Wabamun Report and Fish Grips

[RavYak]

Was out at Wabumun today hoping to break the 10 lb pike mark for the first time.

Overall was a beautiful day and fishing was good as well with 30 pike landed. Best was 34" which according to weight tables should be around the 11 lb range. My scale read 9 lbs which seems odd since he was pretty chunky(see below). Next best was 31" and read 7.5 lbs.

http://imageshack.us/a/img208/1356/dre6.jpg

This was the first time I used the fish grips as seen in the picture. Overall quite happy with them, you can't buy them in Edmonton but can order online from Bass Pro or Amazon. They have quite a wide gripping surface so it doesn't rip the lips even if the pike thrashes around(as a few 4 lbers tried doing). They also float which is nice as well. Only thing kind of tricky is getting the pike to open their mouths.

[HuyFishin]

I have the same fish grip, if you look closely it actually tears the lips right open or rubs there surface skin till there is a dime size of raw flesh showing under the jaw when u release them. I try to only use it when I really have to

[Alberta Bigbore]

Congrats on the fish.

[RavYak]

I have the same fish grip, if you look closely it actually tears the lips right open or rubs there surface skin till there is a dime size of raw flesh showing under the jaw when u release them. I try to only use it when I really have to

Hmm, I checked a few of mine while reviving them and don't believe I had any torn lips. I did notice the rubbing you mention but that is minor imo.

I only use them if I need to bring them into the boat say if the fish is hooked deep or for taking a picture. Otherwise I just use pliers and unhook them in the water.

They also keep the fishes mouth open slightly which helps with deep hook removal. A lot better then using those stupid mouth spreaders.

[HuyFishin]

must be just me haha I had one that pierce right through, I felt horrible inside

:snapoutofit:

[Graffy91]

Hmm, I checked a few of mine while reviving them and don't believe I had any torn lips. I did notice the rubbing you mention but that is minor imo.

I only use them if I need to bring them into the boat say if the fish is hooked deep or for taking a picture. Otherwise I just use pliers and unhook them in the water.

They also keep the fishes mouth open slightly which helps with deep hook removal. A lot better then using those stupid mouth spreaders.

Be a man and touch the fish...

[RavYak]

must be just me haha I had one that pierce right through, I felt horrible inside

:snapoutofit:

I have only used it the one day on at most 10 fish(sure you have used yours more) so not counting it out but overall I think they are more fish friendly then a boga grip or cheaper equivalent which have such small contact areas.

A net may be better in a boat but they have their downsides as well. I primarily got these grips to use in my kayak so I can hold onto fish in the water easily and I think they will be good for that.

Overall I think a multi treble hook lure does much more damage to a fish then something like the grips or net. I am going to have to try using a couple single hooks instead as it was starting to bother me somewhat with hooking pike deep or them rolling and foul hooking themselves. I don't mind it on lakes where I can keep a pike if I believe it is mortally wounded but on lakes like Wabamun it is hard throwing them back although I guess there are lots of other bigger fish etc so won't go to waist.

[RavYak]

Be a man and touch the fish...

Works fine if using a spoon, jig or even small crankbaits but with the large crankbaits I use 90% of the time now it is just too dangerous. Sliced myself once and seen others do it as well so fish either gets released while still in the water or if I can't get the hook out(deep etc) then they are brought into the boat by net or grips.

[Lefty-Canuck]

Personally I try to use singles in C&R only lakes (easy when you fly fish :)) and I avoid as much as possible bringing pike into the boat.....just flip the hook off with pliers at the edge.....but thats just me.

LC

[RavYak]

Peronsally I try to use singles in C&R only lakes (easy when you fly fish :)) and I avoid as much as possible bringing pike into the boat.....just flip the hook off with pliers at the edge.....but thats just me.

LC

I have so much luck with a few different crankbaits I almost never go back to single hook lures anymore. I will have to try 2 single hooks instead of 2 trebles though or avoid C&R lakes as they definitely can do some pretty significant damage.

[Graffy91]

Works fine if using a spoon, jig or even small crankbaits but with the large crankbaits I use 90% of the time now it is just too dangerous. Sliced myself once and seen others do it as well so fish either gets released while still in the water or if I can't get the hook out(deep etc) then they are brought into the boat by net or grips.

Sliced yourself?

How did you manage that...

Hold the fish by their belly, they don't move.

If you can't remove a hook out of a fishes mouth there's something wrong there...

[RavYak]

Sliced yourself?

How did you manage that...

Hold the fish by their belly, they don't move.

If you can't remove a hook out of a fishes mouth there's something wrong there...

I was sliced by a tooth using regular pliers trying to get a hook out. Fish thrashed and my hand was too close... I now use 11 inch pliers and hand doesn't go near mouth.

