a bit better than others like trout.  Obviously, this is not an open invitation to treat bass like trash.  Most of us on here don't wanna intentionally cause any harm to the resource we love so much. 

 

 

[NCbassraider]

14 minutes ago, RichF said:

 

I'm not trying to be a butt, but...you may be climbing a slippery slope here, especially since you're pic shows you spreading the mouth of a bass pretty wide with a foreign object, all while holding its body with your bare hands (which we all know aids in the removal of the fish's slime coat)...

 

 

 

 

It's a fish grabber and is probably safer for the fish than putting your hand in and under its mouth.  I use them to attach the scale when weighing because it is safer than gill hooking them.  I am not using it to spread the mouth, and I'm cradling the fish as to not hurt it's jaw but only after wetting my hand to minimize any slime removal.

 

My guess is I treat the fish I catch with as much, if not more respect than almost anyone.

[Choporoz]

While watching Roland Martin with John Crews this weekend, I kept yelling at the TV...."Put the fish back in the water, already!"

[J Francho]

I sing to them before I release them...."Born Free" is one of their favorites.

 

Here's the deal:

 

Don't put them on anything abrasive or rough.  If it would hurt your eyeball, it's probably not the best surface.

Wet your hands, and any surface you may set them on.

Don't bread your catch in dirt and gravel.

A Fish Grip is better than dropping them, or jamming the scale hook through gill plate.

Remember, it may be a non angler that sees how you treat the fish, and those impressions can last a lifetime, no matter how wrong they are, so use some uncommon sense - dig deep for it.

 

Most of all, let's use this thread to educate, not lynch other anglers.

[A-Jay]

Half way through last season I started using a silicone mat. 

I think it's a little better on the fish than the carpet as well as keeping the fish slime (and any blood) off the boat carpet.

It's flexible so I can roll it up making it convenient to store, it's easy to clean off (just rinse it in the net) and it's stain resistant & does not absorb odors or anything else.

Just need to ensure it doesn't blow away at WOT  ..  ..  ..  ..

A-Jay

 

[J Francho]

@wnybassman showed me a trick.  You leave your silicone net right on the deck, and lay them on that if you need to.

[Jar11591]

1 hour ago, J Francho said:

I sing to them before I release them...."Born Free" is one of their favorites.

 

Doubt it, even fish have better taste in music than Kid Rock.

[J Francho]

6 minutes ago, Jar11591 said:

 

Doubt it, even fish have better taste in music than Kid Rock.

 

 

[Choporoz]

I must be old....I didn't even know Kid Rock had a Born Free song....I thought of this when I read above:

 

[NCbassraider]

2 hours ago, J Francho said:

I sing to them before I release them...."Born Free" is one of their favorites.

 

Here's the deal:

 

Don't put them on anything abrasive or rough.  If it would hurt your eyeball, it's probably not the best surface.

Wet your hands, and any surface you may set them on.

Don't bread your catch in dirt and gravel.

A Fish Grip is better than dropping them, or jamming the scale hook through gill plate.

Remember, it may be a non angler that sees how you treat the fish, and those impressions can last a lifetime, no matter how wrong they are, so use some uncommon sense - dig deep for it.

 

Most of all, let's use this thread to educate, not lynch other anglers.

 

Agreed

[A-Jay]

On ‎1‎/‎17‎/‎2017 at 6:03 PM, RMax said:

To add to this

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNag8Clm_n8

 

And you'll be glad to know there was an in flight movie for those little flying fish ~

Free Willy ~

A-Jay

[CTBassin860]

Obviously laying them down and over handling them damages the slime coating which is harmful.My scale has a built in ntape measure which I can use while looping them to get a roundabout length.if I'm off a 1/8 in. I'm off.My lip grip Jr comes in tomorrow as well so I'm not damaging the gills.Its your sport,respect it.Are there going to be incidents where the fish gets loose? Of course there is.We can't be perfect all the tine,but it doesn't hurt to try.