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Proper way to photo and release...


Walleye_king

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On opener my dad and I saw what looked to be a young (35ish) couple on the north end sand who obviously knew nothing about the proper way to release a fish.

The woman caught a 24-26" Eye and it must have taken them a full 2 minutes to get the hook out, then find the camera and after he took a pic of her they had to wait till he put the camera away so he could place it into the water. What is wrong with people these days?

Also, if the hook is way down in there and you are uning a single hook just cut the dang line please.

Sorry to rant, but you should never have it out of the water for more than 30 - 60 seconds I would think...

Michael

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I totally agree i watched more than a couple of boats that I saw on the north end pass walleyes around so everyone can take a picture with it.Get the fish back in the water as soon as you can. I have cut hooks if the fish swallowed the hook it is only a few cents for a hook.

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I agree with you guys 100%, but some times its dificult to get fish back in the water right away...For example, we where out this past weekend on the north end and I caught a 28 incher, a very nice fish, and all i wanted wa a couple pics before we released it, got the camera out the batteries were dead, so we took the time to scramble for batteries(witch was a chore since both of us in the boat were shaking so bad from landing the fish in the first place)..Any who, got our pics, and got the fish back in the water..I figure the fish was out of the water 4-5 minutes, and it took her less than 45 seconds to bolt back into the depths... Early in the season when the water is cool fish suffer a much lower hooking mortality than in the dog days of summer. I know I had the fish out the water too long, but when the water is cool i felt a lot better about releasing her for this reason. So really my point is that it is important to get fish back in the water as quickly as possible no matter the water temp, but that it is very important im warm water conditions. Also, who lets someone else taks a pic with the fish they have caught? A guy or gal should take pride in catching the big fish of the day, and not let someone else gloat in the others glory.............

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Jnorm,

4 or 5 minutes is WAY too long my friend!

The PWT has done tons of testing and you are correct about the cool water being better, but after a while you could put a walleye into ice and it won't mater.

They found that after 30 seconds out of the water the nitrogen levels increase dramatically, no matter the temp.

Just an idea, but you could have had that fish in the water but still in the net while you fumbled with your batteries.

And just because she swam away doesn't mean much. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate your response and I am not trying to badger you-

good fishing

michael

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Walleye King,

You are so correct. Try and get the fish back in the water as soon as possible. If it's going to take a minute or so to get out the camera. Put the fish in the live well until you are ready, take the photos , and then release. At least this way the fish won't be out of the water 4-5 minutes.

One other thing, if the fish has the hook swallowed, just cut the line, don't try and yank it out, and do more damage.

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If you put the fish in the live well I think you may have "reduced it to possession" - - better make sure it's a legal fish before you do that. Plus can you legally cull it at that point?

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Rambler, you may be technically correct, but there is no DNR Officer that will bust you if he sees you scrambling around the boat for batteries. You better make a darn good effort to find them quickly and your line better not go in the water either. Rodmaker wouldn't do that though, he was just saying keep the fish in the water (livewell or lake) until you can take the picture. Keeping it in the lake would be very difficult if you were fishing alone.....then again so would taking a picture of yourself.

I always have trouble with blades (spinners) with warm harnesses. If a walleye takes the whole thing way down in its gullet, I always try to cut the line between the hooks before releasing it so they don't "pull" or "tear" inside. I also make sure that spinner comes out. Sometimes that is easier said than done. If its in the slot, I always decide those ones are the keepers. If we are talking 30sec out of the water, sometimes it just can't be done.

Now here is a question I have for you guys. I caught a fish on a different lake with a crankbait last year. One of the hooks managed to get into the gills and rip them all out. The fish was bleeding all over. I got the hooks out and the fish was dead. It was over 20" which I could keep because it was my one fish over 20", but on Mille Lacs, what do you do, through that fish back in the lake? Its dead, don't you think that the DNR officer would be somewhat understanding? I mean you are taking a dead fish as part of your limit instead of taking 4 plus the one dead one floating in the lake. I don't know, it was just something I question myself about. And maybe doing the right thing is not doing the right thing in this case.

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Unfortunately the fish must be returned to the lake.....

Allowing anglers to keep an injured or dead fish that is too large (or too small) opens the door for "sportsman" to intentionally injure or kill a fish so it can be kept.

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Good point on the live well thing. Personally, I'd just forego the picture. I fished alone last weekend and had two fish I wish I could have gotten a shot of, both were trophies on any other lake, just unhooked them at the side of the boat.

As to your other point, the fish has to go back into the drink pronto, no question.

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Your'e probably correct. I have only done this a few times. Now I have my digital camera right by my electronics for quick photos & release.

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TrophyEyes,

Thanks for backing me up on this one. I've put fish in the live well probably 3 times and then taken photos & release. This was done a few years ago. Now it takes me just moments to remove the hook, and take a photo. I always have the other person be ready with the camera, as soon as the fish is in the boat.

If I'm alone I keep the fish in the net and take a photo with the fish in the net in the water. Then release it.

How did you do Mon.?? grin.gif

As far as spinner rigs. I only use a single hook when spinner fishing. I just have to feed them a little line and then set the hook. I don't use harnesses for crawlers. usually when they hit the spinner they "hammer" them and you can give them a few feet or sometimes just the rod tip. I really don't miss that many of them feeding just a little line.

I posted my trip results yesterday on the 5/17 post.

