Boat flipping bass

[Lottabass]

Been watching tournaments on TV.  I think flipping bass and letting them flop around on the floor is a poor way to treat a fish.

[Jar11591]

MLF has a 2 minute penalty if a bass hits the deck. I like this rule. 

[Catt]

Every bass is different 

Every bite is different 

Every hookset is the same

 

Ain't my fault he to little 😉

[casts_by_fly]

1 hour ago, Lottabass said:

Been watching tournaments on TV.  I think flipping bass and letting them flop around on the floor is a poor way to treat a fish.

I think most here would agree with you. Hot dry carpet and a flopping fish isn’t great and why mlf (who promote conservation with cwr) have the penalty. I think if you have a look through pictures here on this forum you’ll see a lot better handling that that. 

[Swamp Girl]

1 hour ago, Lottabass said:

Been watching tournaments on TV.  I think flipping bass and letting them flop around on the floor is a poor way to treat a fish.

 

Agree.

 

What's even worse is when an angler holds a fish up to the camera while delivering their how-to-catch-fish-like-me lecture.

[Mike L]

Putting a fish on the carpet or even laying her down on a hot vinyl seat or pedestal drives me nuts because it’s just not necessary. 
 

Watch a few of @A-Jay videos. 
Thats how it’s done. 
 

Even as a co angler I have a piece that fits nicely in my bag and use it every time if I have to. 
 

 

 

Mike
 

[Pat Brown]

In hotter months we try to keep them in the water while not photographing them etc and I try to get my pictures the instant it comes out and then it's right back into the drink - I have recaught fish miles apart in different bodies of water years apart - I'm pretty confident I do a good job preserving then but I'm always trying to learn and do better when applicable.

 

There are times when the fish is coming in and I've got to get it up quick and I have boat flipped a few but I try really hard not to let them hit the deck or flop around ever.   It's usually when it's in that 2 lb or less range and I grab it quick and stop it's flopping around and then toss it back.

 

I mean they're good escape artists...have I caught a new PB boat flipping a fish?  Heck no.

[gim]

I would argue that boat flipping bass is just as detrimental as keeping one out of the water for too long. Everyone is hell bent on weighing their fish and holding it up for a glory pose, all while the fish cannot breath.

 

I don’t condone either one. 30 seconds or less, back in the water. Respect the resource, please.

[Swamp Girl]

13 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

In hotter months we try to keep them in the water while not photographing them etc and I try to get my pictures the instant it comes out and then it's right back into the drink

 

This is what I do too. Keep them in net. One quick photo. Maybe two photos if she's big. Then back in the water. Gone in 30 seconds.

 

14 minutes ago, gim said:

I don’t condone either one. 30 seconds or less, back in the water. Respect the resource, please.

 

I read Gim's response after I wrote mine. Gim, Pat, and I are aligned: Protect the resource.

[A-Jay]

24 minutes ago, gim said:

I would argue that boat flipping bass is just as detrimental as keeping one out of the water for too long. Everyone is hell bent on weighing their fish and holding it up for a glory pose, all while the fish cannot breath.

I don’t condone either one. 30 seconds or less, back in the water. Respect the resource, please.

I think it's great that as long as it's legal,

we get to do it the way we like to.

A-Jay

[Catt]

Y'all hate boat flipping bass but continue taking selfies!

[Darth-Baiter]

I personally try not to boat flip.   usually not a problem from my kayak. 

 

I have several line cuts on my hand now.  from boat flipping and catching the line.  ouch.  I didnt want the fish to hit the deck.  I didnt always succeed.  I do what I can.   my fishing is sucky to the bass on every level anyways.  hahahah..

[Swamp Girl]

@A-Jay: Yeah, I eat fish too. However, I catch a lot of fish and always have. I've had hundred-bass days in many states, including Michigan. If I'm indifferent to a hundred bass a day or even 50, that'll dent the population's health. If other anglers are rough-housing bass too, that'll be a bigger dent. 

 

3 minutes ago, Catt said:

Y'all hate boat flipping bass but continue taking selfies!

 

Sniffing out hypocrisy is a good thing, but I'm just trying to limit the damage I do. I'm already putting a hole in their faces. I don't want to suffocate them beyond that. I keep them in the net in the water while I prepare the photo or bump board. Then I unhook them quickly (I'm really good at unhooking bass.) and take the photo. Some are out of the water for only 15 seconds, but I shoot for under thirty. Al Lindner said that we should hold our breaths while they're out of the water to remind ourselves that the clock is ticking for bass. 

[gim]

I’d be lying if I said I have never done it. I have. But I try to be more aware that certain behavior is detrimental to the resource.

 

Professional bass anglers are in the spotlight. They are on a national stage. Perhaps MLF implementing a rule about this is the way to go, in order to incentivize better handling skills. But I personally don’t think it should have to come to that.  Set an example for others to see, and many followers would emulate it.

