Wiping slimy hands - a question for female anglers

[DJMCJERICO]

I use a bar towel or flannel to dry my hands after washing them in the lake and keep it on the back of my chair ready for me to lean against

 

If fishing for cats then i usually wear waterproof trousers and use the towel for wiping off whatever it's released from its stomach

 

I normally have a bottle of water for drinking and it comes in handy for washing my hands before i eat and wiping my gear down before i leave.

[Peter Waller]

Bucket of water besides me, always handle fish with wet hands, hardly any slime comes off.

 

Re the title of this thread, errrr,

[Dick Dastardly]

Well Im quite impressed! normally Im quite anti gloves (for exactly the reasons Chico gives! BTW is it Chico Winterton?) my only reason for not going on a full out crusade against them is because if they give some one the confidence to handle pike correctly then its the lesser of the two evils.

 

I have always though been concerned about the risk of Weils disease due to the constantly grazed state a sucsessfull pikers are in for most of his season!

 

These sound just the job.What do they cost Jamie? Also I would only want one (left) so if anyone wants the other?!

[merlino bill]

OI OI,

im after a right hand budgie so we could buy a pair between us if thats not a problem with you let me know.

 

[jamie dimery-seek]

Well Im quite impressed! normally Im quite anti gloves (for exactly the reasons Chico gives! BTW is it Chico Winterton?) my only reason for not going on a full out crusade against them is because if they give some one the confidence to handle pike correctly then its the lesser of the two evils.

 

I have always though been concerned about the risk of Weils disease due to the constantly grazed state a sucsessfull pikers are in for most of his season!

 

These sound just the job.What do they cost Jamie? Also I would only want one (left) so if anyone wants the other?!

 

yep thats the man budgie,do you know him?

 

£12 a pair,posted. (dont know if he sells singles ) well worth the money for yours and the pikes health

 

and no im not on commission

[Vagabond]

When fishing for a bag of silver fish I usually have two buckets beside me.

 

One has groundbait in (usually wet and sloppy if I am fishing the near shelf - which is my usual style), t'other bucket has water.

 

Rinsing wet groundbait off your hands (and keeping it off the rod and reel) is just as important as avoiding fish slime. I chuck a little groundbait in every few minutes, and rinse my throwing hand as soon as I have done so.

 

I carry a rag, but in hot weather my hands dry quickly so I use the rag rarely - the quick rinse in the bucket followed by flicking the excess water off takes less than a second, compared to several seconds fumbling about with a rag.

 

...and as Peter Waller says, a wet hand is the best protection against fish slime.

 

Took part in a feature for a magazine on Wed - applied the above routine, and got around 60 lb of silver fish in blazing hot sunshine.

[Poacher]

I usually carry a bar towel like you get in the pub and dont laugh but I allways have baby wipes in my tackle bag.

[The Flying Tench]

Well, a flippant original post by me. I thought most of the men would wipe their hands on their trousers like me, and I wondered what the female take on this would be. But there have been some replies which have challenged me, particularly about using wet hands to handle fish. I used to do this as a teenager, cos in those days all the books and magazines stressed the importance. Then, when I came back to fishing 12 years ago, it seemed that no-one considered it important. They never seem to do it on fishing videos, for example, that I can remember. But I take the point - if it stops taking slime from the fish it must be good. Thanks - I'll give it a try.

[carpstar]

I use a towel to wipe my hands if i'm still fishing,if i'm going to eat owt then i clean them with baby wipes and have some antiseptic gel that i rub on to my hands. The only time i rarely use a towel is if i'm wearing my waterproof trousers and then i wipe my hands on them.

[SerenBlue]

Ideal (feminine?) situation would be to have a wet (not just damp) towel lying on the ground near the landing area. Bring fishy in, straight onto towel, fold towel over fish, head sticking out slightly.

 

Gentle pressure to hold it in place, remove hook and straight back in the water.

 

I personally think the towel is better than the hands to handle the fish, as we might inadverdantly grip and twise with our hands. whereas the towel just "straigh jackets" the fish.

 

You should technically have little or no slime on your hands and leave more slime on the fish

 

If I am moving, the fish is held in the water and released in the best circs.

 

Udhi