at em again

[tuckhunts87]

the currents in the lake have been very strong. to say that you need to do 2.8 to get 2.4 is not always the case at all. we fished the other day with 1.5-1.7 gps with 2.3-2.5 at the ball and going the other way we were 3.0-3.3 for 2.3-2.5 at the ball. changes day by day tho.

[BottomDollar]

the currents in the lake have been very strong. to say that you need to do 2.8 to get 2.4 is not always the case at all. we fished the other day with 1.5-1.7 gps with 2.3-2.5 at the ball and going the other way we were 3.0-3.3 for 2.3-2.5 at the ball. changes day by day tho.

Case in point: Thompsons Point today. Heading south, GPS reading 3.8 mph, fish finder paddle wheel 2.0, probe speed 2.6-7 down 55'. Temps are all over the place, too.

[bhf76]

Like I said it depends on the direction you are going. With or against the current.

[bhf76]

I always trust my speed and temp probe when there is a difference in readings

[will nolan (swilly)]

I do release them and they always tear away from the boat. I carefully hold inside the lip. No issues so far. I will check that out captain paul. Didnt think about that. Ive always handled fish that way. Thank you for the suggestion and the info. Def dont want to hurt them hence why I release them.

[Thorny]

Will
See the blood dripping down the side of fish on the 1st pic? That is more than likely coming from an injured gill plate. That fish may have swam away but will have very little chance of surviving. The gills are their lungs. An injured gill plate is generally fatal. That is why capt Paul is asking you to be careful. If you eat fish that would have been a good one for the table. I always bleed any fish I keep before cleaning them by cutting their gills in a live well. The process of cleaning them is neater and the meat tastes much better.
Good luck on your next trip!
Thorny

[will nolan (swilly)]

The bleeding trout went home with my son. Those dont go back. Common sense. Thanks a bunch fellas.

[Matt]

Very nice fish, you seem to be having a ball!

Wil I would say you are fishing a little to deep most of the salmon up there have between 40 and 55 feet and they have not been biting much after a big blow .I have to ask are you releasing those Lake Trout and if so you really should try to handle them differently when you put you're fingers in any fishes Gills death is almost certain a much better way to handle them is to grab them firmly buy the tail and cradle there belly check my web page http://www.fishvermont.com any fish you see held by the gills have already been dispatched all the ones held by the tail and cradled were let go

Paul is right - the biggest things to keep in mind when handling trout and salmon (and in this case, char) that if you plan on releasing it is to never touch their gills, nor hold them by the gill plate. Many have the misconception that just because a fish swims away, it will survive. Many times, a fish that is mishandled and released back into the water will not die until hours or even days after being released. They are used to being nearly weightless in the water, so holding them by the gill plate does a few things(especially for those big 10+ lbers). First - it can rip their gills and/or gill plates very easily, along with damaging their spine(think of having a 100-lb weight tied to your legs and having someone pick you up by your head...ouch). Without their gills functioning normally, they will be deprived of oxygen, and die a slow death. Think of their gills as their lungs in a way. Last but not least, is to keep the fish in the water as much as possible. Some studies show that something like 40% of trout, salmon and char that are out of the water for more than 30 seconds after being caught, are unable to survive, and 60 seconds out is something like 70% mortality. One trick I see a lot of biologists do when handling our local salmon is to hold them by the tail and keep their head and gills submerged and only take them out when taking samples. I've since adopted this method and it's worked great for me. In this case, you could hold the fish by the tail in the water while your net is below it(a dropped fish just means it lands back in the net), and raise the fish out and cradle it with your other hand around its pectoral fin area slightly down from the gill plates under the belly. Another side note would be that many guys are switching to rubber nets to avoid taking off protective slime from the fish. While it is important, I think the 3 aforementioned tips would be your best bet to worry about first. A nylon net is much less likely to kill a fish than holding it by the gills, ripping the gills, or holding it out of the water too long. Now, you may already know everything I've stated, and I'm not saying you're keeping fish out of the water too long, or intentionally killing them. Just trying to give you some tips on how to give those released fish a better chance at survival.

Hope this helps.

Matt

[C-Hawk]

Many times you can release the fish while still in the water.Use your hook pliers and quickly grab the hook and give it shake.