Bill Dance handling fish

[mike bat]

one thing id like to say is bill dance is the grandfather of bass fishing and yea he does fish smaller waters but to say he couldnt catch bass anywhere is crazy now you look at the linders they can catch bass anywhere also i watch where im fishing and see alot of people who may olny catch one are two bass when i caught 20 if you have trouble catching bass you maybee upset to watch his show but there are fisherman out there that catch numbers almost everytime this is true last year i was skunked twice but i went out 30 times or so most days id catch 10 or more so anyone who doesnt believe thats too bad and also when you have caught a billion bass then maybee try adressing bill i think there are alot of people who have alot to say but dont really know any thing thats just my opnion so please dont read this post or take it the wrong way the fact of the matter is there are alot of fisherman who dont understand what they are doing when they are fishing well bill does and thats why he catches fish point blank and some of you fisherman who do know what you are doing sound off please its all about understanding what you are doing and then doing it 2years ago i had almost no clue but i kept at it and expect to have the best year of my life ...now when i go to any water befor i get out my truck i dont wonder if i will catch a bass i wonder how many will i catch

[Matt Fly]

this comes off the TPWD web site from the biologist.

Handling Your Catch

Leave the fish in the water if you can and use a tool to remove the hook.

Keep the fish from thrashing without using a net if there is anyway you can.

IF you must handle a fish:

Use a wet rag or glove.

Turn it on its back and cover its eyes to calm it.

Don't put your fingers in the eyes or gills of the fish.

Avoid removing mucous or scales.

Get the fish back in the water as quickly as possible.

Handle each fish carefully to avoid person injury.

[George Welcome]

Catch and Release Fishing

Why Release Fish

Fish are a valuable resource and should be caught more than once.

Personal efforts to enhance conservation make fishing more fun.

Sometimes, releasing fish is mandatory because they are undersized or you already have caught your limit.

Releasing fish helps with population recovery for heavily fished species.

This is your opportunity to pass opportunities to fish along to the next generation.

How to Begin

Decide to release the fish as soon as you hook it.

Generally, land the fish quickly and don't play it to exhaustion.

Set the hook quickly to reduce the likelihood the fish will swallow the bait.

Bring a fish in slowly from deep water to help it adjust to changing pressure.

Don't use barbed or rusty hooks.

Keep your release tools close by.

Handling Your Catch

Leave the fish in the water if you can and use a tool to remove the hook.

Keep the fish from thrashing without using a net if there is anyway you can.

IF you must handle a fish:

Use a wet rag or glove.

Turn it on its back and cover its eyes to calm it.

Don't put your fingers in the eyes or gills of the fish.

Avoid removing mucous or scales.

Get the fish back in the water as quickly as possible.

Handle each fish carefully to avoid person injury.

Removing the Hook

If the hook is very deep within the fish or it can't be removed quickly, cut the leader close to the fish's mouth

Back the hook out the opposite way it went in.

Use needle-nose pliers, hemostats, or a hookout to remove the hook and protect your hands.

For a larger fish in the water, slip a gaff around the leader and slide it to the hook. Lift the gaff upward while pulling downward on the leader

Do not jerk or pop a leader to break it -- it injures vital organs in the fish.

The Final Moments

Place the fish in the water gently supporting the mid-section and tail until it swims away.

Resuscitate an exhausted fish by moving it back and forth to force water through its gills.

FOR SALTWATER OR DEEP WATER FISH ONLY: When releasing fish that cannot right itself or is showing a distended air bladder the bladder should be gently punctured:

Gently insert a thin oint (knife blade, wire or ice pick) through the side of the fish immediately behind the upper part of the pectoral finbase. This is usually directly below the fourth or fifth spine.

Let the air escape without pressing on the fish and put it in the water to let it swim away

Watch the fish when released. If it doesn't swim away, recover it and try again.

Remember, a released fish has an excellent chance of survival when handled correctly

Information:

This information was prepared by U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA and NMFS, St. Petersburg, Florida

Obviously handling the fish with some care is important to the well being of the fish. The above information was supplied by the Sport Fishing Association and compiled by the Dept. of Commerce and pertains more to salt water fish than fresh water fish.

