Ice fishing

[chrispyke]

New to the board...have visited many times !

 

With the new fishing regs in area 17, I plan to be putting out a hut in South bay of Balsam lake. Depth range of 11' - 14'. This is where I have caught crappie, perch, walleye, smallmouth, muskie,(have yet to catch a pike in 15 years of fishing Balsam) in spring, summer and fall. This spot is about 1/2 mile from my cottage shoreline and about as far as I would like to drag a hut.

 

I'm concerned about coincidental catches...I think the best thing I can do is cut my line if you find you have caught something other than what is allowed. I think there is a very small window to revive these fish and get them back in the hole, before they freeze, and no chance if someone pitches them out on the ice...un hooks them and then tries to put them back.

 

It seems, although I love the opportunity to fish Balsam in the winter, these regs may hurt the fishery more than help it. Will everyone be able to save these coincidental catches, or will others simply poach ?? Is the only defence to call TIPS ?

 

If someone can give me a humane way to releasing coincidental catches, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

Cheers,

 

Balsam Laker

[Muskieman]

Take lake Nipissing and area..........for example..

 

If you catch a "Slot Sized " Walleye in winter IT MUST BE RELEASED...DEAD OR ALIVE

 

One guy " Giggo" caught a 48'' muskie out in the French river through the Ice ... the C/O was nearby

..the muskie was dead and "Giggo" was told to throw it back.

 

RFS

 

 

Oh and by the way, WELCOME ABOARD THE BOARD!!!

[irishfield]

Welcome aboard BL !

 

Incidental catches.. cutting the line and leaving a hook in their yap isn't the way to go.. Land it.. unhook it and return it... no different than we do with most fish we catch during the winter. Especially considering you say you are going to fish in a hut, there should be no issues of eye's freezing over etc. The lads and I have pulled many a Laker/whitefish up from 70 feet... taken pictures and release no worse for wear in -32C weather. Since you're fishing 11 to 14' of water there isn't any chance of Pickeral with their bladder out their yap.

[ciceri]

I release 90% of the fish i catch ice fishing.. they shouldn't die.

[johnnyb]

Yeah, Wayne is right....your ears will fall off before the fish dies, so long as you handle it quickly and gently

[The Urban Fisherman]

I've had perch sitting in my bucket on the snow (no water) for a good hour or so, then put them into my kitchen sink with water and low and behold a few of them started swimming around! haha

 

So I think unhooking them will be fine.

 

Cheers,

Ryan

[Harrison]

If your ice fishing outside of a hut, try to keep the as much fish in the water as possible. Unhook and push back down the hole.

 

I am sure anglers are going to cringe to see a few giant walleye hoisted up for pictures through the ice this season on the kawarthas. I've seen it on Scugog with Musky quite often.

Edited November 23, 2009 by Harrison

[fish-miester]

you got that right Harrison,

[musky66]

Nothing you can do- I'm sure more than a few Musky will be pulled up through the ice. I don't relish the thought of dealing with fish up to 50" and 30 lbs in a hut much! Be careful, keep your hut clear of things that might injure the fish or end up in the lake during a tussle. If all anglers use is a single hook rig for live bait- a breakoff might be the best thing for a big girl. Wouldn't want to see a couple of trebles and a wire leader hanging from her mouth though.

[Fishnwire]

I think the worst thing you can do for a fish is to leave a hook in its mouth. If I catch a fish that is deeply or badly hooked I will always attempt to remove the hook. If doing so kills the fish, (and assuming it is legal) then I keep it, because it probably would have died anyway, had I just cut the line and released it. I refuse to believe that modern corrosion-resistant hooks simply "rust-out" and fall from fish's mouths in fresh water within a couple of days, as we have often been told. I can't think of a worse death for a fish to face than slowly starving to death while they suffer from a staff infection. I guess their chances might be OK if it's just a single hook in the corner of the mouth, but a fish with a big treble, chunk of lead, a bunch of line or crank bait in its mouth is not in good shape.

[jimmer]

If we're talking about fishing for panfish, we should all be using tiny micro jigs and the hook should be set right away as soon as you feel a bite. That should eliminate any deep hooked OOS fish. I also catch plenty of pike on Simcoe fishing this way, yes you get the odd bite off, but better than throwing a minnow down there, hoping a Pike will bite and that the walleye or muskie will choose to ignore it. If you're going for pike try jigging large spoons and avoid the minnows; that's where we get into trouble with deeply hooked fish. There should be no problems releasing fish in the depth of water you are planning on fishing.

Make sure the hut is big enough for all of us to fit into it. LOL

[cram]

The worse damage is to their gill filaments, which if exposed to extreme cold dry air for any amount of time can become damaged.

 

The best advice - bring a good pair of hook cutters with you. I started using them for musky fishing, and it is remarkable how much easier (adn faster) it is to release fish. I now use them on almsot everything i catch that is difficult to unhook.

[Leecher]

The fish will survive a lot longer on ice then during the hot summer months flip flopping on the boat floor or on shoreline. You will have plenty of time for unhooking it and putting it back down the hole. I've caught a lot of fish on ice and practice mainly CPR using single hooks. Widegap or circle hooks in the 4/0 size and never had a problem.

 

Last year we targetted white fish on one of our local lakes and caught OOS lakers. They were all released and swam away in a hurry down the hole.

 

Hope this helps

Leechman

[chrispyke]

I think the worst thing you can do for a fish is to leave a hook in its mouth. If I catch a fish that is deeply or badly hooked I will always attempt to remove the hook. If doing so kills the fish, (and assuming it is legal) then I keep it, because it probably would have died anyway, had I just cut the line and released it. I refuse to believe that modern corrosion-resistant hooks simply "rust-out" and fall from fish's mouths in fresh water within a couple of days, as we have often been told. I can't think of a worse death for a fish to face than slowly starving to death while they suffer from a staff infection. I guess their chances might be OK if it's just a single hook in the corner of the mouth, but a fish with a big treble, chunk of lead, a bunch of line or crank bait in its mouth is not in good shape.

 

 

I agree steel hooks are unlikely to dissolve in a couple of days, but if I hook an out of season anything with a a hook in the gullet, I'm going to cut the line and hope the fish lives. Bringing it out and trying to get that hook out usually ends bad from my experience.

 

Thanks for all the helpful advice and yes if you are out on Balsam in South Bay close to the end...come say hello.

 

Still looking for a hut by the way.

 

Cheers,

 

BL

[Fishnwire]

I agree steel hooks are unlikely to dissolve in a couple of days, but if I hook an out of season anything with a a hook in the gullet, I'm going to cut the line and hope the fish lives. Bringing it out and trying to get that hook out usually ends bad from my experience.

 

 

I agree. If I caught an OOS fish that was gut-hooked I would cut the line as close to the hook as as could (without doing more damage) and release it to let nature take it's course. If the fish would make acceptable table fair, I generally attempt surgery and hope for the best. If its bleeding in any significant way when I'm done I harvest.

 

As others posters have mentioned, I think the minute or so it takes to land and propery remove the hook (assuming that's an option) from anything you catch probably won't do any more damage than releasing it with gear in its mouth. Besides...you won't have time to re-tie your jig each time you get a fish...you'll miss out on too much action!!!

 

Have fun and good luck.