Correct Way to Hold Fish

[Sammo]

What is the correct way to hold a fish after you catch em.  Holding from the lip only or do you hold em by the gills? lol another dumb question just want to know whats right  Thanks

[bassinandrew88]

it depends what kind of fish you are holding i guess, i hold bass by the mouth because i have heard if you pressure under there tongue it paralizes them so they cant flop while im taking the hook out, but that could be myth but i still do it, plus i would think holding them by the gills you run the risk of messing up there gills, and we wouldnt want that

[Marty]

Always hold bass by the lower lip except when hooks in their mouth would pose a threat to you. Hold them vertically; if you have to hold them horizontally, like for a picture, support them from underneath with your other hand. The point is not to bend the jaw and put weight on it.

[bassfisher02]

ya, bass you should hold by the bottom lip. amd if holdin verticly support with other hand in the anal fin area. if it is a toothy fish, if they are small enough i just grab around their body, if they are big i pick them up from the gills.

[J.T.]

NEVER NEVER NEVER hold a fish around the body. It is a scientifictly proven fact that fish have a slime coating on them that protects them from bacteria and other diseases. By holding them around the body you remove this coating and increase the fishes chance of getting sick. I have actuallly caught fish before and seem outlines of hand prints around the fishes body, they are usually in poor condition. For bass hold the fish by the lower jaw and remove the hook, never hold the fish up for a picture by just the jaw, it is actually very fragile and will break without you relizing it. A very good investment is a robogrip, especially for toothy fish, you never have to touch the fish and you can remove the hooks much easier!

[BD]

By the lip.

[AliasK]

Sunnies can be a pain if there hyper

[el_jewapo]

like others have said, hold them by the lip. but don't hold them horizontaly by the lip, you can easily break their jaw by doing this.

[Yankee_lake]

on bass fishing shows they always hold it verticlly on the jaw

[mullman]

How are you supposed to hold a sunny if not by the body?  Their mouths are too small to hold by the lip.

[bassfisher02]

exactly. it will not hurt the fish to hold by the body for a few seconds. if you keep your hand in one place, and not make a ''whiping'' motion...not much slime comes off. i only do this to fish that are to small to be held anywhere else, or if they are small and have teeth.

[TIEDROPE]

NEVER NEVER NEVER hold a fish around the body. It is a scientifictly proven fact that fish have a slime coating on them that protects them from bacteria and other diseases. By holding them around the body you remove this coating and increase the fishes chance of getting sick. I have actuallly caught fish before and seem outlines of hand prints around the fishes body, they are usually in poor condition. For bass hold the fish by the lower jaw and remove the hook, never hold the fish up for a picture by just the jaw, it is actually very fragile and will break without you relizing it. A very good investment is a robogrip, especially for toothy fish, you never have to touch the fish and you can remove the hooks much easier!

[BassMamma1054]

Oops! Guess I should have read this before...I did it ALL wrong  :-[