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Landing a muskie


buzzsaw

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I've noticed everybody has their own opinions when it comes to the "proper way"of landing muskie. I prefer to use my hands after I've played the fish long enough (but not too long) for it to be settled down... take a quick picture and release the big fella. Some people like a net or cradle... whats your preference and why?

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Definately a net for me, reasons being that I feel much safer about hook removal and handling of the fish in a net rather than in my hand when it has a mouthful of sharp treble hooks. Also, I feel it is better for the fish, you can take your time during hook removal, I always leave the net in the water so the fish has time to recover and can still breathe, very important especially with a deep and hard to remove hook without having to destroy the fishs' slime coat by laying it on the carpet and having it flop all around knocking lures and tackle box's all over.

I just feel it is the safest and easiest on the fish, any muskie, any size, goes in the net. I know some guys like cradles, but still seems to me too much can go wrong and I have actually lost a fish in a cradle.

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I use a large net, I like the way you can use the net a "livewell" by keeping the fish in the water while you working on unhooking it. I tried a cradle in the past and found it to be rather difficult, for one you need 2 people and the thought of having your face thaat close to the hooks in the fishes mouth is rather scarey, all it takes is on head shake or a roll and you have a face full of hooks. Plus, I lost my biggest to date trying to get it in the cradle, from that day forward I never used the cradle again.

One thing I noticed about your post is that you mentioned you will play a fish long enough for it to be settled down. The idea of that scares me, for a couple reasons, water temp, and the toxic acid build up in the blood from the fight. One reason Muskie equipment is as heavy duty as it is, is so we can get them in a fast as possible and get them released without harm.

I'm in no way saying your way is wrong just stating the reason I won't fight a fish anymore then necessary.

RU

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Hiya,

First of all, have to say thank you for thinking carefully about how you land fish. To me, as more and more guys start fishing muskies every year, proper release techniques climbs higher and higher on the list of resource concerns. Every time I think we're making progress in educating anglers though, I see a horror show out on a lake someplace and am reminded of how far we have to go.

If you want to see a good discussion on landing techniques, check out the latest issue of Esox Angler Magazine. Doug Johnson and Pete Maina debate hand landing vs. a net or other landing device. It's a pretty interesting discussion.

The absolute first consideration in landing fish is having the right tools. For me, that means a 11" needle-nose pliers and a pair of Knipex hook cutters. I prefer needle-noses with a 45 degree angle on the jaws - gets the jaws of the pliers out from behind your hands so you can actually see what you're doing. The Knipex are just flat-out the best hook cutters there are. The pair I keep in my boat is 6 years old, and cut like they day I got them. A 6/0 is a one-handed light squeeze. They really are incredible.

As for how to actually land the things, I sort of fall into the "whatever's fastest" school of thought.

When I get a fish to the boat, where it's hooked, what it's hooked on, and where other hooks are pretty much decides how I'll land and unhook it. I was taught to hand land fish early on in my muskie fishing career, and I'm very comfortable and confident doing it, so if it looks like I can just grab the fish and either pop the hooks out or cut them quickly without either handling the fish for too long or getting myself hooked, that's what I do.

If it looks like it's going to be more involved I net the fish. If you're going to use a net, you MUST use a net with a knotless, coated bag. Part of the reason I learned to hand land was because the nets at the time were knotted, rough nylon, and they really tore fish up. For the past several seasons I've been using a Frabill Big Kahuna net. It's huge, so having it in the boat is sometimes a pain, but it's easy for inexperienced people to net fish with, and once the fish is in the net they can stretch out in that big bag and not get folded up. A lot of times when they get bent up they thrash, and get all wrapped up in the mesh. Plus the bag's deep enough so you can have the yoke and handle over the gunwale and still keep the fish's head in the water.

Once the fish is in the net, I either pop the hooks out with a pliers, or start cutting. I cut a lot of hooks. I bet I cut hooks on half my fish. If the hooks don't come out with one tug, I reach for the cutters. It's faster, you aren't tearing up the fish yanking on hooks, and the less time you spend with your hands on a fish with a face full of hooks, the less likely one of them will end up in your hand or arm. When I net fish, I bet I cut hooks 80% of the time. I start out by cutting every hook I can see, whether it's in the fish or not, just to get them out of the way. Replacement hooks are cheap, and even if you have to ruin a bait once in a while, it's worth it.

