unixzip

I caught two good size pikes (6-8 lbs) while bass fishing this summer.
I was careful taking the hooks out and just took a couple of pictures
before releasing them. Both times the fish swam away but stayed close
to the boat and very close to the surface. Within 10 minutes or so
both fish died. I'm pretty pissed since I'm strictly catch-and-release
guy. Are pike a lot more sensitive than bass or is it just a little
bad luck on my part?
I would say that the fish were out of the water only 30-45 seconds or
so.
Thanks
ROn

chris rennert

Ron,

IT depends on how they were handled. I know a lot of people grab them over
the top of the gill plate and squeeze , since they want to avoid the gill
rakers at all cost. Well doing that seems to really put a lot of stress on
them. Unfortunately inheritant of the Northern Pike they are very high
strung and getting a decent picture while trying to keep them calm enough so
they don't move during the photo usually causes them injury.
I usually catch between 20 and 30 a year, and have yet to have one die
because of handling, (I did lose one to deep hooking, and had a buddy fillet
it for me). But, I never take pictures of them, I pretty much grab the hook
with pliers over the side of teh boat and remove the hook that way. You may
have just been very unlucky, and by posting it here I can tell you were not
happy about their demise. But sometimes, stuff just happens, even if you do
everything in your power to release them unharmed, sometimes it just isn't
enough.

Take care ,

Chris

hoosier13

I have read articles concerning catch and release. According to the
author many fish do not survive; with stress given as the main culprit.
I started fishing late in life, when catch and release was already in
vogue. Like you I feel terrible when catch and release fails. Do not
beat yourself up over it. You sound like an excellent sportsman that
tries to release fish unharmed.
Bill

marty

I think because you can't lip 'em you have to handle them in a way that's
potentially more harmful to them. Also, a lot of the pike I catch tend to
clamp their jaws down with the lure in their mouth, making the unhooking
even more time-consuming while handling them in a less-than-ideal way. But I
don't have a clue if they're inherently more sensitive to handling and being
out of the water than other fish.

peter charles

We normally fish for pike with a flyrod so the single hook is fairly
easy to remove and they rarely take the fly deep. We have a very low
loss rate so the single hook is serving us well. If you want to C&R
pike, switching to a single, barbless hook will certainly help
matters, plus there's a lot less chance that a thrashing pike will
sink a hook into you.

We also use a cradle if we want a photo, where we just swim a large
pike into it, remove the hook while it's still in the water, then lift
it, cradle and all, then let the front part of the cradle drop away
and take the photo. We only use the cradle on large pike, otherwise,
we reach over the side, grab the leader, and slip the hook out with
the fish still in the water.

Last time out we kept these two for shore lunch - yummy!

http://www.mountaincable.net/~pcharles/byng-2.jpg

Peter

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