Holding fish by their belly does work good but only on smaller fish up to around 3 lbs imo. A 4 lb jack is too long and thick to hold them securely this way while trying to remove a deep hook. With those grips I can hold them half way out of the water and it keeps their mouth open enough for me to use pliers in the other hand to remove hook. Doesn't hurt the fish and keeps me from risking my fingers/hands. But go ahead and keep doing it the manly way... Have fun when a 2 lb jack tries to swallow a 6 inch crankbait(had that happen a couple times yesterday...).

[FishingFrenzy]

Sliced yourself?

How did you manage that...

Hold the fish by their belly, they don't move.

If you can't remove a hook out of a fishes mouth there's something wrong there...

No need to be condescending... you don't know the circumstances.


With bigger girls it can be hard to support them with one hand, and if you use one on the tail one on the belly it leaves there head hanging.

Not to mention pike are slippery as butter.


Not sure why people are starting the fish handling debate once again, but personally I don't see an issue here. RavCanoe posts some great threads and actually contributes to the forum.


Like my momma always told me...if you dont have something nice to say, dont say anything.

[waterninja]

congrats on the fish. darn it's been beautifull weather to be out on the lake.

[bigrfish]

No hijack intended....Damn..Wab is fun..Rav u wanna hit it tomorrow...Lookin for someone to fill the passenger seat.

[Fishfinder]

No need to be condescending... you don't know the circumstances.


With bigger girls it can be hard to support them with one hand, and if you use one on the tail one on the belly it leaves there head hanging.

Not to mention pike are slippery as butter.


Not sure why people are starting the fish handling debate once again, but personally I don't see an issue here. RavCanoe posts some great threads and actually contributes to the forum.

Like my momma always told me...if you dont have something nice to say, dont say anything.

Ahhh, well said. Big fat x2:)

Edit: Congrats on the fish OP, keep plugin', I'm sure your 10#er will come soon...maybe even a ill bigger...:)

[Graffy91]

No need to be condescending... you don't know the circumstances.


With bigger girls it can be hard to support them with one hand, and if you use one on the tail one on the belly it leaves there head hanging.

Not to mention pike are slippery as butter.


Not sure why people are starting the fish handling debate once again, but personally I don't see an issue here. RavCanoe posts some great threads and actually contributes to the forum.


Like my momma always told me...if you dont have something nice to say, dont say anything.


They don't sell fish grips for a reason, they do more damage than good.

[burbotman]

They don't sell fish grips for a reason, they do more damage than good.

Op great fish and thanks for sharing.

Re fish grips: like any tool or implement they can be use full in some situations but not all. They are wonderful for ice fishing pike especially in cold weather. As fish comes up hole attach grip as soon as lower jaw breaks surface. Hold fish there in the water column while taking hooks out(no freezing slime coat) pull out quick pic, turn and back down hole
Granted I do agree for many the cons outweigh the pros.

So OP, again good post and best of luck in your lunker search

[RavYak]

They don't sell fish grips for a reason, they do more damage than good.

They don't sell fish grips in Edmonton because Edmonton doesn't have a Bass Pro Shop... You can still order them online from Bass Pro, Amazon and many other companies including fish grips themselves. In Edmonton you can buy Boga Grips and multiple cheaper versions which from what I have seen can be much more damaging to fish.

I am 99% sure you have never used a pair of fish grips and thus don't know what you are talking about... Now please stop trying to ruin my thread with your biased uninformed opinions.

[Geezle]

Be a man and touch the fish...

Sliced yourself?

How did you manage that...

Hold the fish by their belly, they don't move.

If you can't remove a hook out of a fishes mouth there's something wrong there...

They don't sell fish grips for a reason, they do more damage than good.

Wow Graffy, why the condescending d-bag tone? I thought you were a little better than that...

Walleye will usually calm down when you hold them from underneath, but the same can't be said of all species. Try holding a pike over 5lbs by the belly and see how much fun you have. Ever see what a laker does when you get it in a boat? Blanket statements don't look good on you.

And lots of places sell different fish grips, or boga grips or whatever you want to call them. it was just this specific type that he had to order in. Perhaps check your facts before bashing other members here.

[HuyFishin]

its way better then a hook in the mouth lol, or hands getting lodged into the gills,

[cube]

Was out at Wabumun today hoping to break the 10 lb pike mark for the first time.

Overall was a beautiful day and fishing was good as well with 30 pike landed. Best was 34" which according to weight tables should be around the 11 lb range. My scale read 9 lbs which seems odd since he was pretty chunky(see below). Next best was 31" and read 7.5 lbs.