A couple of things that really pertain to bass: Don't exhaust the fish! Using light tackle on big fish will kill them as surely as a filet knife. When releasing a tired bass hold the fish by the tail, not the mouth. The fish needs their mouth in order to respirate. Hold the bass gently but firmly until it can push itself free of your hand. Too early of a release and the fish will not be able to maintain equilibrium. In between photos, weighing, and measuring keep wetting the fish down. Don't take too long with any of the aforementioned. As previously mentioned, don't try to move a fish to a horizontal position by the jaw. Keep the fish off the rug - it's tough on them. To achieve all of the above have everything ready before you catch the fish. It's a shame to kill a fish because you can't find camera and tools.

[GobbleDog]

Yall keep it up. Glenn is gonna have to change this website to www. TreeHugginHippiesResource .com

C'mon, it's a fish. You reel it in and then you let it go. Let's not go nuts.

[Other.]

Alot of people that own shows often dont handle fish properly. Any 1 see Kevin VanDam when he cought tat HUDGE fish at the weigh in, I forgot how much it weighed wasent it like 16 pounds or somthing? Anyway he hold it in the lower jaw with the bass horizontal like this ----- and he was like jumping up and down with that fish, Im pretty sure that that hudge bass died allready.

[Jnamo]

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Yall keep it up. Glenn is gonna have to change this website to www. TreeHugginHippiesResource .com

C'mon, it's a fish. You reel it in and then you let it go. Let's not go nuts.

Not to come off as confrontational, but that is that exact attitude that the treehuggers love to see.  It is fuel for their fire.  

We are just trying to promote some awareness, not save the planet.  

That is what Hollywood actors are for!!!

Jeff

[JT Bagwell]

I think it is mildly amusing that people are fighting over who handles

fish wrong or right. I saw one post where it said we should handle fish

like a newborn baby (or something like that).

Last time I checked I had never snatched a newborn baby out of a

brush pile using 50 lb test PowerPro. Seems kind of funny to be fighting

over something like that after you just yanked the fish into a boat by his

face.

JT Bagwell

[hendrix190]

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this comes off the TPWD web site from the biologist.

Handling Your Catch

. Leave the fish in the water if you can and use a tool to remove the hook

Keep the fish from thrashing without using a net if there is anyway you can.

IF you must handle a fish:

Use a wet rag or glove.

Turn it on its back and cover its eyes to calm it.

Don't put your fingers in the eyes or gills of the fish.

Avoid removing mucous or scales.

Get the fish back in the water as quickly as possible.

Handle each fish carefully to avoid person injury.

Huh? ok this is just gettin ridicioulous, its just a fish man, its not like its a peice of gold or a fragile antique vase worth millions of dollars, bass arent on the brink of extinction, arnt endangered and arnt even rare, and now a days ur not "supposed to even touch them or it can be bad for them"?????? like seriously these people need to loosin up alittle, its ok to lip a bass and hold it and look at it if u want, its not gonna immediately die in ur hands, if u rub alittle slime off, i think it will survive...... (("""""

Leave the fish in the water if you can and use a tool to remove the hook"""")) <<<< what the heck is that??? its ok to put a hook through the fishes mouth, but its best not too even touch it with ur hands if u can?????? if these people care about the bass so much, they should just leave them alone and let them live their natual lives instead of hooking them in the mouth and draging them through the water on a line... all this stuff about being careful with the fish is just gettin alittle outta hand.

[CJ]

First I really didn't notice anybody fighting over this issue.Second I don't yank fish into a boat on 50# Power Pro,by there face.Third I do treat them like a baby once I get them in the boat.I take the hook out and give em a kiss and let them go.Unless I'm in a tournament then they get to go for a ride.All I was refering to is fish have sensitive or fragile areas(gills) on them and you have to be careful with them.I don't like dead fish deduction although I have never had any.

[CJ]

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this comes off the TPWD web site from the biologist.

Handling Your Catch

I don&#39;t understand ok this is just gettin ridicioulous, its just a fish man, its not like its a peice of gold or a fragile antique vase worth millions of dollars, bass arent on the brink of extinction, arnt endangered and arnt even rare, and now a days ur not "supposed to even touch them or it can be bad for them"?????? like seriously these people need to loosin up alittle, its ok to lip a bass and hold it and look at it if u want, its not gonna immediately die in ur hands, if u rub alittle slime off, i think it will survive...... (("""""

Leave the fish in the water if you can and use a tool to remove the hook"""")) <<<< what the hell is that??? its ok to put a hook through the fishes mouth, but its best not too even touch it with ur hands if u can?????? if these people care about the bass so much, they should just leave them alone and let them live their natual lives instead of hooking them in the mouth and draging them through the water on a line... all this stuff about being careful with the fish is just gettin alittle outta hand.

