In a sidewalk discussion with a couple of our more “serious” fisherman, we talked about some of the unsafe and harmful to the fish handling that we have observed. In the past, I saw a family out who had hooked a decent sized pike. They weren’t at all prepared for or educated on how to handle this fish. The result could have been a hook in the hand or a dead fish, and certainly resulted in a slimy and stinky boat, as they struggled to get the hook out of the flopping fish, and then kicked it out of the boat. This is not meant to lecture anybody, but to assist those who don’t have a lot of experience. Let’s face it, someone who fishes three times a year with the grandkids is going to catch a fish. That is the beauty of our wonderful lake. Here are some tips to make all catches more enjoyable and safer, both for you and the fish.

BASIC EQUIPMENT

Let’s start with some basic equipment other than the fishing pole. From left to right there is a needle nosed pliers, a jaw spreader, a lip grabber and a net. While on the subject of nets, it’s worth it to spend a few more dollars and get a rubber coated net. Safer for the fish, and the hooks don’t get all tangled. 

The lip gripper is useful in handling those toothy pike. Simply open the gripper by squeezing on the handle, insert so that it is around the lower lip, and release the handle. It locks on the lip as shown in the group of pike pictures. They can often clamp down pretty stubbornly, making it hard to remove the hook with the pliers. The silver jaw spreader is inserted between the upper and lower jaw, and then you can release its strong spring to open the mouth.

Pike
Pike are really slimy, but this slime helps protect them, and all of our fish, from infection. Try to handle as little as possible, and wet hands when necessary also helps prevent slime removal. Try not to let the fish flop around on the boat. Makes for a slimy boat and removes slime from the fish.

Bass
No teeth = no problems! If hooks aren’t in the way you can just insert thumb in the mouth and pick them up by simply squeezing the lower jaw. Do not lift them to horizontal position just by the jaw. If desired, use the other hand to support the belly. If hooks make jaw lift unsafe, other ways would include either grabbing behind the head, or lifting from below the belly. 

Walleye...consider yourself lucky! They’re kind of a hybrid between handling pike and bass. They do have teeth, so no sticking your thumb in there! Under the jaw from gill plate opening is one option, as with pike. Easier ways would include lifting from below by the belly, or squeezing behind the head. A word of caution here: The plates that cover the gills have some quite sharp plates which can cut you. Either grab so that you have these squeezed shut, or safer yet just lift by the belly.

Hopefully this isn’t too confusing if you haven’t done it before. All are easy techniques if you practice them. Enjoy our wonderful fishing, be safe, and return the fish healthy for the next time!