chinning pike

[Nugg]

Rob Ward:

There's nothing macho about Blood Poisoning so I always use a Glove.

So I suppose you wear a glove all the time whilst fishing, cos there are a lot more harmful things about on the water side, rat droppings, bird droppings, human droppings and urine everywhere, beware of that sharp hook when your baiting it with a fish that has been dead for some time, or the plug/spinner thats been dragged through the crud.

It,s your choice of course, but if you do please take the utmost care for the fishes sake.

 

[ 09. February 2004, 12:03 AM: Message edited by: Nugg ]

[me]

can you use normal garden gloves? or something. If not how much are these chainmail gloves? :confused:

[malevans]

I don't use a glove of any kind for Pike, never have. I once considered getting a metal and Kevlar filleting glove as an option but stayed as i am. I always use a net,,,,,,and therefore barbless trebles.

 

I use my 42inch carp net if fishing static or i have my salmon guy net over my back if I am mobile on a river.

[jeepster]

Nugg:

Place knees either side of fish to hold it firmly,  

i've always done this, as it keeps the pike in one place and i would have thought, makes things easier and safer for everyone involved, but i saw on another forum people criticising a fox video for showing this technique, as it de-slimes the fish. i must admit, i still straddle the fish, but what does anyone else think about this?

[Dick Dastardly]

Hand landing or chinning isnt done to be macho it is done to save harming a pike.A flying treble caught in the net then the pike can cause a lot of damage.BUT as said great care must be taken.Wether landing a pike or unhooking it you should always try to establish the whereabouts of the hooks before putting your hand in.Obviously use a net when you can but if a hook is hanging out (often the case with lures) then I prefer to hand land.

 

I have said it many times before and will say it again always best to unhook a fish whilst being held off the ground and away from your body.Less chance of tearing the pikes lower membranes or having your hand hurt.If the pike starts to thrash on a mat damage is done held up you just let it bounce on your fingers untill it stops no harm done to either party.People seem woried that suspending the pikes weight from its jaw will cause damage,I have never seen anything that would lead me to think this.

[Nugg]

jeepster:

i saw on another forum people criticising a fox video for showing this technique, as it de-slimes the fish.

---

If you get enough on your trouser legs, would it make any difference.

[mark barrett]

budgie as usual mate you are talking a lot of sense.

 

there is no harm at alln hand landing or chinning pike or Zander, but and its a big but, the fish should be played out completely before you try it. half the acidents occur, occur because the fish is still too lively. if you are not confident to do it then dot, but as budgie stated if a treble is flying then a net will do more harm han good witha lively pike, flying treble combination.

 

as for gloves i have taught a lot of people to unhook pike and i never, never, never, recommend using a glove. the reason for this is simple. if you have a glove on and your hand comes into contact with the gill rakers you will not feel it and i have seen so much gill damage done with gloves that i think they should be strongly discouraged. i even saw john wilson on go fishing the other day say that he put on his chainmail glove to protect him from the little teeth! litle teeth, there are no bloody teeth if you put your hand in the gill cover as he had. what a prat.

 

there is no one i know that chins pike to look macho, stupid comments like that just show peoples ignorance, it is done for pike welfare as budgie has said, but if you aint confident, dont do it but dont decry others for doing so.

 

finnaly like you budgie i always hold up my pike to uhook them, far easier, more control and better vision.

[Vagabond]

mark barrett:

 there is no one i know that chins pike to look macho,

Well, to be fair, no-one I know does it for that reason either, but I am sure such people exist.

 

What I HAVE seen is someone (who I didn't know) trying to chin a pike and dropping it.

 

Lets be generous, and assume he thought that was the "correct" way to land it, rather than trying to look macho.

 

Fortunately for the pike it landed in the water. Fortunately for the angler the projecting treble missed his hand on the way down. His mate then came along with a net....Between them they unhooked and returned the pike competently enough, so it would be unfair to dismiss them as a couple of "wallies"

 

That incident made me rethink about chinning, as it seems to me that however confident, however proficient, however experienced an angler might be, an accident could happen. Don't forget that a lot of relatively inexperienced and less than efficient anglers will try to copy what the experts advocate, and perhaps make a mess of it. Unfortunate, but a fact of life.

 

I would not "decry" any efficient method of landing and unhooking pike, but would agree with Nugg as to the potential hazards of chinning.

 

One disadvantage you mention is the need to play the pike out before chinning. If you use a net, the pike can be landed before it is knackered. That should shorten the time it needs for recovery

 

Re your very good point about a pike thrashing in the net and damaging itself. Three things might minimise that -

 

1/ Barbless trebles, easily disengaged from the net.

2/ Use fewer hooks. IMHO, we have used too many in the past. A mate of mine who spends a lot of time pike fishing, now uses a single large hook when dead-baiting, and still catches plenty of pike. Some lures seem to have more hooks attached than are necessary - I removed one of the three trebles from some large ABU plugs I had, and they still caught pike.

3/ Use of a BIG net, so there is plenty of slack in it should a pike thrash about before you can control it.

 

We both want to see pike landed, unhooked, and returned to the water safely. Two ways of doing it. I net, you chin.

 

BTW I think JW in his reference to "little teeth" meant the tiny ones on the gill arches which support the gill rakers - which of course one should avoid touching anyway.

 

[ 08. February 2004, 04:00 PM: Message edited by: Vagabond ]

[mark barrett]

some good points mate, well made but one thing i would like to point out. a lot of people are going on about single hooks. single hooks are fine but really big single hoos are dangerous for the fish. although a single will not have as many hooks as a treble, in the instance of a large single it will have a deeper gape and point which will mean that it will penetrate deeper. this in a deep hooked fish would be of real concern, particularly with Zander or pike. also from a beginners point of view large singles do not give the beginner confidence that the hook is in the pikes mouth and can lead to them leaving a bait longer.

finally a large single will realistically limit the size of ait that you can use. trebles were invented for a reaso and i really do think that they are still the best option

[Ed Matysiak]

I cant see the advantage of gloves over a landing net? :confused: