Unhooking Pike?

[Julian]

Can anybody help this visitor to the site?

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Hi,

 

Can anybody tell me what the best method is for unhooking Pike, please?

 

Many Thanks,

 

John.

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Cheers,

 

Julian

[Elton]

This article may help:

 

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/authors/leon04.htm

[Andy Macfarlane]

You can find downloads on unhooking on the PAAS homepage.

 

http://www.esoxecosse.com/

 

Enter, go to News, scroll down till you see "Video Clips" and download the files. Make sure you have the latest version of Media Player or the clips may not run. You will have a better idea of what you are doing after watching these clips.

 

I assume you are right-handed, in which case I'll describe unhooking as I go about it. You'll find most Pikers carry this out whilst in a kneeling position.

Lay the fish on its left flank, head pointing towards your right hand. You may want to straddle the fish. I use my left shin to prevent the fish from flipping. I don't apply any weight on the fish. I just don't give it any room to move.

With your left hand, carefully lift the gill flap a little. Have a look under the flap to see the arrangement. You'll see 3 sets of rakers. Make sure your fingers havn't picked up any of these and slide 1 finger along the gill cover, towards the chin. When you get to the chin, you'll find your finger fits nicely into an area of soft skin with no teeth, no rakers and no obstructions.

Lift the head and you should find its mouth will stay wide open without force. You should now have the whole mouth cavity to work with unhindered. You should have a pair of 12" forceps and a pair of wire snips at hand, nothing less. The wire cutters are for fiddly hook-ups. Sometimes it is easier to break the hooks up for quick removal. Never use the snips for cutting the wire, that's a potential death sentence. As long as you have all your unhooking tools at hand, you should find the whole unhooking operation takes less than a minute.

If you are struggling, don't panic. Take the fish in the net back to the water for a good breather. Give the fish and yourself a minute to calm down before carrying out any other proceedures. Allow the fish a minute in the water for every minute you have it from the water.

Don't be scared to ask a more experienced Piker for a hand. They should gladly oblige and if asked, will show you how to cope with difficult hook-ups. Pikers love being asked for advice..it makes them feel important and nescessary

Once the fish has been cleared of all oral metalwork. Lift the fish with both hands and carry it back to the water. Once in the water, use your left hand to support the head and use your right hand to hold the tail root. Don't grip the tail, just form a circle with your thumb and finger. his prevents them going anywhere. Pike sometimes try to pull away immediately even though they are exhausted. Just keep a slight hold on the fish until you are sure it has fully recovered. Make sure the gill flaps are working and the fish can hold itself upright. Once its definately ready to go, you will know. Release your hold and the fish should pull away immediately. Just keep an eye on the fish till it has gone. If its a really happy soldier you,ll get a free drink when it kicks its tail.

[markward]

Good comprehensive reply Andy and l would just like to add that the best way to get confident and experienced in unhooking pike is to go with seasoned pike angler. My first year pike fishing was spent with two extremely experienced anglers and put me in good stead for solo trips. And remember the little ones always leave the worst wounds!!!

[Suffolk Lad]

quote:

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Originally posted by Julian:

Can anybody help this visitor to the site?

-----------------------------------------------------

 

Hi,

 

Can anybody tell me what the best method is for unhooking Pike, please?

 

Many Thanks,

 

John.

-----------------------------------------------------

 

Cheers,

 

Julian

---

Check-out The Pike Anglers Club of GB website ... it has info on handling, unhooking and loads of other useful stuff

[Dick Dastardly]

Good advice all round.The best being get an experienced piker to show you.One thing I would add is that over the years I have started to steer away from the laying them on a mat and straddling them method.Now I much prefer to hold them off the ground.Why? when the pike kicks it can spin on your hand if it can lever against the ground.Not only does this cut your hand but more importantly can damage the gill rakers, held off the ground and away from your body this does not happen.Good luck with your piking and well done in recognising the need to know what to do before going out and running into problems.

[Andrew Burgess]

Provided care is taken, the technique of "gloving" make hook removal a forrmality. it should be done with a glove on the left hand (or the right hand if you are lefthanded). You gently slip your finger into the pike's gill opening and your thumb (still on the outside) in a firm grip. The pike may then lifted safely from the water. There is nothing macho about performing this with an unprotected hand, and suffering lacerated or bleeding knuckles from a brush with the pike's toothy gill filaments or secondary teeth on a freezing cold day, belive me - so glove up. Hardware shops stock a variety of suitable gloves.

 

when you are confident that your left hand (or right hand grip for the lefthanders)grip is sucure, lay the pike on it back on the dampened unhooking mat and slowly curl your hand. The pike has no option then but to open it lower jaw. Then remove the hooks with a long nosed artery forceps from the front, or gently through the opposite gill slit if they are well back in the throat. Even really deeply hooked pike can be unhooked this way (this is why semi-barbless hooks are so good), without the use of the gag or any other type of instrument, most of which can dammmage the fish's dentistry. Forceps between 8 and 12 inches long are ideal, and whatever you do don't be afaid of your pike. Treat it with firm respect.

[Leon Roskilly]

Increasingly, I'm unhooking pike still in the water, wherever this doesn't present a problem (eg high banks and deep water).

 

Especially small pike who have a habit of rolling in a landing net, snagging flying trebles, and tangling everything, even before you've had a chance of laying them on a mat. Then, being out of water, they panic and are liable to start trying to thrash about just as you get yourself nicely positioned.

 

A pike, with just it's head held out of the water behaves impeccably, opening it's mouth obligingly when you grasp it's chin bone, then waiting patiently for the unhooking to be finished and for you to release it, to slip back down under the surface and away.

 

Tight Lines - leon

[trent.barbeler]

Dear Julian and All,

 

This thread, like many others of a pike fishing nature, remains living testimony of pike angling's remarkable conservation efforts.

 

For these great men, pike anglers, turned a massively persecuted monster myth into what it is today. A cherished species and hallowed sport.

 

This barbel angler, salutes you all.

 

Regards,

 

Lee.

[Andy Macfarlane]

Cheers. I,m sure we all appreciate the thought.