This was the first time I used the fish grips as seen in the picture. Overall quite happy with them, you can't buy them in Edmonton but can order online from Bass Pro or Amazon. They have quite a wide gripping surface so it doesn't rip the lips even if the pike thrashes around(as a few 4 lbers tried doing). They also float which is nice as well. Only thing kind of tricky is getting the pike to open their mouths.

Sounds like you had a great day, Congrats.

I used to use fish grips (I have 2 different kinds) until a couple of years ago. I became concerned that I might be doing some unintended damage to the fish I was using them. So I did a quick search and found that the scientific evidence is now coming in and it's pretty clear that they cause damage, especially on large fish, so I have chosen to no longer use them.

Couple of examples.

In the Journal "Fisheries Research" 2008 "An evaluation of the injury and short-term survival of bonefish (Albula spp.) as influenced by a mechanical lip-gripping device used by recreational anglers
Andy J. Danylchuka,b,∗, Aaron Adamsc,d, Steven J. Cookea,b, Cory D. Suskia,e"

"the lip-gripping device caused mouth injuries to 80% of bonefish restrained in the water and 100% of bonefish held in the air, always when fish thrashed while being held. Some of the injuries were severe (40%) and included separating the tongue from the floor of the mouth, creating tears and holes in the soft tissue of the lower jaw, and splitting the mandible."

A. Gould & B. S. Grace (2009) Injuries to Barramundi Lates calcarifer Resulting
from Lip-Gripping Devices in the Laboratory, North American Journal of Fisheries Management,
29:5, 1418-1424, DOI: 10.1577/M08-232.1
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1577/M08-232.1
“All fish held with lip grippers and receiving no additional support had small holes in the membranes of the lower jaw, compared with 81% of fish that were held with lip grippers and supported by a hand. X-rays showed that lifting fish with lip grippers altered the alignment of the vertebrae, which did not return to normal after 3 weeks”


I now release in the water whenever possible and use a rubberized knotless basket net only if I need to.

Given that there is no injury free way of handling fish, except not fishing, just do the best you can with whatever you decide to use.

[RavYak]

There is nothing that specifically states fish grips were used in that article. Fish grips are different then boga grips and other similar lip grips in that they have much larger gripping surface area and are plastic instead of steel. I did a lot of research on these and watched lots of youtube videos of kayakers using them. In my research they seemed much more fish friendly then boga grips and boga rip offs so that is why I decided to order them as I need something to help hold the fish from my kayak when I can't easily remove the hook(I can't pull a large pike into kayak and can't take a large net with me). In my experience so far none of the fish had serious visible injuries(punctures etc).

One thing interesting in that article if you look at the link is the part of putting some fishes spines out of alignment. That shows that you shouldn't lift a fish out of water by lip grippers, hook(would do the same) or even probably by gill plate, fish just aren't meant to support their weight by their neck. Only way to really safely release a fish C&R is to not bring them out of the water and imo these grips if used properly could assist in that.

This topic has been beaten to death already so that is all I have left to say on it.

[Chief16]

Sounds like you had a great day, Congrats.

I used to use fish grips (I have 2 different kinds) until a couple of years ago. I became concerned that I might be doing some unintended damage to the fish I was using them. So I did a quick search and found that the scientific evidence is now coming in and it's pretty clear that they cause damage, especially on large fish, so I have chosen to no longer use them.

Couple of examples.

In the Journal "Fisheries Research" 2008 "An evaluation of the injury and short-term survival of bonefish (Albula spp.) as influenced by a mechanical lip-gripping device used by recreational anglers
Andy J. Danylchuka,b,∗, Aaron Adamsc,d, Steven J. Cookea,b, Cory D. Suskia,e"

"the lip-gripping device caused mouth injuries to 80% of bonefish restrained in the water and 100% of bonefish held in the air, always when fish thrashed while being held. Some of the injuries were severe (40%) and included separating the tongue from the floor of the mouth, creating tears and holes in the soft tissue of the lower jaw, and splitting the mandible."

A. Gould & B. S. Grace (2009) Injuries to Barramundi Lates calcarifer Resulting
from Lip-Gripping Devices in the Laboratory, North American Journal of Fisheries Management,
29:5, 1418-1424, DOI: 10.1577/M08-232.1
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1577/M08-232.1
“All fish held with lip grippers and receiving no additional support had small holes in the membranes of the lower jaw, compared with 81% of fish that were held with lip grippers and supported by a hand. X-rays showed that lifting fish with lip grippers altered the alignment of the vertebrae, which did not return to normal after 3 weeks”


I now release in the water whenever possible and use a rubberized knotless basket net only if I need to.

Given that there is no injury free way of handling fish, except not fishing, just do the best you can with whatever you decide to use.

