I need help please, so many questions

[StarTzar]

I second Todd's suggestion. Circle hooks are terrific. You eliminate jerking the hook on a panfish or weed, they are more snag free. If the bass doesn't grab it and go which hooks hooks itself all you do is tighten your line on the bass. Hooks it in the corner of the mouth.

I also use Circle Hooks (for senkos) and they work great.
Read the article. It's well written and instructions are clear and precise.

As for your question on how and when to kill the fish ....
I practice catch and release. (For all species I catch).

However, at one time (40 some odd years ago), I did keep some fish for consumption.
I would bring the catch home, put it on the cutting board and cut off it's head. (Crude, but effective).

[ShawnD]

I just want to point out that fish will live with a hook in it's mouth, if you think you're killing the fish from handling it for too long, cut the line and let it swim away.

Just last week, on Saint Marie, I caught a bass on a topwater frog, it had a small jig lodged in its throat... It's not the first time I've caught a fish in this predicament..

One time on the ottawa I found some braided line lying around in the water, I pulled it out and found a 3 pounder stuck in the weeds with a 5 /0 hook in it's throat, I did the technique ED mentioned, ( a little differently because I slipped my pliers inside the gills without damaging the gills and popped it out) fish swam away to be caught another day.

I've even caught a fish on a topwater frog on the Saint Lawrence, it had it's jaw slip in half... It was a little gruesome.. But it hit that frog even with a broken Jaw.. (The jaw was probably broken due to miss use of the tournament clips we all use... They are not meant to be held by the clip!!)

Food for thought guys, Bass live anywhere and a lot like us Humans, they'll survive through pretty much anything...

Also I've eaten Bass and walleye out of the Ottawa River, some say it's too polluted..

[ShawnD]

(Crude, but effective).

I'll be sure not to get on your bad side!!!


Bang them on the head real good, or bleed them out ( might be messy on your bike loll)
I usually let them flop around until I drive home..

[scarkner]

The guide to eating sport fish can be found at the link below. Note that this is also a great resource for figuring out what bodies of water actually hold a reasonable number of which fish (since they can't test what they can't catch).

https://www.ontario.ca/environment-and- ... sport-fish

As for killing the fish before cleaning, I agree with a good whack on the head, and much like the hook de-gorger, you can also get some nice plastic clubs that do a great job and area easier to hold than a block of wood. If you are getting a lot of blood in your fillets, then you may also want to wait a few minutes to be sure the fish is completely dead. If the heart is still beating then you will get blood in the meat. If the heart has stopped then you will get much whiter, cleaner looking meat.

I love Catfish/bullhead from the Ottawa/Rideau

I would also reccomend ditching the needle-nose pliers, they block your view too much. Get a pair of foreceps, that's what doctors use when they are working on tough surgeries. You can buy specialty ones for fishing (Canadian Tire Matzuo Forceps Product #78-3323-0) or you can buy actual surgical grade ones (which include handy locking teeth) at surplus stores and electronic shops such as Active Electronics on Merrivale Road (beside the Food Basics).

[zippyfx]

I would also recommend ditching the needle-nose pliers, they block your view too much. Get a pair of foreceps, that's what doctors use when they are working on tough surgeries. You can buy specialty ones for fishing (Canadian Tire Matzuo Forceps Product #78-3323-0) or you can buy actual surgical grade ones (which include handy locking teeth) at surplus stores and electronic shops such as Active Electronics on Merrivale Road (beside the Food Basics).

I second the use of foreceps (or hemostats). I have been using them exclusively the past three years and they work like a charm in most situations. I bought a new pair just today for $5.99 because my 5 year old dropped them into the drink. I only use pliers for larger fish and larger hooks, pike, musky, sometimes large cats if they are hooked well.

The degorger sounds good as well.

One way to dispatch a fish quickly is to cut it's gills with a knife. It will bleed out and pass rather quickly.

[StarTzar]

Bang them on the head real good, or bleed them out ( might be messy on your bike loll)
I usually let them flop around until I drive home..

I thought clubbing was a technique reserved for seals.

[RJ]

No need to ever cut the line in this case. If you can see any part of the hook it's easy to get out.

I've attached a video below that I did a few years ago that shows the easiest way to get it out. While guiding I do this technique often on a day and it works every time. Kids have a tendency to not feel the Senko pick up right away so it happens every now and then.

I've yet to not have a hook come out or have a fish not swim away.

http://youtu.be/kCSx4PuLEnQ

RJ

[CyrusG]

No need to ever cut the line in this case. If you can see any part of the hook it's easy to get out.

I've attached a video below that I did a few years ago that shows the easiest way to get it out. While guiding I do this technique often on a day and it works every time. Kids have a tendency to not feel the Senko pick up right away so it happens every now and then.

I've yet to not have a hook come out or have a fish not swim away.

http://youtu.be/kCSx4PuLEnQ

RJ

Great video RJ, I've caught tons of bass using senkos with circle hooks and rarely get them hooked deep unless it was my fault for waiting too long for the hook set, the ones that do swallow it swim off fine using that technique. Good info guys!

Dave if you want to keep fish i find the fish taste better out of the Ottawa river especially through the ice, unless your at petrie island

[scarkner]

Great video! I would not have thought to get the hook out that way. Awesome!

[RJ]

I'm telling you, try it once and you'll be shocked how well it works. Cutting the line and throwing the fish back is a waste, of the fish and your hook!

RJ

[daveh_cdn]

Wow guys, there's so much good info here. I'm going to have to take a few days to absorb it all.

Basically, the reasons we were keeping the fish was because the hooks were stuck, but now if I get the degorger, new forecepts, and learn the removal technique an perhaps fish with circle hooks I shouldn't ever be forced to keep them. Plus, MNR and others have suggested you can leave the hook in and it will dissolve (magic?) So I guess worst case that is also an option, which I'd really rather not do.