[Mobasser]

I try my best not to boat flip bass. But, I've done it accidently. I've always tried to get them back in the water quickly.  I don't always catch huge giant bass that warrant a photo. Also, my canoe sits lower to the water, so I can ease them back into the water.                                I watched a guy release some smaller bass last season, and he threw them what looked to be six or seven feet from his boat. 

[Pat Brown]

There's no hate here.  Bass fishing is fun and I don't cringe as much as some people when I see boat flips.  Life's too short.  But I personally *try my best* to take care of fish that I'm catching - mostly because it's a fun part of catching them *for me*.  But I have done it.  I've even flipped a couple larger fish.  It's just something that happens in the moment sometimes.

 

🙂

[Catt]

I don't really boat flip em, I do however ski em em back to the boat or jerk em clear over my head. This is due the bass being to small. I will fight em up to my thumb & lip em.

 

74 yrs old & still ain't taken a selfie 😉

[F14A-B]

Well BASSMASTER is too busy with dealing with shop talk to install meaningful rules..

[Susky River Rat]

I boat flip smaller ones and net bigger ones. 

[Dwight Hottle]

1 hour ago, Swamp Girl said:

@A-Jay: Yeah, I eat fish too. However, I catch a lot of fish and always have. I've had hundred-bass days in many states, including Michigan. If I'm indifferent to a hundred bass a day or even 50, that'll dent the population's health. If other anglers are rough-housing bass too, that'll be a bigger dent. 

 

 

Sniffing out hypocrisy is a good thing, but I'm just trying to limit the damage I do. I'm already putting a hole in their faces. I don't want to suffocate them beyond that. I keep them in the net in the water while I prepare the photo or bump board. Then I unhook them quickly (I'm really good at unhooking bass.) and take the photo. Some are out of the water for only 15 seconds, but I shoot for under thirty. Al Lindner said that we should hold our breaths while they're out of the water to remind ourselves that the clock is ticking for bass. 

 

I think what @A-Jay 's pictured portrays is it's ok to boat flip a bass you intend to kill & eat. If you watch his videos he goes out of his way to protect any bass he is going to release. 

[rboat]

What really chaps my hide is people that boat flip the fish, let it jump around on the hot deck, take pictures of it no matter the size, weigh each fish, then release. That is too long. Stick to that 30 second rule. Only take photos if she is above average. No one wants to see photos of your dink fest. If you are a true angler, you should be able to feel the weight or estimate close enough, Nobody cares unless you are in a tournament. Take care of the fish, after all that is what this whole sport is based on.

[Texas Flood]

I boat flip all my fish but I make sure the rod tip is high enough that the fish is almost waist high and then I’ll wrap my arm around the line. It keeps the fish from hitting the boat and makes it easier to lip em and quickly get them back in the water. 
 

 

If the fish is bigger, I’ll just sit on the seat and reach over the side and grab them. 

[Mike L]

The worst thing an angler can do to a fish is to remove its slime coat either by holding against your body to unhook, laying on the carpet, seat or grass. 
 

 I’ll either boat flip up to a certain size of course, lip or net her. 
Scooping her out isn’t always ideal either by jamming and sliding up the side of the boat as some do. 

If done with a little thought and care I still think it’s the best way especially using a single hook set up, treble hooks is tougher but doable. 

It’s a timing thing. 

If you flip her in when she’s coming at you with the momentum she build up or even on a close jump is the easiest.
Just grab the line near its mouth and unhook. 
 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[Swamp Girl]

I don't believe that fisheries are infinite. The Atlantic Ocean is far larger than any lake. Heck, it makes Lake Superior seem puny, but New Englanders managed to pretty much crush the cod, haddock, yellowtail flounder populations and they did most of their damage before factory ships. Even our shrimp population has shrunk. This should have been their theme song:

 

Shah-la, la-la-la-la, live for today
Shah-la, la-la-la-la, live for today
And don't worry 'bout tomorrow, ay-ay-ay
Shah-la, la-la-la-la live for today (live for today)

 

My point is that it's easy to be easy on the bass we love. @Mobasser's story about a fellow angler chucking bass makes me sad. The expression, "It's all good," does not apply to that guy. 

 

14 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said:

If you watch his videos he goes out of his way to protect any bass he is going to release. 

 

As we all should. 

 

11 minutes ago, rboat said:

Stick to that 30 second rule.

 

Yep. We all should be sportsmen and women. Sporting means you adhere to good form. I kid you not. I fished once with a guide who told me that she'd worked at a billionaire's ranch that hosted the rich and famous. For a pheasant """"hunt,"""" the ranch owner bought hundreds of pheasants in cages and had his guests shoot them as they were released one at a time. Then they heaped the pheasants for bears to eat and ate Maine lobster flown in fresh. Not sporting. Not merely bad form, but the worst form.

 

7 minutes ago, Mike L said:

The worst thing an angler can do to a fish is to remove its slime coat either by holding against your body to unhook, laying on the carpet, seat or grass. 

 

Agreed. I unhook them in the water in my net.

[Pumpkin Lizard]

"Well it swam away fine."