Photos of Bass

[Crabman]

We all know fish don't like being taken out of the water but sometimes it's necessary to dislodge a hook. On my boat, we never use a net while bass fishing. I try to unhook all bass being released alongside the boat and I'm successful most of the time. Occasionally, we bring one aboard if it's deep hooked. My method is usually using my thumb and grabbing the lower lip. Many fishermen will say this can hurt the fish. Another method is slipping your hand behind the gill plate and in front of the gills. What's your method.

 

[george]

I always lip them.

 

[Double Trouble]

I dont bring any bass onboard unless I am going to keep it,if I cant get the hook out with a de hooking tool I just cut the leader as short as possible.

 

[Crabman]

How about a photo? You got a buddy out with you and he catches his first bass and it's an over the slot fish. Will you take the fish out of the water for a photo? How about your personal best, do you take a photo. I'm sorry to say, I will bring an occasional fish onboard for a photo. Does that make me the cause of the supposed decline in the bass population? I don't think so. I'm as gentle as possible and swim the fish with a very high success rate of fish swimming off.

 

[Chinacat]

How about a photo? You got a buddy out with you and he catches his first bass and it's an over the slot fish. Will you take the fish out of the water for a photo? How about your personal best, do you take a photo. I'm sorry to say, I will bring an occasional fish onboard for a photo. Does that make me the cause of the supposed decline in the bass population? I don't think so. I'm as gentle as possible and swim the fish with a very high success rate of fish swimming off.

Personally, I have no problem with that whatsoever
I do take exception with the generation of guys that promote themselves as catch and release only and are more interested in how cool they look with picture after picture of themselves holding up fish for photos and frown on the rest of us that keep fish to eat.
I have no definitive proof to back it up my I think that type of behavior of dragging fish across rocks or the beach and out of the water for a picture has to have a bigger negative effect on the population than me taking the occasional keeper from time to time

 

[Crabman]

Didn't think about surf casting. I'm not knocking them but they probably do put a lot stress on a fish at times. Oh well, I'm glad I'm not a fish. I'm getting tired of worrying about what other people think. I, like most of us on here, like to fish. I don't want to hurt a fish if I can help it but I will take a special photo or keep a legal fish when I want to. With that said, I've been bass fishing well over sixty years and on Saturday got my personal best and took a photo. The fish had to come aboard for a weighted hook in it's throat. I don't release them if they are hooked deep without trying to get the hook out. It was handled as best I could, weighed and a photo was taken. I've had a lot of fish in the lower fifty pound range. I thought this fish was going to go 60 but it was instead, it was 58. It swam away after a bit of a swim along side the boat. Fish was taken in the Debs area on a pod.

 

[WhatKnot]

Now that’s a Bass

 

[Fishscale]

 

[Chinacat]

View attachment 62945

Those look like keepers and heading to the table so no issue there

 

[OVERBORED]

I NEVER go near the gills but to each their own.

 

[Crabman]

Wish I had your crew Fishscale. Our day was slow with only the one fish. Others had a few smaller fish on Mojoes and the occasional pod along the beach. During the run home, we saw scattered small pods but didn't hook up.

 

[Crabman]

I NEVER go near the gills but to each their own.

No argument here and I agree the gills are delicate but I think slipping your hand between the gill plate and gills is better than leaving a retrievable weighted hook that is used for snagging bunker in the throat or worse stomach of a bass. The hooks we use are not going to corrode quick enough to allow that fish to live. Imagine a hook in the throat of a bass. The next bunker meal will probably get snagged in the throat and kill the fish. I guess the comforting part of cutting off the hook is that you see the fish swim away only to die out of sight.

Overboard, what's your method of lifting a bass to retrieve a hook?

 

[OVERBORED]

I'll only net a fish if it's still green. Lift it to the gunnel leaving it in the net.
I remove all hooks in the jaw. Gut hooked fish I just cut the leader next to the hook and release.

 

[longcast]

Surf fishing is another story, especially from a jetty. As best as you try from a jetty, especially on a rough night, the fish may get a bit banged up. I always tried to get close to the water and land and release a fish without beating it up too much. But there were times fish got beat up. I am not as quick to run down a jetty to land a fish and noticed they were getting beat up a bit more, so my jetty time has diminished. One, for safety reasons, and two for the fish's chance of survival. The one good thing is 90% of my inlet jetty fishing was and still is a single hook bucktail. Easier to grab and quick hook removal. Darters under the light with a pounding surf was always a challenge. Those days were awesome, but have now passed.

 

[george]

No argument here and I agree the gills are delicate but I think slipping your hand between the gill plate and gills is better than leaving a retrievable weighted hook that is used for snagging bunker in the throat or worse stomach of a bass. The hooks we use are not going to corrode quick enough to allow that fish to live. Imagine a hook in the throat of a bass. The next bunker meal will probably get snagged in the throat and kill the fish. I guess the comforting part of cutting off the hook is that you see the fish swim away only to die out of sight.

Overboard, what's your method of lifting a bass to retrieve a hook?

Like many others, I suspect that numerous bass with hooks still lodged within them eventually perish. The prevalence of gut hooking seems puzzling, especially considering the mandatory use of circle hooks. But that's a topic for another conversation.

I've adopted a method commonly used by freshwater bass anglers, which involves snipping the leader and gently threading the line out through the gill plate, followed by a gentle pull. This technique has been particularly successful with largemouth bass. Observing a fish swim away unencumbered by a hook leads me to believe that its survival chances are considerably improved. There's a video I've shared below that demonstrates a very similar approach, but specifically using circle hooks for striped bass. Please start the video at around 4 minutes and 20 seconds to see the method in action.

Regarding photographing bass, in my opinion, we invest a great deal of effort into safeguarding these magnificent fish. Our protective measures evolve constantly: one day it's a single fish at 28 inches, the next it's a range of 28-34 inches, and in the near future it will be restricted to 28-31 inches. Now, the use of circle hooks is mandatory with certain baits. The least an angler can do, given these rules, is to take a quick photograph before the fish is released. I personally capture images of many of my catches and take pleasure in revisiting these memories, especially when they resurface on the anniversaries of these catches. Just this morning, I was reminded of three separate occasions when I had caught fish on this very date in Kensico over three different years.

We strive to protect this exceptional gamefish, but it's crucial not to eliminate all the incentives that attract new anglers to our community.