newbie bass question, proper lip grab.

[sardu]

I just started bass fishing, and I am learning on my own. today a caught 2 small bass. juveniles maybe 10-12 inch 1 pounders. So I grab them by the bottom lip as I've seen fishermen do, and they have very fine rows of teeth. like very rough sandpaper. and its digging into the pad of my thumb. I assume this is normal, but I wonder if I should be grabbing beyond this row of teeth on more of the bottom of the mouth?

also wonder if some species of bass of sharper more defined teeth than others. thanks. happy to find the board.

[endless]

i myself do the same grab the teeth area. i no someone from gander mountain told me that you grab behind them and he said alot of fishermen have develope calluses if spelled right on the thumb so it doesnt bother them. he also says the make thumb guards for lipping.so if what was told is correct or not, not sure. me im still in the process of learning myself hey im 27 and sqiddish to grab by the mouth i had to let my friend prove to me how to grab a big cat by the mouth before i did,. he did tell me he grabs by the gills if the fish does have teeth i guess preferring to pikes and pikerals and so on i was going to buy grippers.

[bass wrangler569]

Congrats on the fish! Grabbing them by the bottom lip is correct. Make sure you hold them vertically though so that you don't bend and damage their jaw. You'll get used to it after a while, just always make sure you know where the hook is in their mouths... I speak from experience  :'(. And under no circumstances should you ever use thumb guards, that is grounds for immediate man-card revocation  ;D

[diver_sniper]

Yeah you're ok by doing it that way.  That's how you develop a nice "bass thumb".  What you have to avoid is hoisting the fish up horizontally while you're only holding it by the lower jaw.  Just think about the weight that you're putting on that joint.  If you want to take a picture while you're holding the fish flat, get one hand under it's belly to support it.  And make sure that hand is wet when you go to grab it.  

Doesn't matter if it's a big guy or just a little one, gotta take care of em all.  No need to dislocate their jaw so they starve to death.

[endless]

Yeah you're ok by doing it that way. That's how you develop a nice "bass thumb". What you have to avoid is hoisting the fish up horizontally while you're only holding it by the lower jaw. Just think about the weight that you're putting on that joint. If you want to take a picture while you're holding the fish flat, get one hand under it's belly to support it. And make sure that hand is wet when you go to grab it.

Doesn't matter if it's a big guy or just a little one, gotta take care of em all. No need to dislocate their jaw so they starve to death.

i never thought about that so in my avatar thats the wrong way?

[endless]

Congrats on the fish! Grabbing them by the bottom lip is correct. Make sure you hold them vertically though so that you don't bend and damage their jaw. You'll get used to it after a while, just always make sure you know where the hook is in their mouths... I speak from experience :'(. And under no circumstances should you ever use thumb guards, that is grounds for immediate man-card revocation ;D

never thought about that

man i was bout to be taking for some..............not sure how this site is on language so what use any

[InLikeFinz]

Also make sure you got 'em nice and tight too. I've dropped more than I care to admit. I'm still learning every day as well!

jason

[Koop]

And under no circumstances should you ever use thumb guards, that is grounds for immediate man-card revocation

Landing gloves and thumb guards are fine. I wear a landing glove when I fish for a few reasons.

A) A good flop from a fish can send a treble hook into your hand.

The species your fishing for is not always what you catch.

Take my man card all day, I'd rather be comfortable.

[Poolie727]

What everyone else said. I've had 5+ pounders draw blood out of my thumb before... I guess that says I'm not catching enough big ones to build up a callous, huh.

Yea, I'm weird but having a ripped up thumb is a nice reminder that I had a good weekend of fishing.

[Poolie727]

My first trip to an emergency room as a teenager was to have a treble hook removed from my finger. One last flip flop after I had my thumb in her mouth sunk one of the hooks from the second set of trebles right up to where the three come together so there was no way to pull the barb back through. That was a memory I'll never forget. My dad wanted t cut it out with a steak knife  :-?

A) A good flop from a fish can send a treble hook into your hand.

[Glenn]

Watch this video - it demonstrates the proper way to hold and handle fish:

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-videos/fish-care-in-the-livewell.html

[tnbassfisher]

My first trip to an emergency room as a teenager was to have a treble hook removed from my finger. One last flip flop after I had my thumb in her mouth sunk one of the hooks from the second set of trebles right up to where the three come together so there was no way to pull the barb back through. That was a memory I'll never forget. My dad wanted t cut it out with a steak knife :-?

[SirSnookalot]

It took nearly 60 years to make my first trip to the emergency room and it was from a little dink with a treble in my thumb.

I will do whatever it takes to avoid that in the future, I remove hooks with the utmost of caution now keeping in mind my safety is paramount over any fish.

My average fish is 5-10# and they will be lying in the deck and the hook removed with a pliers.  You can have my man card.