Fish-Hawk.Net

Hi everyone,

There seems to be some interest in proper handling and release techniques for muskies and pike, so I'm going to provide you with some information for those folks that are curious.

As mentioned in an earlier post, vertical holds have become a faux-pas when it comes to muskies and pike. Here is an article that outlines some of the reasons not to hold these fish in such a manner. http://www.trentu.ca/muskie/catch/c_r07.html

A horizontal hold is definitely the best way to go. Here is what I usually do:

1) Get the fish to the boat (or shore) and get it under control in some manner. Keep the fish in the water. Don't bring the fish into your boat, or on to shore. I use a large Frabill net which acts as a pen, some use a cradle, boga-grip, and others prefer to hand land these creatures (I do for smaller fish). Whatever you choose, make sure the fish is subdued before you stick your hands in there. Control is key.
2) Make sure you have all the necessary release tools. Long nosed pliers, and hook cutters are critical. If you can get the hooks out with pliers, then do so. If they are deeply embedded, don't waste time, cut them out (they can be replaced easily). Get the lure out of the equation as quickly as possible. If you need to cut hooks, you can remove the shards from the fish later. Pay attention. Don't look away from the fish to get tools. You can tell when a fish is going to thrash, so get your hands out of the way and let the fish do its thing.
3) If you want to get a photo of the fish, make sure you have your equipment ready before you remove the fish from the water. Get your cameras and tape-measure ready. Once you are prepared, you can remove the fish.
4) To get control of the fish, you want to run your hand up the gill plate to the point where the two gill plates meet. It's almost like grabbing the fish by the chin. There is hard tissue there, and you can get a really good grip on the fish at this point. Watch the gill rakes, they hurt like hell, and will cut you. Be careful of the soft gill tissue as well. I usually have my thumb on the outside base of the fishes mouth (like underneath its chin), with my other 3-4 fingers on the inside of its mouth (up through the gills though) behind the row of teeth. It acts like a handle. Make sure to hold on tight, it won't hurt the fish.
5) When lifting the fish from the water, make sure to use your other hand to support the body of the fish. Put your hand (or whole arm if you are smaller) under the belly of the fish, and then lift the fish out of the water horziontally with both hands (not vertically with one). Take your picture(s) and measurement(s) and put the fish back in the water as quickly as possible. Hold on to the fish tight. They might thrash, and you don't want them landing in the bottom of your boat or on land. Letting a fish touch the bottom of your boat, or shore is a no-no as well. It will remove the protective slime from the fish, and will make it susceptible to infection.
6) Try not to release the fish over deep water. Move to the shallows if necessary. Tired and stressed fish may not be able to adjust to sudden changes in water pressure. Sometimes it is almost instantaneous and sometimes revival will take 20 minutes or more, so be patient. Hold the fish by the tail section before the caudal fin with one hand, use your other hand to gently balance the fish under the belly under the pectoral fins. This gives the fish additional support. Gently move the muskellunge back and forth in an S pattern (like a snake) to insure the gill covers are moving softly. Don't push and pull the fish back and forth and force water into the lungs. This can actually "drown" a fish believe it or not. By forcing water through the gills, the angler helps induce breathing and oxygen intake. When the 'lunge is strong enough to wriggle away and stay horizontal, it's a candidate for successful release. Don't abandon a released fish that is having problems maintaining its balance in the water. Wait a few minutes after releasing the fish to ensure that it doesn't resurface in distress. Should this occur, recommence the revival process.
Here is a picture of a fish I released the other day (note the S pattern):



I revived this fish for about 5 minutes, and thought it was ready to go. When I released it though, it was losing its balance, so I had to go back to the fish, and revive it for another 3-4 minutes before it was able to swim away under its own strength.

Hope this helps.

HW

Good tips and a good read. Thanks for the information.

Nice Read, Hawg

Even people that don't target skies should read this...

RJ

Great read on proper release of any fish for that matter.


Hopefully I'll get that one ski this year and use those techniques.

Carl

Another thing you can do if the fish is not wanting to stay upright is rub the fish from the belly up to the mouth to "burp" the fish. Good tips.

What about torpedoing the small ones back?? Is this recomended?

Markus,

Nope....they will fight to the point of exhaustion...and all have to be uprighted....

RJ

Great tips,
Any chance we could get some pics of a demonstration of proper muskie handling? I know for myself if I see it I get it.
Thanks

Always hold them upright when releasing...don't slide them back and forth....just upright...



As for holding....never vertically...cause major jaw damage...support the weight of the fish....



RJ

RJ just wanted to show off his montsters!!!

Carl,

That ain't no monster....but fun in 3 feet of water I'll tell ya!..

RJ

Markus,

I've seen the torpedoe techique in effect with smaller fish, and it seemed to work. The theory behind the technique is that when you torpedoe the fish into the water (for those of you who don't know, you literally throw the fish into the water head first like a torpedoe, go figure. ) they get a rush of oxygen into their gills that essentially "revives" them.

I'm not a huge advocate of the technique because I just feel the S-pattern release is better, and gives the fish time to recover properly. However, I can't say with certainty that the torpedoe technique isn't an effective release technique. I would caution anyone that uses this techique that you need to keep the stress level of the fish in mind. If it's a really short fight, and the fish is still active when you are releasing it, I could see the torpedoe being okay. However, if the fight was long, and the fish is tired and stressed, stick to the S-pattern water release. Give the fish time to recover.

Another issue with this technique based on my experience, is that I have seen muskie anglers use it on small fish only, and it seemed to me that they did it only because it was a small fish. It was as if they did it out of sheer frusteration that it was a small fish, and lost concern for proper release. I don't think the size of fish should dictate the release technique, and I personally think each muskie or pike should be released with the S-pattern release technique. That's what I do all the time.

Just another FYI, if you want to guage the stress level of a muskie, check its fins. Blood will rush to the fins when the fish is stressed. When a fish gets really stressed the fins will turn bright red. The brighter the red, the more stressed is the fish. Use this as a guage to help indicate release time. If the fish is super stressed, take your time on the release. Don't force the fish to go back.

HW

RJ, look at the fresh bruise on that muski! Nice work coach.

markus,

you jackass!..

I'm told the fish in the Kawarthas are getting some big tumours on them...I caught a 36 incher that had one it that was a thick as the fish....maybe that mark is a recovery mark from one?....beats me....wasn't me!..honest!..

RJ

I see those marks on the pike a lot too.

As for the red fins. I've never heard the stress thing before. That's interesting. What may complicate using this as a visual tool is a fin virus that is very common with pike and muski that causes the fins to be red and inflamed.

Best to treat every fish as a stressed fish and let them prove otherwise with their signiture tail swat of water to your face!