This is the best post on this thread. He has done the research and stopped harming because of hard evidence. I don't think it is fair that you are scared to cut your hand yet willing to "separate tongue from floor of mouth" and "alter the alignment of the vertebrae". Now don't get me wrong your reasoning that trebs can be near impossible to remove is very valid but I believe there are better options than a lip grip. A net or a cradle is always good, if you are not willing to switch out the trebs at least cut one off leaving two which is not the best but could be worse and of course going barbless even if it isn't mandatory. If you go barbless and a fish gets off it is not the end of the world. Who knows maybe next year you go back to the same hole and pull him out again and now he is that lunker your looking for

[Graffy91]

Wow Graffy, why the condescending d-bag tone? I thought you were a little better than that...

Walleye will usually calm down when you hold them from underneath, but the same can't be said of all species. Try holding a pike over 5lbs by the belly and see how much fun you have. Ever see what a laker does when you get it in a boat? Blanket statements don't look good on you.

And lots of places sell different fish grips, or boga grips or whatever you want to call them. it was just this specific type that he had to order in. Perhaps check your facts before bashing other members here.

Fish are going to thrash around. It's their nature, use a net, jaw spreaders.

I've used fish grips once, had a little jacks mouth get ravaged, threw them out immediately.

All you need is a net.

[HuyFishin]

I feel its the type of fish we fish for, I've used it on Cabazon and lingcod in the ocean and even when they doo thrash there lips look unharmed or torn.
When I do it to the pike there skin tears and damages and even punctures a hole in it right to the other side.

might just be the species, they may bite hard and act tough:fighting0030: but there lips are as sensitive as a baby's bottom.:(

[mooseknuckle]

Fish are going to thrash around. It's their nature, use a net, jaw spreaders.

I've used fish grips once, had a little jacks mouth get ravaged, threw them out immediately.

All you need is a net.

I'm guessing your about 18 years of age, you have lots to learn still. IMO. Ease up buddy, you've made your point now how about you let the adults talk.

[EZM]

In some instances the grips may be your best option to avoid serious injury to a fish. I use them sparingly and have them ready.Often times they are on my wrist ready to use to use if I see a deep hook set on a smaller fish. Luckily they are rarely used.

95% of the time, the fish are released in the water beside my boat with just a pair of pliers. This is, by far, the best way to handle your fish in my opinion.

There, are, however, occasions where the potential harm outweighs the alternatives ...... like a deeply hooked fish. Having that same fish thrash around and get tangled up in a net or cut by the line with no control isn't a much better option.

[Geezle]

Sliced yourself?

How did you manage that...

Hold the fish by their belly, they don't move.

If you can't remove a hook out of a fishes mouth there's something wrong there...

Fish are going to thrash around. It's their nature, use a net, jaw spreaders.

I've used fish grips once, had a little jacks mouth get ravaged, threw them out immediately.

All you need is a net.

Well, which one is it? :confused:

And again, why the need for the condescending tone?

[Graffy91]

Well, which one is it? :confused:

And again, why the need for the condescending tone?

Little fish I hold by the belly. Big ones in net.

Wasn't trying to be such a dbag about it, but f the OP is so worried about harming fish at a C&R only lake, why use lip grips?

Fish get hooked deep, that's why we use barbless, with jaw spreaders the hooks pop right out. Plus fish mortality is always a possibility while fishing for hungry jack at wabamun.


Wasn't trying to be such a dink about all this, OP was just kind of contradicting about C&R while using a instrument that rips mouths to shreds lol.

My apologies.

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

Fish are going to thrash around. It's their nature, use a net, jaw spreaders.

I've used fish grips once, had a little jacks mouth get ravaged, threw them out immediately.

All you need is a net.

I've seen jaw spreaders go right through the roof of a fishes mouth , they we miss used by someone who had no idea , sucked to be the fish it was a lesson they learned changed there tactics , if you use them lips grips properly no harm done . I love the things .


Little fish I hold by the belly. Big ones in net.

Wasn't trying to be such a dbag about it, but f the OP is so worried about harming fish at a C&R only lake, why use lip grips?

Fish get hooked deep, that's why we use barbless, with jaw spreaders the hooks pop right out. Plus fish mortality is always a possibility while fishing for hungry jack at wabamun.


Wasn't trying to be such a dink about all this, OP was just kind of contradicting about C&R while using a instrument that rips mouths to shreds lol.

My apologies.

There's always a chance of hooking a fish deep and it dieing it happens . If you hook a fish in the gullet I would recommend cutting the line as close to the hook as you can let it rust out normally within a week from what I've read and been told so I go with that , far better then pulling around and killing the fish .

Jaw spreaders , lip grips , nets all have there place . Just gotta know how to use em .

[muskokagould]

Be a man and touch the fish...

x2 :bad_boys_20: