# Proper Way To Hold A Rock Fish For Pics



## catman (May 28, 2001)

With the big rock now being caught during C&R season here's the proper way to hold them for pics prior to release. Don't hold them buy the lip or lay them on the sand. It will damage their internal organs. Thanks.

This pic is from the Tidal Fish forum and was just caught on the Susky Flats


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## 9 rock (Nov 30, 2008)

well if holding by the lip causes damage then what does the hook do?

9


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## RuddeDogg (Mar 20, 2004)

Nice fish.


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## Tracker16 (Feb 16, 2009)

Great pic and that cow is still fresh. Look at those fins standing up. Beautiful !!!


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## Tracker16 (Feb 16, 2009)

9 rock said:


> well if holding by the lip causes damage then what does the hook do?
> 
> 9


Holding the lip is not what causes damage. It's letting them hang by their lip that does. If you plan to release you should support the fishes body as well


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## 9 rock (Nov 30, 2008)

Tracker16 said:


> Holding the lip is not what causes damage. It's letting them hang by their lip that does. If you plan to release you should support the fishes body as well


Realy so holding them by the lip is a no no and hooking them is Ok ,, sorry cant go with ya there,, ,, the bottom line is ,its all stressfull to the fish the best way to limit the impact is never bring it in the boat in the first place release it in the water..


9


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## jlentz (Sep 11, 2005)

9 rock said:


> Realy so holding them by the lip is a no no and hooking them is Ok ,, sorry cant go with ya there,, ,, the bottom line is ,its all stressfull to the fish the best way to limit the impact is never bring it in the boat in the first place release it in the water..
> 
> 
> 9


Do you hold the fish by the hook when it is out of the water? Maybe you can pull the bass masters move and flip a fish that big in the boat. The hooked fish has his internal organs supported by its bouyancy in the water. I believe this thread is about holding the fish after it has been properly netted and landed. 

John


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## Anthony (Jul 3, 2002)

The only thing I can add is never put your fingers in the gills. I've seen too many photos with anglers knuckles deep in the gill plate.


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## catman (May 28, 2001)

9 rock said:


> Realy so holding them by the lip is a no no and hooking them is Ok ,, sorry cant go with ya there,, ,, the bottom line is ,its all stressfull to the fish the best way to limit the impact is never bring it in the boat in the first place release it in the water..9


I think you need to do a little homework about holding a big fish that's to be released but you're 100% correct about everything stressing the fish. That's the reason why I have never nor will ever fish the C&R season.


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## Green Cart (May 14, 2002)

*Holding the fish correctly*

Technically, one should hold the rockfish as shown in the boat picture, but the problem is how to bring the fish up from the beach to the standing holding position without the fish squirming abd jumping out of the arms. Also, it is very hard not to get sand on the fish. Yeah! I guess I should wear wading boots and go into the water to pick up the fish. Like Catfish said, there should not be a catch and release program in the first place. I know that make me a hypocrite as I do catch and release the rockfish, but that is because I have not yet caught enough to satisfy myself.


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## 9 rock (Nov 30, 2008)

catman said:


> I think you need to do a little homework about holding a big fish that's to be released but you're 100% correct about everything stressing the fish. That's the reason why I have never nor will ever fish the C&R season.


No we are on the same page I was just pointing out that there is plenty of stress before it gets in the boat .. the most important part is get it back in the water as soon as possible

9


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## catman (May 28, 2001)

9 rock said:


> No we are on the same page I was just pointing out that there is plenty of stress before it gets in the boat .. the most important part is get it back in the water as soon as possible
> 
> 9


You're right on point.


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## CJS (Oct 2, 2006)

If you plan to release a fish you should return it to the water asap. Holding it horizontally helps and lifting a 30 pound fish up by the the jaw is likely to cause damage. A picture is fine but flopping in dry sand for a minute while you run to the truck to grab your tape, scale, and camera is not. 

As far as the "stop bothering the breeding fish" argument, be careful what you wish for.


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## NTKG (Aug 16, 2003)

lifting a large fish by the mouth is not good for the larger fish. Supporting the weight is definatley a good thing. If your going to mess with spawning fish, have the courtesy of wearing boots/waders and leave the fish in the water. 

