New Research for Bass Handling

[BrackishBassin]

Worth a read. More scientific than a lot of the other stuff I’ve seen, and it was released very recently. 

 

https://***/outdoors/bass-fishing/Article/What-Happens-When-You-Hold-a-Bass-109802650

 

I thought it was interesting that they included a veterinarian as a part of the study. Generally speaking, they don’t have much education in the way of fish care. I wonder if they needed them to read the radiographs, or if the particular vet involved has done an Ichthyology residency somewhere. 

[fishwizzard]

That is interesting and the xrays are pretty cool.  I have switched over to using a small fish gripper to both weigh bass and to help control and lift larger ones out of the water when using multi-hooked lures, it is good to hear that lifting them this way isn't harmful. 

[BrackishBassin]

3 minutes ago, fishwizzard said:

That is interesting and the xrays are pretty cool.  I have switched over to using a small fish gripper to both weigh bass and to help control and lift larger ones out of the water when using multi-hooked lures, it is good to hear that lifting them this way isn't harmful. 

 

Smaller guys are just unhooked and slipped back into the water. The bigger guys, if I am going to weigh them, are weighed using grippers like yours. Seems to be more effective (in my opinion) and apparently, according to what they saw, a safe way to do it. 

[fishwizzard]

Oh, I just googled the article name, it comes up as the first or second result.

 

39 minutes ago, BrackishBassin said:

 

Smaller guys are just unhooked and slipped back into the water. The bigger guys, if I am going to weigh them, are weighed using grippers like yours. Seems to be more effective (in my opinion) and apparently, according to what they saw, a safe way to do it. 

I am using my grippers more and more lately.  I have the grippers/scale in my back pocket and it is very quick to reach back and grab them.  I feel like I am getting the bass back in the water faster with them as well, without having to focus as much on keeping a good grip on the bass, I can get the hook and the bass back in the water in less time.   

[BrackishBassin]

I re-pasted the original link, but it would appear that the word coming up as asterisks is on the blocked list for these forums. To avoid getting myself in trouble, I’m not going to try and get around it. It would appear that Googling the name of the article is a good way to access the information. My apologies to the mods if this post causes any issues. It wasn’t intended to do so. Just wanted to share some research with the group. 

[CybrSlydr]

Quote

 

As avid bass anglers, we all strive to be good conservationists while minimizing our impact on fisheries. At the same time, however, we also want to show off our catches to our friends and family. This leads us to a prominent question that has been at the center of many spirited debates: What, if any, physical impact does holding a bass have on its jaw?

 

There isn’t much scientific research on this topic, which currently leaves anglers and biologists very little basis for making recommendations. We want to begin to change that.

 

To gain a better understanding of this issue and learn exactly what’s happening to the jaw when held at various angles, we teamed up with Steven Bardin, a leading fisheries biologist and owner of Texas Pro Lake Management. Bardin, along with two veterinarians, Dr. Casey Locklear and Dr. Steven Mapel, designed and conducted an experiment to help shed some light on things.

 

The results and correlating imagery were nothing short of fascinating.

 

 

[Choporoz]

Good article.  Fairly scientific.  It seems to support my conclusions/assumptions made after reading many debates here on BR.  Quoted from the article discussed above:

 

Important takeaways from this study

• Larger fish do require an increased emphasis on proper fish handling, by supporting their weight with a second hand.
• Applying too much pressure to soft tissue areas can cause damage. Many state agencies claim anything greater than any angle that deviates 10 percent or more from vertical or horizontal has the potential to damage the jaw.
• Holding fish with a fish grip or by a hanging scale is beneficial.
• The recommendation that it is acceptable to hold fish horizontally with a second hand supporting its weight or completely vertical is still valid and supported by our research.
• Holding fish vertically with the weight of the fish being placed on the jaw in an exaggerated fashion is not acceptable.
• Injured fish will likely swim away and appear completely normal.
• Long-term affects of soft tissue injuries are currently unknown.

