Wetting carp on the bank - is it pointless?

[kermit]

There seems to be a school of thought nowadays that pouring water over carp when they are on the bank is cited as being 'excellent fish care'. Hopefully this can open up some sensible discussion, but is this really true?

Personally I don't think there is any benefit whatsoever in wetting down fish. They should not be out of the water long enough to need 'wetting' and doing so surely only prolongs their time on the bank unnecessarily?

However, what is very important is that your mat/weigh sling should be cooled down and wetted thoroughly before the fish goes on it (particularly in hot weather) as a dry mat/sling will remove the protective mucus from the fish. Any additional wetting should not be needed as there should already be enough moisture around to prevent mucus removal.

I’m not discounting that a freshly washed fish can help improve the quality of photos. I think this was the starting point for the ‘myth’ that wetting fish down is good for them. In my opinion this myth should be scrapped and the emphasis should be on getting them properly wet (i.e. back in the lake!) sooner.

What does everyone else think?

Mike.

[smokey]

to some degree i hear what your saying mate ..but i personly dont wet my fish for looks lol ... whith the mat i uses you get a nice reses that fills with water and the fish sits happly in this , weather or not it helps the fish iam unsure but the train of though is that the fish lives in water so pouring some of the stuff over its head cant be a bad thing lol ... for me its something that doesnt keep the fish out the water for longer as b4 i take a fish out the net my mat and sling are dunked and a small bucket of water filled. Onto the mat , unhooked , washed , weighed and photos done ...then held in the water gently by the wrist of the tail until the fish kicks out of my hands ....job done ......

smokey

PS good thread tho

[munkie]

I was under the assumption that the wetting of the fish was to keep the mucus layer of the fish intact as best as possibly whilst out of the water. Everything that touches the fish should be wet so I don't see the harm in wetting the fish. Unecessary wetting though will only keep the fish from it's home longer than need be which isn't ideal.

Do people think pouring water over the gills allows the fish to "catch a breath"?

[smokey]

Originally Posted by munkie

Do people think pouring water over the gills allows the fish to "catch a breath"?

thats what i wanted to say lol lol nice one lol


smokey

[richk]

I find that it has calmed down quite a few lively ones I have landed i.e. Stops them thrashing around and possible injury.

Also on really hot days I find that even though you wet the mat down it can still be warm so again I find that water poured over the fish has a further cooling effect.

Also when your holding the fish if it flips and you hold it into your body you could remove the Protective Mucus that way but I find if the Fish is really wet this reduces the chances of it happening.

So for my part I make sure the Mat, Sling are Wet and as Cold as I can get them ie I keep moving them in the Shade until needed and when the Fish is landed it gets doused again in cold lake water. As far as I can see IMO it can only do them more good than harm.

[maz1981]

I personally pour water over every fish I catch, I see as being safe rather than sorry, I wouldn't want to risk the fish losing any protective mucus what so ever, as I see it wetting down the fish does no harm but not doing so might

[Blue]

I see it as simply keeping the fish damp and cleaning it up (if necessary, ie to remove mud, grass etc) for a decent photo. No way does a kettle full of water poured over the fish justify any extra time out of the water IMO.

[Paddy Blake.]

ok so you put water on to protect then fish fair point. But then i have seen it done were it still has bits of grass on them or dirt and then they wipe that off with there hands..... So there goes the grass mucus and all the water put on the fish in the 1st place.

[Blue]

You got to keep it all in perspective here when it comes to this protective mucus stuff. The fish probably looses a hell of a lot of it when we net them and take them over to the unhooking mat! Someone wiping a blade or two of grass off the fish ain't gonna be doing much harm to the carp.

[ChrisKnapper]

Originally Posted by Blue

You got to keep it all in perspective here when it comes to this protective mucus stuff. The fish probably looses a hell of a lot of it when we net them and take them over to the unhooking mat! Someone wiping a blade or two of grass off the fish ain't gonna be doing much harm to the carp.

Agree with you on that one Blue.

I personally dont see any harm in pouring extra water over the fish i catch from a low height. I know we need to do as much as we possibly can to return the fish in the exact same condition as when we caught it, but imagine how much mucus they lose when they spawn (!) I have caught fish that have hardly any mucus on them after spawning.

I think the most important thing (which has already been said) is to make sure that everything that comes in contact with the fish is as wet as it possibly can be. There is no harm in my opinion of having a bucket of water at the side of the mat ready for the photo's. There's nothing worse than when you see pictures of people holding the fish up for the all important trophy shot, only to see the fish covered in mud/grass/leaves (!)

[Barbless only]

The dutch use hang carp in wet/damp moss for up to 45 days in cool cellers and kept alive by feeding with bread and milk. The argument you say that water does no good is flawed and you could keep the carp alive indefinatly in a sling and keep pouring water on it from the lake. FACT!

[salford flier]

Everything should be done and dusted within minutes, weighing pics and back in the water with no hesitation.

A particular fish was out the water last week for so long, it was wearing sunglasses when they put it back. Fish care education should be made compulsory.

[kermit]

Originally Posted by Barbless only

The dutch use hang carp in wet/damp moss for up to 45 days in cool cellers and kept alive by feeding with bread and milk. The argument you say that water does no good is flawed and you could keep the carp alive indefinatly in a sling and keep pouring water on it from the lake. FACT!

Jay-sus! 45 days is a long time. Not sure I'd like to try it myself.

[Paddy Blake.]

how about this. I was a member of Farnham angling club back home. When you got you mebership there was a box with pike next to it. Before you could fish for pike you had to have done one of there many teach ins on how to handle pike,unhook and put back. You could not fish untill you had done the teach in and you book stamped.

Well with carp becoming one of a clubs major draw for members how come we dont have something like that before you can fish for carp.
Ok it will be hard some of us older ones doing it but wat price do you put on a 10 or 20 or even 30lb carp being dropped because its not being treated with due care.

You see how many post become spoilt with bitching over fish care this would help to educate yound and OLD how fish stocks should be looked after.....
Just a thought lads how about it >??????

[richk]

Originally Posted by b5bomber

how about this. I was a member of Farnham angling club back home. When you got you mebership there was a box with pike next to it. Before you could fish for pike you had to have done one of there many teach ins on how to handle pike,unhook and put back. You could not fish untill you had done the teach in and you book stamped.

Well with carp becoming one of a clubs major draw for members how come we dont have something like that before you can fish for carp.
Ok it will be hard some of us older ones doing it but wat price do you put on a 10 or 20 or even 30lb carp being dropped because its not being treated with due care.

You see how many post become spoilt with bitching over fish care this would help to educate yound and OLD how fish stocks should be looked after.....
Just a thought lads how about it >??????

Its a good Idea I am all for it especially now with the amount of Instant Anglers - All the Gear and no Idea.