Increasing your odds of landing that big fish......

[Fishing_Rookie_123_]

I recently lost a big fish at the top of the hole. Someone suggested using a gaff, but I want to release all big fish without injuring them. I have checked out the fish elevator, but I don't think it would have helped me with this lost fish because the ice is only 11" and the fish was well over 24".

I also made the mistake of quickly horsing this fish up to about 5 feet below the ice where I realized that I should have played him out a little better on the way up (although it was pretty cool letting this fish play himself out where I could watch him through the hole).

My guess is that I just need to practice and improve my technique for playing fish out.

Just wondering what tools or techniques you all use to make sure that your big fish doesn't become "the one that got away".

-Randy

[NyQuiLlama]

The biggest key for me is to make sure that the nose of the fish is coming up and out of the hole and that it's not sideways or anything as you pull it up. My friend lost a nice walleye a couple of days ago with that classic move. You get really excited when you see the fish and just try yanking it up without thinking or guiding the fish up. I've seen people lose big fish while screwing around with a gaff too.

[fiskyknut]

Ya man.. Hook more BIG fish and a guys bound to just get better at getting them onto the ice!!

Big fish, one of the reasons I like a bigger hole as it's alot easier to steer their noses up a 9 or 10 inch vs. anything smaller.

[CrappieAttitude]

You really need three components to make landing a good fish easier. A good knot, proper drag setting on your reel and a quality rod. Let the rod and reel do the work for you, in time the fish will get tired and the only way for him to go is out the hole.

CA

[PerchJerker]

Learn to backreel on large fish, relying on your drag alone will result in big fish lost sooner or later.

When bringing them through the ice, as noted previously make sure the fishes head is pointed up, don't try to pull them up sideways or backwards. For big fish, I either let them swim up onto the ice themselves, or I reach in and grab them ---- hoisting them out with the rod / line / hook is another big fish lost sooner or later.

Another good tip (one that I don't follow myself very often) is to get your flasher out of the hole as soon as you can if you know it's a big fish.

[fishermn]

We experience a lot of these situations when laker fishing. With two guys, we let the guy with the fish on completely focus on playing out the fish. The other guy clears everything else away from the hole and gets the depthfinder out of the way. When the fish starts to head up the hole, guy #2 pulls him out of the hole while the guy with the rod keeps tension on the line. That has worked well for us. Of course its always easier with four hand instead of two

[slipperybob]

If you are a cheap player like me, I drill a landing strip alongside of my hole. Basically I drill a half cut hole adjoining my fishing hole. That way I haul the fish right on that and so I'm not reaching into just water trying to pin the fish against an ice wall. Not gonna work on really large fishes, but the occassional slab, it's been useful, especailly using the ice scoop. The advantage of open floor portable. I don't play a fish till they are too tired if release is in the end intention.

[huntingmaxima]

slippery, I do the same thing as you. drill my first hole then i drill another hole at an angle tho the first. I either slide the fish up or use my ice scoop to pull the fish out.

[looneyducer]

First, kick the Vexilar. This will 1) get the transducer out of the hole, and 2) calm you down. That's the key to landing big fish. You have to be calm and serene, cool as a cucumber, all laid back like nothing matters all while going completely out of your mind with excitement. When you do get that pig into the hole, go ahead and get wet. Reach down into the water and get ahold of her. She's the reason you're out there anyway.

[icehousebob]

I've seen similar tactics to Slippery Bob,s done before. But, they cut a foot long channel with a chisel deep enough so it was flooded. They would bring the fish up the hole and pull it sideways so they weren't lifting with the line and the reach down and pick it up. I've tried it but haven't caught a big enough one to make it pay.

[slipperybob]

A few times, I've drilled an ice well for the fish...

Now that's really cheap trick...especially when it's right next to your fishing hole. Scoop big fish, and make it land in it. No escape, unless it totally jumps out and into hole. My only problem is all that ice shavings...in the end, it's handy. The other problem is people stepping into it. , It's already funny enough seeing somebody's foot dunk in the ice hole, but now we've got this fair large ice depression.

[wishing for walleyes]

I do everything like fishrmn does.Guy #2 wears a pair of light jersey gloves and grabs the fish without getting cut from the gills.

[slipperybob]

Somebody use to make an ice landing net a few years back. In a way I wish they made a flexible head for fish landing so that it'll fit any fishing hole...maybe be a project for me to look into, with a few ugly old net handles just hanging around.

I heard there was a flexible head landing net for open water, but that's way too big to even attempt for an ice hole. I may just have to look for at some big plastic tie straps and slip a nylon net around that and then attach that to some pole.

[EBass]

I would think the key to all of this is a really sharp hook. We use these tiny rods and tiny reels on 4lb test and 25 feet down, that hook point needs to grab and dig with not much force.

Take the ducer out of the hole. That's always fun with said beast on the line.

Proper drag tension or back reeling helps, and I try to keep the line in the center of the hole so it's not rubbing on that sharp ice.

That being calm post made sense as well.

That's all I got.

[slipperybob]

Oh why didn't I think about the other tackle stuff?

In respect, buy that small pack of expensive sharp hooks instead of the bulk package. Chrome nickel finish are harder and stronger and the average bronze hooks. Lightwire or finewire hooks are generally a lot easier to hook set with a flick of the wrist. They are also more likely to bend and less likely to make deep penetration through boney areas.

Qualtiy Rods with backbones will play a big fish better. Use a quality small openwater reel. It'll have better drag system on it and better line wrapping on your spool. Better anit-twist roller and bigger handle knob.

Yeah, even I get excited about a big fish too. But being calm and methodical about playing the fish and guiding it up through your ice hole can make a difference too.

If you know you're really after big fish, use a baitcaster... And get your buddy to reel up all the other lines adjacent to your hole. A tangle can mean a lost fish or another rod become part of the fish pulling equation. "I got a big one! No, I've got a big one! We've both got a big one! Ahh I got your line!"