Whats the Difference?

[anders]

I have been noticing this for a while, this might get blown up, but i am interested in the reasoning behind this. I know of the reasons why we arent supposed to hold fish vertical, so we dont have to beat up that topic today. My question is this;

 

what is the difference between holding a 4lb bass by the lip vertically, or a 4lb walleye vertically, salmon, pike, muskie etc?

 

No one will bash the bass guys about those holds, but they do about the other species of fish, I dont get it.

[[email protected]]

I have been noticing this for a while, this might get blown up, but i am interested in the reasoning behind this. I know of the reasons why we arent supposed to hold fish vertical, so we dont have to beat up that topic today. My question is this;

 

what is the difference between holding a 4lb bass by the lip vertically, or a 4lb walleye vertically, salmon, pike, muskie etc?

 

No one will bash the bass guys about those holds, but they do about the other species of fish, I dont get it.

 

 

I'm not sure.

 

I got bashed for fishing in a special regulations fishing area, even though it wasn't one... lol.

 

*shrug*

[MCTFisher9120]

No Idea man, take me for example, i had pictures of my bass being supported and others of it not.

 

Just depends on the fish i guess, with a ski or a pike there body is so long and lean a second hand would be better rather than a bass being short and stout.

 

Just my opinion, I don't bash fish holding.

[Roy]

I think that holding a bass horizontally by the lower jaw is just as bad. IMO. Because the fish have little or few teeth they feel compelled to hold it by the mouth. The perch might be all of 9" but they still feel that they must ram their thumb down its throat prior releasing the fish.

 

I'm guilty of it too. I'll try to be more careful.

[Jet]

I've watched Italo Labignan hold pike vertically many times on his show and he always indicates he's not holding it by the gill but rather the bone at the top of gill opening closest to the mouth to show he's holding it safely (in his opinion at least).

 

http://www.in-fisherman.com/content/conser...olding-big-fish

Edited September 1, 2009 by Jet

[Greencoachdog]

Oh Yeah!!!... you could kill a fish by holding it by the mouth!!!

 

Let's forget all about how we caught that fish, on a huge swimbait with 7/0 trebles trolled at 6 mph!!! Never mention the fact that the fish struck at a right angle to the lure at full speed and when he hit the lure he tried to turn to back to his lair... but the enertia from the 6 mph lure, his speed and body weight sends his eyeballs sailing thru his butthole when was hooked... let's not talk about that!

 

The 2 strongest parts of a fish are the mouth and the tail!!! The gill plate is part of the mouth!

You should be careful of the gill rakes, but they're pretty tough too!

 

The biggest danger to a fish isn't how you hold it... it's your hook removal skills!!!

 

I've never seen a fish die from a vertical hold, I've never seen ones jaw break!!!... I have seen many people kill fish with poor hook removal skills!!!

 

I think the people that whine about the way a fish is held are just jealous because they didn't catch it and want to find something wrong about you catching it!!!

[Guest gbfisher]

Its no wonder Pike act like they've been hung....

[misfish]

Oh Yeah!!!... you could kill a fish by holding it by the mouth!!!

 

Let's forget all about how we caught that fish, on a huge swimbait with 7/0 trebles trolled at 6 mph!!! Never mention the fact that the fish struck at a right angle to the lure at full speed and when he hit the lure he tried to turn to back to his lair... but the enertia from the 6 mph lure, his speed and body weight sends his eyeballs sailing thru his butthole when was hooked... let's not talk about that!

 

The 2 strongest parts of a fish are the mouth and the tail!!! The gill plate is part of the mouth!

You should be careful of the gill rakes, but they're pretty tough too!

 

The biggest danger to a fish isn't how you hold it... it's your hook removal skills!!!

 

I've never seen a fish die from a vertical hold, I've never seen ones jaw break!!!... I have seen many people kill fish with poor hook removal skills!!!

 

I think the people that whine about the way a fish is held are just jealous because they didn't catch it and want to find something wrong about you catching it!!!

 

 

What he said^^^^^^

 

 

I think that holding a bass horizontally by the lower jaw is just as bad. IMO. Because the fish have little or few fish they feel compelled to hold it by the mouth. The perch might be all of 9" but they still feel that they must ram their thumb down its throat prior releasing the fish.