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Hey Rodmaker, I unfortunately did not make it over to ML on Monday, but my cousin said they really got into them. They caught 12 fish over 20" in 20 minutes. That was bobber fishing at dusk on at 12-15' rock pile. He said in a day and a half of fishing they caught over 110 fish, and as many over 20" as under. The biggest was 28 1/2". They only kept 8 fish total for 5 guys, and yes the big one was released. If I can get him to give up the coordinates I will email them to you, but it was 5 days ago, so they could have moved.

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You can also take the hook out in the net while still in the water and then leave the fish in the net in the water until you are ready to pull it out of the net snap a picture and release!! Even if you have to hold the fish to remove the hook you can place it back in the net and in the water......

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I think everyone here would agree, keep the fish in the water as much as possible and snap your pictures quick and release them ASAP. Correct??

There still is that one fish that kills me because I rushed the photo and release. It was a 33 1/2" walleye and I got 4 shots of her, but did not realize the the Dorsal fin was down in all of them. I also failed to get a girth measurement, which is killing me because I didn’t have a scale. By the way the trick to getting the dorsal fin to go up, rub lightly behind the eye (found that out after).

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Are you thinking about a graphite replica.??? If the photos are good, don't worry about that. Artistic Anglers does awesome work. They don't need the girth, just length.

I have (3) different fish from them. 16 1/2 " Crappie, 20 3/4 " Smallie, and at 28 lb Salmon from lake michigan. I will be sending another photo of a 22 1/4 Smallie from Ely I caught last year.

That's why I need to get an Eye from the Pond around 29 or 30" and have them do that for me.

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Quote:

Artistic Anglers does awesome work.


I am assuming they are a sponsor so can I get what it costs do those mounts? If not please send me an email...

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I'm not sure if they are a sponsor or not. Here's the # 1-800-544-7466. Ask for Matt. Reference my name Mark Pothen. I'm not sure what he gets an inch now.

What are you thinking about getting done??? You won't be disappointed!!!

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I don't have anything yet, just preparing... wink.gif Thanks for the info...

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No problem !! If you want to see some of his work, head up to Thorne Bros in Fridley Mn., or at Cabela's in Owatonna. All of the fresh water mounts are his~!! grin.gif

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No more fish on the wall for me. I have 2 walleyes aready on the wall from when I was 5 and 6 years old (10#'s 3oz and 10#'s 11oz. respectively). One was in the In-Fisherman magazine. All and all I have caught 7 over 10#s. Pictures are enough for me. Most of them end up in a magazine or a brochure of some sort. That 14# one is in the Gander Mtn. Outdoor Expedition catalog or was for 2 years. The only way that another will go on the wall is that if it is a state record.

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Awesome grin.gif. If it works out, we need to "hook up" and fish the Pond this Fall!!! Cranks!!!!! grin.gif

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I have heard and believe in this rule when releasing fish. It can be out of the water as long as you can hold your breath.

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Not a bad rule of thumb. The big thing is be ready! As most of us know that first fish is ussually the big one. (when the camara is in your jacket behind the cooler on the other side of the boat) so make it a ritual to think, beer, bait, camera ready.

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Yes you will get a ticket(if caught)putting a fish in the livewell then taking a picture and releasing it!Mille Lacs is a no cull lake.This is a law check sundays star and trib. tongue.gif

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What about just leaving the eye in the net over the side of the boat until you were ready.

As too de hooking eyes. Cutting the line off has been something that saves more walleyes. Hooks are cheap,and releasing a sow thats a breeder is something to be proud of if she lives.

There's 1 issue here that has not been mentioned.

Gearing up with light line ,then fighting that fish until it's totally exhausted really stresses out the fish.

I'd just as soon go a tad heavier on my line & set my drag a bit stiffer to get that fish in as soon as possible vs. having a long drawn out battle.

Sure the fish will swim away like stated in a prior post ,but then it dies. Who wins?

The turtles.

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I understand the law and I know there is no culling. I am very clear about this point. But I would say that if you look at each situation, and intention to commit a violation. I think it would be understood that if you were trying to keep the fish alive for 2 minutes when you found your camera, a DNR official could be persuaded that it was in the best interest of the fish. I have never put a fish in the live well that wasn't coming home with me. I know a lot of people don't like to keep an expensive camera out in the open for obvious reasons (water). I keep mine on the top of my water proof bag, which takes about 30 sec. to get at and take the picture. First of all, I wouldn't take a picture of anything under 28", so don't worry about me doing it. I guess the DNR officer would either have to write me a ticket for releasing a legal fish or thank me for not taking that kind of fish out of the lake. My guess is that I would get a pat on the back not a ticket. But I am making that assumption of course.

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i had a question that relates to this topic. i know you shouldnt angle for fish in deep water unless you plan to keep the fish, but what would be considered too deep of water where this would become a problem?

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Like I mentioned earlier, I did this a few times a couple of years ago. Never again. I spoke with a DNR Officer last year after loading up the boat on the Pond. I asked him about this. He said that it wasn't a good idea to do this!!! You could get a ticket. But he said he didn't blame me for at least thinking about the best way to keep the fish alive while getting the camera out.

He suggested what we have already mentioned. Keeping the fish in the water, in the net, get the camera out quickly, and take the photo.

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It's not a good idea because it's ILLEGAL! confused.gif some people need to think or know the law before they post.

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