Netting Courtesy

[thewalleyeguy]

About a month ago I was ice fishing with a friend of mine. I hooked into a big northern and I had him in the hole. He said thet he would go down and grab it during the fight if it came in the hole. When it was in the hole I thought he was going to grab it. After not doing so it thrashed and broke the line . What do you guys think about that .

[PerchJerker]

"Stuff" happens

Bummer you lost the fish

[KJSnider]

Call me crazy, but I don't think I would have grabbed the thrashing northern either.

KJ

[Willy Walleye]

I think your friend should have stuck his hand down the throat of the northern and pulled him out!!! Worry about the hospital bill later.....Good time to invest in a gaf hook!!!!

[porterhouse]

Sounds like your friend needs to buy you a few rounds!!!

Brian

[garytheguide]

im convinced....when you die...you get to see and hold allthe fish you have lost or missed...and so it goes......

[Mark Christianson]

Once bitten, twice shy........

[icehousebob]

I had a similar happening years ago on Mille Lacs. I was fishing Perch when something big hit my bait. I called my friend, Dennis, to come over from his side of the fish house and land it for me. The ice was clear and he looked down and saw one of the biggest Eelpout either of us had seen. He looked at me and said,"You go to ( a really bad place)" and sat down again. Since he was fishing in my fish house and had ridden up in my truck, I should have yelled at him, but I was too busy laughing.

[Neiko]

My friend and I were fishing Red and he got a 36 inch northern on his 2lb 2 year old line and we went through the same thing almost. He was really nervous because he never had a fish that big. I was too because I didn't want to be the guy that lost it for him. Well he got it to the whole and I tried to grab him but the jig hook has exposed and he started thrashing at my hand so I pulled out. My buddy was worried at this point because it started to go back down the whole so I rolled up my sleeve the best I could and reached past the fish towards his tail and scooped him out of the hole. He was one happy camper then. We took some pics and let him go. The next year he returned the favor on a 27inch walleye I had. I would have hate to think how it would of ended if one of us lost the others fish. I honestly believe that if he had lost my fish I couldn't blame him for it. Stuff happens and that is what makes great fish stories.

[Valv]

Wow, are you blaming your friend becouse you lost the fish ???

Next time with no gaff use a heavy glove or your coat sleeve, fish will bite it and with Northern's teeth shape it will be tough to let it go, so you will be able to pull it up.

Buy a gaff and don't blame the friends, they will stick around longer

[DARK30]

I guess its time to have a legal document signed by both the angler and the grabber that spells everything out before hand. Stuff like "the angler may not expect a perfect outcome and not ever question his buddies lack of dexterity in public" AND "the grabber doesn't need to feel like a heel when he fails to land a fish that the angler is too inexperienced to land himself"

If the fish in question was of trophy status and all the legal disclaimers have been signed...each fisherman should just get over it. Have a couple rolls of lifesavers ready in the first aid kit.

[wyldewal]

A similar thing happend to outdoorran a few years ago. We were fishing on LOTW and had only a few bites all day. We were watching the graph when a school of smelt or whitefish came through and below it there were two big marks. He cranked up the jigging spoon he was using and BAM he got a hit. He knew it was a big fish and I told him I would grab it. After a few hectic minutes of throwing stuff out of the way I was ready. After a few more minutes the fish was ready too. He got the head into the hole and before I got to it the hook popped out. Well I wasn't going to let this one get away, so I was arm deep in the hole imeadiatly, and I managed to grab the fish. We took a few pictures of the 10 pound walleye and let it go. (We couldn't have done that with a gaff.) If we would have lost it the fish I'm sure it would have wieghed at least 15 pounds . I've been known to make some great grabs and some awsome nets, but thats because I spend more time netting and grabbing than I do catching.

Sometimes stuff happens and it can't be helped, and I'm sure your buddy feels bad. Just remember no worries.

[Down Deep]

Do your friend a favor and get over it quickly. About 10 years ago I muffed a net job on a supersized walleye that my main fishing buddy caught. After about 5 years of hearing about it everytime I picked up the net to snag a fish for him or someone else, I finally told him that if he ever brought it up again he'd have a smile the exact size of my big net's hoop he finally relented. Sometimes $#*t happens.

[TSCTSC]

Learn to bring the fish into the hole and grab it yourself. Dun trust no one. :-))

[Eastwind]

While you are playing the fish, you always have a choice to make. Should I land it myself or should I accept help landing it? Either way, it is your choice to make and your fish to lose or land. Get on with your life, if you put a guilt trip on everyone that has a mishap trying to land a fish for you, you'll be landing all your fish by yourself someday. You'll probably be fishing alone too.

[riverrat56]

I'm always the first one to offer to help land a fish, been arm deep in the hole and knee deep in mud before, dont mind one bit landing other peoples fish, but usually I like to land my own fish, that way I can't blame anyone for it.

[justin32]

heck the way i c it i doesnt matter what kind of fish it is i will grab it as long as it is big dont care how much it will hurt . i once landed a 37 inch norhtern by reachinng into its mouth and pulling it in the boat. got 7 stitchs thought but i thinks it always worth it. pain end glory doesnt

[Quickstrike]

I personally don't think i know anyone who has never blown a net or landing job. It happens! This past summer on Lake Michigan I blew the net job on the biggest salmon of the entire trip and got caught doing so on videotape . I also lost a 30 in+ steelhead that a buddy had hooked right on shore. You'll have your spectacular landings and then the ones you try hard to forget about. Landing the fish is a big part of fishing.

[Guest]

You cant blame your partner for the lost fish.. it just happens sometimes. A thrashing northern at the bottom of the ice? No way, my hand aint going there. I learned long ago to let the fish move around until you can lead it into the hole..

I got desperate and reached for a 44" muskie at lake harriet years back. I was heavy into musky fishing at the time, I can gently grab them under the gill plate in the open water with my eyes closed and safely land the fish.. its a whole new ball game under the ice, but I was confident with my skills of landing fish. That confidence soon turned into a thrashing fish once I made contact with it. That thrashing left me with a mature musky's jaws around my hand(coincidence).. only my thumb was sticking out. I landed the fish by graping the lower jaw, but its mouth was closed on my 4 fingers and part of my palm.. lots of blood coming from the fish as it came up out of the hole and none of it was from the fish(it was mine). The fish did get released unharmed, but I seriously considered musky steaks on the BBQ. My big mistake was never taking into consideration that when these fish flare.. they do it with their mouth open.. you do not want your hand in the way of that. That is exactly what happened to me.. ending up with my hand in its mouth was a coincidence.. but it still hurt!

I dont care whose fish it is.. I am not reaching for it unless its in a reasonably safe position to land! I would rather noodle for catfish than do a blind dive for a northern under the ice any day.

You got a *one that got away story*.. better than a goose-egg story.