After you land a fish

[ChrisKnapper]

Originally Posted by Matthew Duszynski

Seriously tho, ever since watching Chris Yates and Bob James jump out that tree on redmire, if theres any excuse get in the drink im in there! Water shots always look the best anyway

Matt

Very True...

Chris

[Bl4cky]

a little tip for something that i do. don't know if others do the same but once i've landed a fish i let it recover in the net for a few minutes before removing it from the water to be unhooked/weighed/photographed. i've found that the fish normally behaves better on the bank as they seem to calm down a bit in the net.i always use two mats. one a fox beanie with a nash monster unhooking mat/sling on top of this. when returning the i zip it up in the monster mat/sling and take it to the water where if possible i get in up to about thigh depth (around 2ft deep) and unzip the front of the mat allowing the fish to take some water in and if i want any water shots done i'll do them there. i then cradle the fish and allow it to regain it's strength until it kicks and tells me it wants to do the off then i say seeya

Another point that i'd like to make. when pouring water over fish on the mat i always do it from it's head to it's tail. i was told by an experienced angler that if you pour it from tail to head theres a chance you could push debris into the fishes gills and possibly damage them .don't know if anyone else does this or not but just thought of putting a few tips down

[Stig]

Handle the fish with extreme care always make sure unhooking mat and your hands are wet before putting a carp on the mat of picking it up .Do the necessary unhooking weighing and photographing as quickly as possible keep the fish wet by pouring a little lake water onto the fish while it is on the mat .
When ready to realease carry the mat/sling with the fish inside it and lower it into the water and hould it there slide your hand under the fish and slowy ease it from the confines of the mat/sling and hold the fish upright in the water letting it take in water through its gills and simply hold the fish there until it is good and ready at which time it should just swim away .

Never ever handle any fish of any size with dry hands as your hands will strip the slime off the fish and leave it at risk from infection as the fishes slime is its primary defence against infections

[Chesh]

another tip which i dont think has been mentioned is always keep an eye out for the fins of the carp when in your net and being placed on the mat.. all to easy to bend one the wrong way etc...

and when releasing a fish always find a spot thats quite deep so the fish can swim away rather than waddle on its side until it reaches deep enough water to get upright and swim away

[Rainey]

Cheers guys learnt a few things here but will also help other newbies like me....

[kermit]

After I land a fish....... I usually feint with shock.

Don't worry though, I have several unhooking mats strapped to my body just in case - so I never come to any harm

Mike.

[Bl4cky]

Originally Posted by kermit

After I land a fish....... I usually feint with shock.

Don't worry though, I have several unhooking mats strapped to my body just in case - so I never come to any harm

Mike.

pmslbrilliant

[grubby pants]

Talking of unhooking mats. They are by no means a guarantee of total safety for the fish. Many are a little small and some are a little thin. Even some of the really thick beanie mats are not great for big fish. They compress with the weight of the fish and can go rock hard. They have been responsible for a few smashed tails, not to mention carp being bounced in the air when somebody has knelt on the mat.

Before their introduction caring anglers used to seek out the softest most fish friendly area of the bank side to do their unhooking. This appears to have now gone out of the window. The amount of times I see anglers arrive and just casually throw their mat down without a second thought is amazing. Obviously if you are fishing a fairly new gravel pit it may be Hobson’s choice, but if there are options just give a little thought as to where the best location for un-hooking may be.

Treat your unhooking mat as the last finishing touch to your fish safety considerations not your one and only consideration.

[Rainey]

Very good point grubby!

[stes]

i always put the mat in long grass for that extra padding

I think unhooking should be done the upmost care and precision, so many times I've seen anglers with their fingers deep into a fishes mouth trying to extract the hook, If it is quite deep get the forceps out and be ultra careful no to pinch the fishes skin, Even if the hook is through the bottom lip DON'T just rip it out, take it out the same way as it came in... carefully

I once saw an angler literally rip the hook out of a 22lb specimen and cause even more damage to the fishes mouth upon my questioning his approach he said it'll be fine I've got klin-ik
I was completly shocked

[grubby pants]

I think unhooking should be done the upmost care and precision, so many times I've seen anglers with their fingers deep into a fishes mouth trying to extract the hook, If it is quite deep get the forceps out and be ultra careful

To be honest on that very rare occasion when I do actually catch one I could very well be one of those anglers you see with their fingers deep into a fishes mouth. In fact the only time the forceps would come out would be if I could not reach the hook or if it was hooked in an awkward position where I could not get a proper grip of the hook.

That said there is absolutely no ripping involved quite the opposite. I prefer to unhook with my fingers because it gives me an element of feel and finesse that you simply lose when using forceps.

Either way, great care should be taken to make sure that the hook is eased out following as much as possible the exact path and angle it went in.

If you are ever struggling to unhook a fish and there are other more experienced anglers close by don’t be afraid to seek assistance. If they are proper anglers they will respect you for putting the welfare of the fish before your blushes. If they don’t, you may be the novice but you are already in many ways a better angler.

Originally Posted by grubby pants

To be honest on that very rare occasion when I do actually catch one I could very well be one of those anglers you see with their fingers deep into a fishes mouth. In fact the only time the forceps would come out would be if I could not reach the hook or if it was hooked in an awkward position where I could not get a proper grip of the hook.

That said there is absolutely no ripping involved quite the opposite. I prefer to unhook with my fingers because it gives me an element of feel and finesse that you simply lose when using forceps.

Either way, great care should be taken to make sure that the hook is eased out following as much as possible the exact path and angle it went in.

My point exactly.

[booth91]

going with grubby point.
gets to me when people say aw its Fu**s me off when i see people with out unhooking mats. but wont say a word when chris yates draggs a carp out of the river onto harsh gravel.

[grumpy]

I tend to lightly fry in olive oil and garlic delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1