To some of us they are gold.To Luke Clausen they are worth millions.Nobody said you can't touch them.If you think its so out of hand there are other topics to discuss. CJ

[hendrix190]

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this comes off the TPWD web site from the biologist.

Handling Your Catch

I don&#39;t understand ok this is just gettin ridicioulous, its just a fish man, its not like its a peice of gold or a fragile antique vase worth millions of dollars, bass arent on the brink of extinction, arnt endangered and arnt even rare, and now a days ur not "supposed to even touch them or it can be bad for them"?????? like seriously these people need to loosin up alittle, its ok to lip a bass and hold it and look at it if u want, its not gonna immediately die in ur hands, if u rub alittle slime off, i think it will survive...... (("""""

Leave the fish in the water if you can and use a tool to remove the hook"""")) <<<< what the hell is that??? its ok to put a hook through the fishes mouth, but its best not too even touch it with ur hands if u can?????? if these people care about the bass so much, they should just leave them alone and let them live their natual lives instead of hooking them in the mouth and draging them through the water on a line... all this stuff about being careful with the fish is just gettin alittle outta hand.

To some of us they are gold.To Luke Clausen they are worth millions.Nobody said you can't touch them.If you think its so out of hand there are other topics to discuss. CJ

i wanna dicuss this, cause im seriously concerned about this... the next thing u know, all these guys are gonna end up becoming peta members, and start condemning fishing all together.... sure bass are beautiful, and valueable to us as fishermen, but when it gets to the point where its best not to touch them if u can, like i quoted in that paragraph up there ^^^ then whats the point of even fishing, u can get the same feeling from hooking ur hook onto a peice of wood and pulling back on ur rod to make it bend.. yea i know its a challenge to catch them and all, but if that was the only reason u fish for then u can just do that on a video game.. that way you are sure the fish will survive unharmed   ;)

[CJ]

If you will notice the topic is about Bill Dance's handling.Now I'm not dodging out,I'm going somewhere with this.All of his catches that are shown on his show are mostly big fish.These are the fish that need to be handled with care.Why,the weight factor is one.There is more pounds being supported by its mouth or gills.Another, it seems that big fish are more vulnerable to injury due to mis-handling.At tournament weigh ins I see more big fish die than smaller keepers.These are fish that are a delicacy and we want to see there well being.I agree I myself may be a little rough on a dink.I am not a tree hugger.I just don't want to know I caused fatal injury to  that fish.

I don't think anybody on this forum is going to quit bassfishing and join PETA.I can't find a video game that gives me the real feeling and logs don't jump.Just getting a bite is a challenge.If you need to hold them up get a pic,give em a kiss,rub on them then go ahead, but there is nothing wrong with having respect and trying to help preserve the outdoors. CJ

[hendrix190]

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If you will notice the topic is about Bill Dance's handling.Now I'm not dodging out,I'm going somewhere with this.All of his catches that are shown on his show are mostly big fish.These are the fish that need to be handled with care.Why,the weight factor is one.There is more pounds being supported by its mouth or gills.Another, it seems that big fish are more vulnerable to injury due to mis-handling.At tournament weigh ins I see more big fish die than smaller keepers.These are fish that are a delicacy and we want to see there well being.I agree I myself may be a little rough on a dink.I am not a tree hugger.I just don't want to know I caused fatal injury to that fish.

I don't think anybody on this forum is going to quit bassfishing and join PETA.I can't find a video game that gives me the real feeling and logs don't jump.Just getting a bite is a challenge.If you need to hold them up get a pic,give em a kiss,rub on them then go ahead, but there is nothing wrong with having respect and trying to help preserve the outdoors. CJ

alright i agree with u about handling the larger more valuable fish with care. yes they are very valuable exspecially for reproducing and whatnot... its just that the paragraph that whoever posted up there, it looked way too extreme.. i guess i got off the real topic of this thread when i read that paragraph

[GobbleDog]

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I don't like dead fish deduction although I have never had any.

Never? Heck, you're bound to gut hook a bass every once in a while it'll die in you're livewell. It's unfortunately happened to me a couple of times. And I'm one of the few boats that leaves my livewell on from the moment I get the first legal fish till the end of the tourney.