What he said ^^^^^^^^^

 

Its no wonder Pike act like they've been hung

 

Not sure.^^^^^^^^^^

[Leecher]

This topic surfaces every now and again and imo don't think a vertical or horizontal hold has any fatal impact on any fish that are being caught. The handling part / time out of the water will determine it's faith. The more time it takes to return it to it's environment the less chance it has at surviving.

 

Any fish, big or small will loose a lot of energy fighting to free itself from the hooks that are lodge into it's mouth, so the faster you can get them to the boat the better.... A net will play a crucial role for the handling part.... if you have a livewell, you can use it too.... put it in there and leave the pump running to create oxygen so that it regains it's strength until you release it.

 

So that being said, for me and this is just my opinion the holding part is no concern. The quicker you land and release the fish, the better it's survival.

Leechman

Edited September 2, 2009 by Leechman

[Greencoachdog]

This topic surfaces every now and again and imo don't think a vertical or horizontal hold has any fatal impact on any fish that are being caught. The handling part / time out of the water will determine it's faith. The more time it takes to return it to it's environment the less chance it has at surviving.

 

Any fish, big or small will loose a lot of energy fighting to free itself from the hooks that are lodge into it's mouth, so the faster you can get them to the boat the better.... A net will play a crucial role for the handling part.... if you have a livewell, you can use it too.... put it in there and leave the pump running to create oxygen so that it regains it's strength until you release it.

 

So that being said, for me and this is just my opinion the holding part is not concern. The quicker you land and release the fish, the better it's survival.

Leechman

 

 

The hell you say?!!!

[hooksetgod]

Why does the fish have to be held anyways? Taking a pix in the water does for me. I don't feel I need my mug in the same shot to prove i caught it.

[angrypigeon]

This topic surfaces every now and again and imo don't think a vertical or horizontal hold has any fatal impact on any fish that are being caught. The handling part / time out of the water will determine it's faith. The more time it takes to return it to it's environment the less chance it has at surviving.

 

Leechman

 

agree. i don't think vertical vs horizontal holds drastically change probability for survival. imo, the worst hold for a fish is holding it on a stringer.

[Leecher]

The hell you say?!!!

 

Excactly!!!

[Muskieman]

I believe that a vertical hold from the gill or mouth probably does not harm the fish......

BUT.....I DO Believe that a vertical hold from the tail {upside down} on a large fish can KILL it....Especially a Muskie or Large Pike...THE ONE AND ONLY Muskie that I have on My wall was killed that way...I was a rookie Muskie angler and didn't know. I actually "felt, heard" the vertebrae separating..kinda like cracking knuckles..

In no way did I intend to kill this fish , I was lifting it from the ground "caught from shore" to cradle it for a safe release..... I spent 30 minutes in the water with her to let her go ... but alas no go...can't swim with a broken back.

Although not that big at 49.5 " 30Lbs...she's a reminder on my wall.

 

 

Just my 5 cents.

 

RFS

[Pigeontroller]

Any fish of larger size sure won't mind a little extra support.

[Whitespinnerbait]

I think the people that whine about the way a fish is held are just jealous because they didn't catch it and want to find something wrong about you catching it!!!

 

 

[Guest skeeter99]

I have been noticing this for a while, this might get blown up, but i am interested in the reasoning behind this. I know of the reasons why we arent supposed to hold fish vertical, so we dont have to beat up that topic today. My question is this;

 

what is the difference between holding a 4lb bass by the lip vertically, or a 4lb walleye vertically, salmon, pike, muskie etc?

 

No one will bash the bass guys about those holds, but they do about the other species of fish, I dont get it.

 

 

what's the difference you ask?

 

one hold will get 2 replies

 

the other will start a war and lock the thread

 

LOL!!!

[hooksetgod]

I'm currently working on a water filled table which to hold the fish in a perfect "living state" therefore allowing everyone on the lake to have their picture taken with the fish.lol

[JPD]

Hey Roy,

 

What if his hand is really small and the Perch is really big...

