A Really Stupid Question (please don't beat me)

[Further North]

5 hours ago, thinkingredneck said:

I have been teaching kids who are a product of the MS public school system.

It has more to do with the parents than the schools system, IMO.

[thinkingredneck]

16 hours ago, Further North said:

It has more to do with the parents than the schools system, IMO.

Yes

[LCG]

Not a stupid question at all. Everyone started with little to no knowledge. It took me a year of constant mistakes to learn what not to do. Then I learned to take away a new lesson every time I went out. Trust me it doesn't stop

 

A rubber landing net helps with landing the fish, keeping the fish safe if you plan to catch and release, and protects you while removing the hook(s). Also, lifting the fish out of the water using your rod is a great way to break a rod. Rods are not meant to dead lift a fish. 

 

I view a small collapsible rubber net as an essential tool, same as pliers, hooks, weights, line, etc. 

[Further North]

If you were to look in my boat, you'd find 4 nets:

1. Two "trout" nets, short handles, 18" hoops.  One front, one back.  Those'll handle bass north of 6 lbs. in a pinch, but somewhere around 3 lbs., I try to transition to my...
2. EGO Slider with an "Extra Large" rubber net.  24” bag depth. Hoop size: 23”L x 22”W. That'll handle big bass, pike and musky to up around 3 ft. and walleye to 30".
3. Musky-size Frabil Power Stow.  This is for the big girls north of 3 ft. long.  It can, and has, handled musky to 50".

My preferred method of unhooking big fish is to lean over the side, grab the hook shank with a set of pliers and slide the de-barbed hook out without ever taking the fish out of the water.  Oddly, this is harder with small fish than with big ones, so most smaller bass wind up in those "trout" nets for quick de-hooking and release.

[ClackerBuzz]

a net isn't as important as analyzing what you did wrong and learning correct landing techniques. you're not always going to have a net with you so hand landing fish is a critical skill.

 

there are tons of youtube videos but I'll add 3 valuable tips:

 

1 always leave 4-5 ft of line out to prevent the fish from getting to much leverage and shaking ur lure.

 

2 'high sticking' ur rod means you can easily reach a bass with 4-5 ft of line out.  do not hold onto the cork handle. instead grab the rod blank just below the lowest guide.  you have the benefit of the rod fighting the fish while still being able to reach it.

 

3 don't bring bass/fish in too 'hot'.  if possible play them out a bit and allow them to burn off energy.  obviously you need to be aware of ur surroundings but in open water you can play a fish out on 4 lb line with no worries.  I've lost endless fish from bringing them in too fast vs I can barely name 5 that i lost due to playing out and breaking off on structure/cover.

[Bassun]

14 hours ago, ClackerBuzz said:

3 don't bring bass/fish in too 'hot'.  if possible play them out a bit and allow them to burn off energy.  obviously you need to be aware of ur surroundings but in open water you can play a fish out on 4 lb line with no worries.  I've lost endless fish from bringing them in too fast vs I can barely name 5 that i lost due to playing out and breaking off on structure/cover.

I tend to agree with this, with the caveat of deep water fishing, and very warm water fishing.  If its really hot, or they are really deep I try to not fiddle around with them much at all if I can get em in.  I'll bring em in greener than I would most other times, just to get them back out and down more quickly.

 

Also -- try to remember to wet your net before you scoop up a fish.  I know, it will get wet when you go to scoop it (usually) but a good habit is to dip first to help cool and moisten the net.  you know how hot black rubber gets in the hot sun... on the boat if we call for the net, first step is to dip it regardless of the conditions.  Set's the habit for when it does matter.