[DePoy79]

why are everyone hating on bill dance and roland martin, they are two of the greatest fishermen ever, and i garuntee they know more about bass then almost anyone here. im not trying to be meanor anything, but some of you guys think that you are the greatest fisherman in the world, and you do everything right, and the other people do it wrong. again im not being mean, just saying what i think.

[fishingrulz]

http://www.outfitters.org/images/waverlybill.jpg

tsk tsk tsk

[GobbleDog]

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roland martin

Now there's a fisherman! Going out on Lake Kissimmee, Lake Toho and Lake Okeechobee and practicing for real tournaments. Now that's interesting! Helpful too, since I live in Florida and fish those lakes.

vs Mr. Tennessee and his bathtub sized ponds.  :

[RoLo]

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why are everyone hating on bill dance and roland martin, they are two of the greatest fishermen ever

Nobody hates Bill Dance but a lot of anglers hate the way he handles bass.

Bill is a professional angler, which is all the more reason he shouldn't treat bass

like a novice basser. If he's a professional, then he has an obligation to teach by example.

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i garuntee they know more about bass then almost anyone here

Hmm, I doubt that Bill or Roland themselves would go near that one :-?

Roger

[fishingrulz]

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Alot of people that own shows often dont handle fish properly. Any 1 see Kevin VanDam when he cought tat HUDGE fish at the weigh in, I forgot how much it weighed wasent it like 16 pounds or somthing? Anyway he hold it in the lower jaw with the bass horizontal like this ----- and he was like jumping up and down with that fish, Im pretty sure that that hudge bass died allready.

i know what your talking about that fish  was 11 not 16

[fishingrulz]

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Well,I'd rather watch Bill Dance than hear ole Jerry Mckinnis rail on about how many "smallies" he used to catch in Arkansas when he was a little boy!

I feel the same way about Hank Parker and his "aw shucks" dribble.

and roland martin with his ohhhhh son!

[fishingrulz]

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Well,I'd rather watch Bill Dance than hear ole Jerry Mckinnis rail on about how many "smallies" he used to catch in Arkansas when he was a little boy!

I feel the same way about Hank Parker and his "aw shucks" dribble.

same thing with roland martin and his ohhhhhh son!

and did you ever notice how whenever he(roland) hooks a big fish and he is reeling it in he always turns to his partner or guide and they scream at eatchother but they just yell random things. for instance i was watching roland earlier and he hooked a 6 pounder and hes like ohhh dur digga ding dah BASS! dahhhhaa lol thats why hess great

[Cabela101]

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Well, here is something that doesn't get a lot of play, but highlights really how good Bill Dance is: He and his partner, James "Big Catfish" Patterson fish in a local professional catfish tournament held here in Memphis on the Mississippi River. They won the first tournament and have either won or finished near the top every year.

Now, I'm not defending his handling of those bass we're talking about, but the man can still fish. There are no "controlled" situations on the Mighty Mississippi! Biil was intrigued by big catfish that very few fishermen target, I'm talking 50 lbs +. He was a quick learn, as you might expect and has truely mastered a drift technique on the Big River and that's not a small achievement.

Just something of local interest I thought I would share with you.

If Bill Dance was in a CATFISH TOURNAMENT with a guy by the name of JAMES "BIG CATFISH" PATTERSON... Do you REALLY think Bill Dance had ANYTHING to do with the win in these tournaments? I would give 95% of the credit to a guy with the nickname of "BIG CATFISH" when fishing in a tournament for, hmmm, CATFISH.

[Cabela101]

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I like Bill Dance. He seams like a great person. I dont blame him for fishing in private ponds. Catching fish is a great way to get viewers and promote products. I enjoy fishing ponds because their is usually great action. For me the privater, the better. As far as harming the fish, I think that bass are farely tough. What bothers me though, is pulling a big bass off it's bed and taking it far away, where it can no longer protect it's young.

What?  If a Big Female is on a Bed, she still has the eggs inside her, she hasn't spawned.  After a female lays the eggs, she leaves and the little males come in and protect the young.  If someone comes and catches a young male nest protector, another male bass comes in to replace the other one that left.  Thats just how the process works under the water for bass.  Out of those thousands of eggs, you only need about 10 to survive anyways.