When we drum fish, 99.9 percent of our fish stay wet. We dont flop them around on dry sand. I see that alot more in the md striper photos than I do anywhere else. You can see all the drum pics and there is no sand on the fish, its far more of the spsp fish that have sand all over them. If you want a pic with the fish, grab mouth, slide arm under fish and then lift. 

Of course I'm sure now that someone will complain that they don't want to get dirty or smell like fish. Dry sand on a fish's slime coat and holding a pregger fish esp (keep in mind the heavy roe sacks your holding in a mannner that it was never intended to with this thing called gravity.) upright is not ideal. Seeing that kind of stuff is what makes me even think of people not being allowed to fish until trophy season. 

Catman, I'm sure you'll catch some heat for it, but this is a good, informative post with the aim of resource protection for all of us fishermen. 

thanks,
neil


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## zam (Jun 16, 2004)

I always wondered why no one uses unhooking mats for Rockfish. Carp and Pike fishermen seem to care more about proper release then we do


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## catman (May 28, 2001)

zam said:


> I always wondered why no one uses unhooking mats for Rockfish. Carp and Pike fishermen seem to care more about proper release then we do


i agree 100% Zam. This should be a must for every C&R fisherman....http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/cradle-net/940203.aspx


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## bigjim5589 (Jul 23, 2005)

Catman, this is a great thread! It could however also be argued that bringing a fish into the boat, or even on shore could be construed as reducing to possession, which by law during the catch & release season, or any closed season violates the law. So technically, bringing a Striper into the boat should not be done at all, and the release should be done while the fish is still in the water. The regs state that a Striped Bass should be released "immediately"! It could be interpreted that once you bring a Striper onto a boat or even onto shore, and spend time taking pictures, you have not followed the law, because you have not released the fish immediately.

I think that the MD DNR & NRP in particular do a great job with this, understanding that taking some pictures is often a big part of angling for these beautiful fish to many of us, but folks still have responsibility to follow the intent of the regs, and that intent is to reduce the possible harm to the fish, by getting them back into the water quickly. The C & R season will only remain viable if folks understand this & follow it. Otherwise, the regs are already in place, and a person could leave themselves open to possibly receiving a citation for not following the regs if you mess around too much while trying to take pictures!

I personally know of folks who got cited for not releasing a Striper caught out of season, by accident, because they didn't release it immediately. They were not targeting Stripers, but failed to release the fish immediately & got cited. They held on to the fish while trying to get their camera, and was observed by the NRP so it can happen! 

So, my point here is if you cannot safely bring a fish on board, and handle it properly, take a fast photo & release it unharmed, then do the right thing & just release it while it's still in the water! No harm, no foul & no possible law violation!


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## MetroMan (Mar 7, 2009)

Good post. I do my part by not being good enough to catch big rockfish.


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## andrews (Jul 20, 2009)

MetroMan said:


> Good post. I do my part by not being good enough to catch big rockfish.


That's what I was thinking while reading this baha.


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## chesapeakecarper (Aug 22, 2003)

catman said:


> i agree 100% Zam. This should be a must for every C&R fisherman....http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/cradle-net/940203.aspx


Outstanding catman. I have several cradles for carp, problem is the constant problem of "We're gonna need a bigger cradle". 
The C&R purists would say not to take the fish outta the water in the first place but how often is that going to happen...?


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## zam (Jun 16, 2004)

The biggest problem with cradles is that you need two hands to use them, if your fishing alone it would be hard to cradle the fish and hold the rod at the same time


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## catman (May 28, 2001)

zam said:


> The biggest problem with cradles is that you need two hands to use them, if your fishing alone it would be hard to cradle the fish and hold the rod at the same time


Good point Zam. You really need two people when using the cradle - one to swin the fish into it and one to handle the cradle.


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## Tommy Robinson (Feb 3, 2005)

Good logic for using a cradle for Carp. Even better if you are plan on shooting it with a Bow next week?


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## chesapeakecarper (Aug 22, 2003)

Tommy Robinson said:


> Good logic for using a cradle for Carp. Even better if you are plan on shooting it with a Bow next week?


That's called killing them with kindness


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