A couple of you mentioned cradles. I used them for a while. For handling fish, they are the most fish friendly, but they aren't always user friendly, and I've lost some fish because of them. Frabill is bringing back the Kwik Kradle this year, which is sort of a net/cradle hybrid. I'll be using one this summer. Best of both worlds really. Can net fish, then have them sitting in the bottom of the cradle while you work on them. It's live having the fish sitting on a table while you unhook them. To me, about the most fish-friendly landing device there is...

Cheers,

RK

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I am a newbie but I go about it very differently.

Heavy equipment is used to not only throw 3+ ounce baits, but to land a fish as quick as possible. I don't agree with "playing" a fish out, I think that would be just added stress. Fish is landed in a large net and remains in water, while the hooks are being removed. I don't like the idea of having a p!ssed off fish with a 10" suick in its face while I am trying to hand land it. Sounds like a recipie for disaster, either I am going to get hurt or the fish is going to get hurt. Nets often help in the hook removal process anyways. Less handling also means less slime coat removal.

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After seeing two people respond to my quote about "playing the fish long enough for it to be settled down" I don't mean so long that the Lactic acid buildup is so bad that the fish dies or is difficult to revive. As far as I know I've never lost a muskie practicing this technique...one never knows for certain as they could pop up later on another part of the lake... As a sidenote, I have spoken with gentlemen at Thorne bros who also catch and release this way. I guess this is the reason I started this thread, to find out other Muskie fishermans thoughts so keep them coming.

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Personally I think this way of trying to land a Muskie is either going to hurt you or the fish. I feel to land a fish in this manner you have to play them completely out,which is by no means quickly releasing the fish. I also know of a situation where 2 friends of mine were pulling #18 Rapalas for Walleyes in the Fall and hooked into a big Muskie. The fish being to big for the net they tried to land it by hand. Well to make the story short the fish made a last run, impaling a set of treble hooks into my friends palm. They told me the fish was able to tear free after a couple of minutes of thrashing. It was quite a blood bath. Just something to think about.

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I would have to say a big old beckman or frabill with fin guard netting has got to be the best if you can't cut them loose and let them go right away. I had a 52 incher this summer that my partner had to land by hand with my other buddy holding his belt to keep him from falling in. We got the fish and released her quickly but i wouldn't recommend that. In this instance we had nothing but a walleye net in the boat for some reason, and we knew that wasn't going to cut it. I have to agree with RU in that if i can cut the hooks thats what i do first while the fish is still in the water. I just keep a stock of trebles on hand and cut anything that looks like it could take time to get out. The other important thing is leaving the fish in the water while its in the net if possible. The use of heavy enough equipment however is probably even more important. I make sure my rod and line are heavy enough that i can literally horse the fish into the boat within about a minute no matter how big it is. Its been my experience that most of the big ones put up more of a fight in the net than they do out from the boat.My two biggest this year, and ever for that matter, (52 and 50-3/4) ate the bait , made a short run and came right at the boat.

A super short fight, Good needle nose , knipex hook cutters, a jaw spreader , and a huge fin saver net and you will be upping the odds that the fish goes back healthy.

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I also use a Big Frabil for landing muskies in my boat. I have tried handlanding and craddles over the years however, netting them is definately the way to go. Craddles are tough to use on Big fish and you can't use one when fishing alone. I have hand landed many in my time, and consider my self very lucky to have never had a serious accident.

If you catch enough and hand land them all you're

bound to run out of luck sooner or later. A local

doctor in Cook MN, has the wall of his office all decorated with lures that he pulled out of muskie guys that had never had a problem releasing fish.

"Ace" cool.gif

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Buy a Beckman or Frabill, a big net is just the best way to land a muskie. You can land them faster, safer and easier than by hand or cradle.

I have hand landed many and would not be affraid to do it again, but only if I don't have my net. The net will always be my first choice. I have had so many close calls, I know I am pushing my luck everytime I go in for a grab.

With a net you land them quick, get the hooks cut or pulled, then leave them in the water while you get the camera ready. Fish gets lifted, photo taken, fish goes back in the water. Total dry time only a couple of seconds.

$100 for a net, is the best money you can spend. If only for the safety factor. When you and a 45" fish are both attached to the same lure, you would offer $500 to make it stop.

Good Fishing!

Steve

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I think what it comes down to is Brains or Balls. I'm a little short on both so I'll stick to a Net! A question I have is do Jaw Spreaders hurt the fish? Seems to me that it would be one more injury to the fish. I always leave the net hanging over the side of the boat, cut the hooks if need be, take a picture if it's a good fish and release. One other thing that I think is important is to always fish with partner. The release seems to go much more smooth!

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I've always used the giant Frabill net. Sometimes I don't even have to touch the fish. I carry a pair of mini-bolt cutters and a long needle-nose pliers.

Once, while "hand-landing" a small northern with a 10 inch jake in its mouth, I ended up with two hooks through the fleshy area between my index finger and my thumb.

Lucky I had the bolt cutters.

dsludge

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Hiya,

As I said in my first post, I'll hand land or net a fish depending on the situation, but I really do prefer to hand land fish if I can. By hand landing, I can have a fish unhooked and swimming off in a few seconds most of the time, and I just plain have to handle the fish less. But, as I said, hand landing is something I'm very confident in doing. Getting a good hold on a fish takes some practice, and really, the more tentative you are, the more likely you are to get hooked I think. Believe it or not, I've only been hooked by a muskie once, and that was one I caught by accident on a bass crankbait. I'm way, way, overdue for a disaster. Maybe this will be my year, but I hope not... (Pike on the other hand have mauled me more than once - they're 10x more dangerous I think...). To hand land, you have to be very deliberate, and very assertive. Once you're committed, you have to keep hold if a fish starts to shake a little. Once you get a good lip lock on a fish though, the only way it gets loose is if you let go... Lots of times if you can turn them upside down they seem to mellow out too. It's not for everyone, and if a net makes you more confident, by all means use one. There's no doubt that unless you're pretty confident in hand landing, a good quality net is the way to go. You can take a fish a little 'greener' with a net, and the hooks do come out pretty quick. Seems like a lot of the time the hooks catch in the net and come out on their own.

The main reason I'm posting again though is to add something I forgot to mention before, and that's pinching down barbs. If you want to really speed up release time and make it easy on the fish and yourself, pinch down your barbs. I fish alone a fair amount, and after a near-disaster with a fish a couple years ago, I decided to start pinching barbs down somewhat. After hearing a horror story that could have been a lot worse if it weren't for pinched down barbs from a friend last fall, I'm pinching them all down. I don't think I lose any more fish as a result of pinched barbs, especially with longer softer rods which I tend to favor anyhow, and man does it ever make release easier. It's really something worth considering. Don't necessarily have to mash the barbs all the way down - just flattening them a little helps quite a bit.

Food for thought...

cheers,

RK

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Great point!! Smashing down the barbs is a great thing to do. If you ever get hooked and that barb goes below the skin with the point of the hook in even deeper it is a nasty scene! Trust me I learned the hard way when a buddy and I caught a Northern in the 12 lb range, I was trying to help him out and before I knew it I was hooked to a nervous ticked fish... I cut the hook as soon as I could but it was an ugly scene, I ended up having (in my thumb) the point of the hook buried deep with the barb under the skin poking up towards the skin!! I was like help!! I ended up getting so mad at the pain from the point of the hook (which felt like it was up against a bone in my thumb) that I pulled the thing out with a pliers and boy did it bleed... right after a nice POP from the skin busting. We went to Methodist and I got stitched up! Did I mention I still hand land fish in most cases. For the record the fish that stuck me was being pulled from a net...

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Well said and thank you. I should have added that if I have a big Ski on that is hooked to a large jerkbait with trebles flying all over the place I will NOT hand land the fish. I only do this when the hooks are buried and it seems less likely to get injured.

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Buzz, Its probably a good thing that fish was in a NET. I still believe that it's better and safer to net a fish as long as it's not pulled out of the water. Bending down the barbs is also a great thing to do. It speeds up the release with less harm.

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i'm going to add something about landing nets that i may get chastised for, but; i didn't want to buy or carry one of the huge nets. i had a 30 " landing net that i really liked, but the net part sucked! so i bought one of the great frabil replacement nets that was one or two sizes bigger.( i think two) what this gave me was a decent size opening, but with a lot more depth to the net. plenty of room to keep a fish in the water . and it doesn't take up as much room in my boat.

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Hey Del, so what your saying is the net is just deeper than your original? I think the main thing , like you said, is to keep the fish in the water. I have a Beckman that was given to me it's 34x40 and about 50" deep. Although it's a good sized net, when the handles pushed in it doesn't seem to get in the way, and the price was right.

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considering i only get to go after muskies a few times a year, you're safe ! grin.gif at least i got rid of my open water shakes yesturday! fished below a dam on a small river near here. caught and released a 3 1/2 - 4# northern! man it felt good !

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