ARRRG! Don't pick up natives by the gills!

[RichH]

I'm looking forward to the day when someone reaches down and tries to lip one like they do with bass. Can you imagine the fun, especially if it was caught with a kwikfish? :rolleyes: graemlins/1zhelp.gif

[Stratocaster]

I was just watching Al Linderers show and one of his people pulled a 20 pound plus northern pike up by the gills saying "Oh what a pretty fish, oh nice, okay we will put this one back" all the while hes supporting this fish by its gills. Its no wonder some ignorant morons continue to do this to wild fish, ive heard justifications of this of "it dosent hurt em their tough, how do you think they got this far" :mad: Fortunatly ive seen alot more people handling natives correctly than not so.

[ 05-05-2003, 01:06 PM: Message edited by: fisherdan ]

[Bankbound]

all you can do is educate clueless people as friendly as possible.
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[Pitch Pocket]

Is the gill plate the same as the gills? If you avoid touching the gills themselves is it ok?

[Firedog]

Pitch Pocket, hands and fingers should go no where in side the gill plate. If you have to lift a fish do it with a hand under the shoulders and a hand around the tail. Best not to remove them from the water at all.

Chinarider, I was on the CW from about 11 till 4 and the bite was dead then also. I left a little earlier than I wanted though. Needed to get bait for tomorrow.

[ 05-05-2003, 06:01 PM: Message edited by: firedog ]

[The Big Tuna]

Can someone post a pic of a properly handled native fish for all of the people who are reading this post and wondering? Perhaps this can be the start of the grassroots movement:)

[Thumper]

Doesn't it just fry you to watch the "In-Fisherman" on TV. Those paragons of fishing wisdom. Holding those gorgeous steelhead and salmon up by the gills for the camera, then carefully releasing them. Naive klutzes! (is that OK Geek?) :grin:

[Pete]

Originally posted by The Big Tuna:
Can someone post a pic of a properly handled native fish for all of the people who are reading this post and wondering? <font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">There's the rub ... a native fish is properly handled when it isn't handled ... no net, not out of the water. Sometimes folks will suggest that they can get the hooks out better by using a net. Yet, the fish shouldn't be touched and certainly shouldn't be removed from the water. Touching can damage the protective slime coating the fish - remember some of these fall fish have to survive through the warm water of summer before they spawn in the fall. Also, lifting the fish from the water can cause parts of their gills to collapse and then they fail to exchange oxygen properly and the fish may die up to 12 hours later. For best advice, look in the ODFW regulation handbook.

[chinarider]

I was down at the catwalk in OC from 6-930 - 2 fish total (5 more in boats), 1 Hatchery and one Native.

Once the native was in the net (Hard to release them any other way there) and it was de-hooked, the guy reaches down into the net to lift the fish out by the gills!

I think someone told this guy not too - I was out of earshot - But they ended up putting th net in the water and releasing that way.

What is wrong with people? The clueless seem to be multiplying at an enormous rate lately!

Anyway, thanks for letting me vent - I feel somewhat better now.

Tom

[redfish89]

Some people just don't get it... graemlins/stupid.gif

[jimh]

Many of the people on the fishing shows pick up their fish that way. It isn't surprising that people on the rivers/lakes in NW do the same thing.

Perhaps, there needs to be a grass roots compaign to educate the TV hosts.

[fishing is life]

all you can do is educate clueless people as friendly as possible.

we were out yest afternoon and we see this crew of bankies around the Milw ramp on the Willamette keep a keeper sturgeon. Bankbound (one of the guys i was with)yells out to them to let them know it was closed. remember we were all clueless at some point.

[night stocker]

i seen a guide boat about 2 1/2 weeks ago in the trestle area(milwakie) hook a fish.he picks it out of the net by the gills,shows his clients,then my bud said he torpedoed it back in the water.i didn't see that part as i went back to the trolling motor.i just thought it was a clipped fish.about a half hour later i see this fish on it's side .i don't know if that was the same fish or not,but that guide didn't have too much respect for fish :whazzup: i never saw him the rest of the day as he trolled out of there.but a couple days later,i seen a dad and two kids at the sellwood br clip the leader witch is a good release :smile:

[Firedog]

Saw one of the worst examples of how to treat a fish today in OC. Guy hooks and lands a nice fish in the mid 20's, nets it then proceeds to pick it up and apear to weigh it. Then just tosses it back in the river, needless to say it floated away. Didn't get a chance to say anything to him as he was above us and went back up to fishing, shortly after that he left but was on full plane going through the trollers :mad: Now I remeber why it has been so long since I fished out of a boat in OC. Like David Johnson said in one of his reports awhile back it is a love hate thing.

Got the driftboat hooked and heading for a relaxing afternoon now, a lot better than the zoo up there. :smile:

[ 05-06-2003, 11:35 AM: Message edited by: firedog ]