How to properly handle different types of fish

[pauldconyers]

I wasn't sure which board to post this on but I was wondering if anyone had any advice or YouTube videos or something they like showing how to handle different types of fish. How to grab them out of the water, what to do with species that are toothy and such. Most of my life I've used a net or only caught "traditional" fish like pan fish, bass, cats, etc. But I plan on branching out this year and don't want to harm a fish if I get a gar, carp, walleye, trout, pike, etc...

[NittyGrittyBoy]

Good pair of fish grips on the deck, will handle most all your problems!

[MN Fisher]

Here's how I do it - others may do it different.

 

Toothy fish - pike, walleye, gar, etc. - net like you've been using.

Panfish - bluegill, crappie, yellow perch, etc. Just lift them with the rod and grab the body

Bass - lip them while in the water unless they're dinks...then just like panfish

Trout - net

Carp - they're a 'rough fish' IMO - do what ever you want.

[ResoKP]

For situations without net, or grip tools...

 

Walleye and pike, you can grab them by the gill plate. Just make sure not to put your fingers through their gills.

 

Cats, if they are small enough to one-hand them, grab them from the belly and put your fingers behind their pectoral fin. Super sharp there, be careful. If you're talking about 20lb cats, you can just gill-plate them with both hands. They're slippery, make sure to get a firm grip.

 

Trout, if not keeping, unhook in the water. If you need to take them out, wet your hands so you don't remove their slime coat.

 

Panfish, fold their dorsal and pelvic fins down and grab over them.

 

Carp, an arrow through their head would do.

 

just kidding. these guys are tough. you can gill them or just yank them out. just support their belly the whole time and don't lift them vertically

[pauldconyers]

1 hour ago, NittyGrittyBoy said:

Good pair of fish grips on the deck, will handle most all your problems!

Got some I should consider buying?

[redmexican5081]

1 hour ago, pauldconyers said:

Got some I should consider buying?

Fish Grip Jr for almost all freshwater needs ~$10

Fish Grip for larger toothy freshwater and the majority of my saltwater ~$15

[Joshua van Wyk]

3 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

Here's how I do it - others may do it different.

 

Toothy fish - pike, walleye, gar, etc. - net like you've been using.

Panfish - bluegill, crappie, yellow perch, etc. Just lift them with the rod and grab the body

Bass - lip them while in the water unless they're dinks...then just like panfish

Trout - net

Carp - they're a 'rough fish' IMO - do what ever you want.

Dont let the Europeans hear you say that about their carp! You'll be burned at the stake!

[CrankFate]

*Most* fish are not very fragile. Unsafe handling, IMO, is a myth. If you have enough sense to not injure a fish more than you have to, you will almost always not injure a fish more than you have to. The people who go around injuring fish are the ones with no sense that are ripping stomachs out to save a rusted old hook or the idiots who are intentionally injuring them.

[Choporoz]

Good topic.

These two tools handle nearly all my needs....from snakeheads to pike to catfish....

 

[WRB]

Spear them

[A-Jay]

1 hour ago, WRB said:

Spear them

Or perhaps nail them right in the head with a wicked big Gaff !

?

A-Jay

[Vilas15]

Walleye and pike/musky can be held by the gill plate as long as you keep your fingers out of the gills and gill rakers (for their sake and yours). Otherwise walleye can be held by the belly, or a hand over the back behind the head. Watch out for the spines in their dorsal fin. Don't use a fish grip to hang a big pike/musky vertically, but it can be useful for holding them still while getting hooks out. Hold them horizontally with one hand on gill plate and another on the belly, or one hand wrapped around the tail and the other under the belly near the head.