landing a nice fish

[gregens]

I had a nice walleye on the last time I was out fishing. When I got it close to my hole I had trouble getting it up the hole and it came off. In the past I've also lost big fish because I've tried to pull them up the hole and they come loose. Any suggestions? I was wondering about using a gaf, but I was worried about hurting the fish.

[LaVoi]

Do not use a gaff unless you are absolutely sure it is a fish you know you will keep. It is almost impossible to gaff a fish without causing some harm. It doesn't take much to injure a gill, and that would be like someone partially tearing a persons lung out, it wouldn't be too easy to survive that. My best advice let the fish dictate what you do. If it is fighting like there is no tommorrow let it make its runs and enjoy the extended fight until it is ready to come up the hole willingly. Some will argue that extending the fight will put too much stress on a fish but I disagree. Even if you get the fish out of the hole cleanly, if it is still busting with energy a flop or two on the ice could hurt the fish as well.

[eyechaser99]

Ive lost a few too gregens like that. Ive had walleyes come right up make a run and spit out the hook. Ive had some that shake there head and spit it out in my face. It happens to even the best fisherman.

[hanson]

The best thing to do when the fish gets to the hole is to give it a little time. You can feel the fish at the bottom of the hole and which side your line is going towards. When I see where my line is going, I usually try to scoot the other way on the ice to get a little better angle and constantly adjust if the fish is circling the hole. All you have to do is get the fish's head started up the hole and it will come right up. This holds true from bluegills to gator pike.

I kept a 20 lb pike on the end of my line (4lb Fireline) for a couple minutes right under the ice until it was ready to come up. All it took was its nose to come up the hole an inch or so and it came right up. You wouldn't think you could turn a 3 1/2' fish 90 degrees into an 8" hole but it is possible, you just can't horse it.

About a month ago now, I got a 42" lake sturgeon on Lake of the Woods to turn up the hole on 6lb P-Line. It took awhile but once again, don't horse the fish. Lighten your drag up and let the fish do what it wants to do. When its ready, it'll come up the hole. If you apply too much pressure... Boing!

[almosthaddabite]

When you hook a walleye in the roof of the mouth it is actually too hard for the hook to penetrate so it is only through pressure that you control the fish, if the fish comes up to the bottom of the ice parallel and is at a right angle to the hole do not release pressure but give the fish time to turn on his own.

[marine_man]

One other tip would be to not try and lift the fish from the hole with your rod... reach down and grab the fish after it breaks the surface of the water... this especially holds true if they're hooked in the mouth... all it takes is for you to bump the fish against the hole, etc for it to get knocked off and back down the hole it goes...

marine_man

[Master Guide]

Definitly let the fish play you first, when he is ready, he/she I guess, will be a lot easier to lift through the hole, unless you are impatient, which is easy when you got a hawg on.

[njsimonson]

Isn't losing fish part of the game? Learning and growing as an angler? I remember trying to horse smallies as a kid you learn fast what not to do near the supposed end of the battle. I have seen several instances of similar behavior on the ice. Just be cool, give the fish some time.

Gaff 'em if you're keeping 'em, but if you are C&Ring them, play it cool, and keep some of the challenge in it. Perhaps a "mini-gaff" would help. Try screwing a 4/0 worm hook into a small dowel. Use this to poke the jaw area to get a gaff on a mid-sized fish (ie Walleye, 5-7 pounds). There's less chance of doing gill damage that way.

[opsirc]

I always carry a chisel with me and what I used to do in the past was chisel out the bottom of the hole. Found it was easiler to start a fish up, with the bottom cut to form a cone shape at the bottom. Easy with the ice we have now, but when it gets thicker it harder to chisel out.

Opsirc

[Jim Hudson]

Great info here... And as all others stated, letting the fish come through the hole when it is ready is key. With big fish, a lot of us get excited and want to bring it onto the ice as quick as possible.

When talking about big predators, like walleyes, pike, and trout.. Let the fish play out until you can turn the fish up into the hole, after time, you will get the hang of knowing when the time is right. A lot of these fish will want to make one more hard run when they see the light of the hole. Let em have that run, and the next time they should be ready to let you have your hands on them!!!

Slack line is another big reason people lose a lot of fish. Personally, I try to play a fish as close to the hole as possible, trying to eliminate any chance of getting slack line on a fish when I go to retrieve it from the hole. I lift my rod high with my left hand, then reach down with my right to get the fish. But, sometimes, having a partner to scoop up the fish will be better. Allowing you to concentrait on getting the fish up the hole with out getting any slack line.

Time on the ice and fighting these bigger fish of any species will be your best teacher. Good luck man!!

[CALVINIST]

One thing that works for pannies is to drill a "landing pad" right next to your hole, it's actually 2 holes that overlap, but one hole only goes down 2-4 inches. That way, when you bring your fish up, instead of lifting it out of the hole, you can "drag" it onto the ajacent landing area. Probably doesn't work on big fish, but maybe?

[gregens]

Thanks for all the good advice. I'm going up to LOW early March, so I hope I get a chance to try out some of these good tips on some lunker walleyes!