[craigdritchie]

In-Fisherman had an article a couple of years ago on this. They concluded that holding a bass vertically by the lower lip generally doesn't hurt the fish. Different story if you crank the jaw downwards, so its mouth gapes wide open. Then, the fish's full weight goes on a couple of small tendons, causing permanent damage. At best, the damage makes it more difficult for the bass to feed. At worst, the fish cannot feed properly at all, and dies a slow death from gradual starvation.

 

 

You see guys show off their fish like this at tournaments all the time, and it always makes me cringe. The research cited in the In-Fisherman article said up to 50 percent of these fish croak a couple of weeks after the tournament. They suggest that the heavier the fish, the more likely anglers are to cause permanent damage this way.

 

Totally agree with previous posters .... there's generally no reason to handle the fish any more than absolutely necessary.

[Greencoachdog]

In-Fisherman had an article a couple of years ago on this. They concluded that holding a bass vertically by the lower lip generally doesn't hurt the fish. Different story if you crank the jaw downwards, so its mouth gapes wide open. Then, the fish's full weight goes on a couple of small tendons, causing permanent damage. At best, the damage makes it more difficult for the bass to feed. At worst, the fish cannot feed properly at all, and dies a slow death from gradual starvation.

 

 

You see guys show off their fish like this at tournaments all the time, and it always makes me cringe. The research cited in the In-Fisherman article said up to 50 percent of these fish croak a couple of weeks after the tournament. They suggest that the heavier the fish, the more likely anglers are to cause permanent damage this way.

 

Totally agree with previous posters .... there's generally no reason to handle the fish any more than absolutely necessary.

 

 

... and that's why all the TV star fishermen feel like they have to hold the Bass by the lower lip and rotate it horizontal???... watch the TV fishing show "Gods" and see what they do!!!

 

Like I stated before, the 2 toughest parts of any fish are the mouth and the tail... with the mouth being the tougher of the 2!!!... the tail propels the mouth!

 

Surely the TV fishing show gods wouldn't harm a fish!!!

 

Hook removal time and time out of the water are the 2 most crucial factors in C&R survival!!!... if you can't remove a hook properly, you should practice on Bluegills and Perch until you can!!!

 

If you want to hold a fish up and for the camera, revive it in the livewell first!!!

[anders]

thanks for the replies guys!

 

I would have to agree...if your not keeping it, the less time out of the water the better, but your right GCD (cringe)...hook removel is essential for survival.

[BillM]

I vertical hold bass and small pike. Anything with a decent amount of weight gets supported underneath the belly.

[anders]

I vertical hold bass and small pike. Anything with a decent amount of weight gets supported underneath the belly.

 

Thats the question though Bill....whats the difference? The weight on there little bodies is the same as a big fish...proportion wise!

[bigfish1965]

Okay here's the biology of it all...

 

 

When a fish is in water,t hey weigh considerably less than when out of water due to buoyancy.

The internal organs are all lined up in a specific way and are relatively loose inside the body cavity. This allows them to move around quickly and bend laterally. But the organs are designed to always be in that position...horizontal.

When you remove the fish from the water, there is no bouyancy and the weight increases dramatically. Holding fish, especially larger fish, vertically causes the internal organs to be forced down into the rear of the abdominal cavity, stresses the heart and can cause serious damage.

Horizontal holds keep the organs in relatively the same position.

Yes, picking a very large fish up by the tail can cause significant spinal injury. Put the fish back into the net if you cannot get a decent hold of it then place it back into the water.

 

The ideal landing to release for a very large fish should be something like the following...

 

Fight fish to net or cradle. Leave fish in the net or cradle in the water for a minute or so before pulling it out of the water....this allows them to collect some oxygen before being taken out. Cut/remove hooks while in the net/cradle if it is safe to do so. Prepare camera. Wearing protective gloves (filet gloves work well) slide one hand under the gill plate up to the front closest to the mouth being sure not to get a gill raker .. those things will chew your hand up and hurt the fish..lift the fish up and toward you while sliding your free hand under the fish. You should now have the fish horizontal and for very large fish you can place it on your lap or use your forearm for additional belly support.

Get your pics quick. Place the fish back in the water as close to horizontal as u can holding with both hands. Release your hold on the front of the fish and hold the tail until the fish struggles free of your grip.