[BassB8Caster]

I use a pair of the fish grip jr for weighing my fish. The problem and concern i have with them, is when weighing a bigger fish (my PB is 6.01) the smaller size of the jr grips really squeezes the fishes jaw. Im worried that this may do harm to the lower jaw of the fish. I plan to buy the bigger grips as they should deal with this much better. I have not (yet...i def will) read the links posted, so im not sure if they discuss this topic of potentially crushing the jaw/lip with the grippers. But a little care goes a loooonnngg way. 

[WRB]

Damage to the thin membrane tissue on the lower jaw next to the tongue where a gripper holds the bass heals quickly and isn't a life threatening wound. Most bass tournament anglers use this thin tissue area to clip cull markers to.

What causes damage is bending the jaw back like Bill Dance tends to do and the photos clearly show. We have known this for decades and thoroughly discussed many times.

Tom

[Choporoz]

11 minutes ago, BassB8Caster said:

I use a pair of the fish grip jr for weighing my fish. The problem and concern i have with them, is when weighing a bigger fish (my PB is 6.01) the smaller size of the jr grips really squeezes the fishes jaw. Im worried that this may do harm to the lower jaw of the fish. I plan to buy the bigger grips as they should deal with this much better.

GL....I accidentally bought the 'reg' size fish grips the first time I ordered a pair...they're HYUUUGE...not suitable for my bass fishing; and I'm not certain that they will have any more gap for you anyway

[BassB8Caster]

Just now, Choporoz said:

GL....I accidentally bought the 'reg' size fish grips the first time I ordered a pair...they're HYUUUGE...not suitable for my bass fishing; and I'm not certain that they will have any more gap for you anyway

good to know. Ill have to keep looking around. Anyone who has weighed a big fish with these grippers have heard the "crunch" of the lower lip when locking them down. I just saw a pick of an attachment that goes on a scale that is spring loaded to hold the lip of the fish (in the pics section). that looks like it may be an option. Again though, it depends on how strong the spring is whether it does damage as well or not.

[JustJames]

1 hour ago, BassB8Caster said:

good to know. Ill have to keep looking around. Anyone who has weighed a big fish with these grippers have heard the "crunch" of the lower lip when locking them down. I just saw a pick of an attachment that goes on a scale that is spring loaded to hold the lip of the fish (in the pics section). that looks like it may be an option. Again though, it depends on how strong the spring is whether it does damage as well or not.

I have weighted a few fish rank from 3.5 lbs all the way to 7.7 lbs with 6" grip/jr. grip and never see those fish float up when went back there a day or few day later. These plastic grips have smooth and big enough surface to not harm the fish (my believe).

I also have reg size grip 9" one where I use mainly on kayak or when fishing with hardbait where I know for sure my hand is out of range of those treble hooks. I also have spring load type (boga grip type) which I use in my boat for any other fish like catfish, striped bass or carp. This spring load type made of quite thin medal and "to me" seem more harmful than plastic if head shake happen. This thing can hold a hefty weight, at one point I hold 23 lbs carp with that thing.

[BrackishBassin]

3 minutes ago, JustJames said:

I have weighted a few fish rank from 3.5 lbs all the way to 7.7 lbs with 6" grip/jr. grip and never see those fish float up when went back there a day or few day later. These plastic grips have smooth and big enough surface to not harm the fish (my believe).

I also have reg size grip 9" one where I use mainly on kayak or when fishing with hardbait where I know for sure my hand is out of range of those treble hooks. I also have spring load type (boga grip type) which I use in my boat for any other fish like catfish, striped bass or carp. This spring load type made of quite thin medal and "to me" seem more harmful than plastic if head shake happen. This thing can hold a hefty weight, at one point I hold 23 lbs carp with that thing.

 

I use the same ones as the top picture. Never weighed a 10lb bass, but they have worked fine on every saltwater fish I’ve ever caught and some of them are significantly larger than any bass you’ll see (40-50lb skate a couple of weeks ago comes to mind). 

[BassB8Caster]

@JustJames and @BrackishBassin my concern is more with the size of the lip of bigger fish. My 6.01 had a robust beefy lip where it was tough to get the fish grips jr around them. And when closing them to squeezed and "crunched" the lip. While it did not cause a fatality im sure it did do some harm. 

This is the attachment i was referring to, not the boca grips. I saw it in the pics thread.