Weighing and release sacks

[Unimexsol]

I've never purchased one before but I was in the tackle shop today and I asked about buying one. Unfortunately the shop didn't have any in stock but the guy quoted me about £30 for one.

 

Is there a cheaper and better alternative? Would an ordinary hessian onion bag from the greengrocer do the same job or should I bite the bullet and invest in one?

 

At the moment I tend to weigh a fish in the landing net and release it by holding it in my hands until it has got it's "breath back".

 

This is more for pike than any other fish as they are pretty much the only fish that I catch that it applies to.

[Guest Brumagem Phil]

Sounds like a waste of 30 quid to me!

 

Good fish handling in my mind is all about limited time out of the water and minimum literal hands on type handling more than anything else. I weight my fish in the landing net with handle still attached (I know how much it weighs) which take seconds and its then back where it belongs, in the water.

 

I weigh small fish in a carrier bag.

[Unimexsol]

Surely though you wouldn't just throw a pike, or a barbel, or a carp straight back in after a hard fight though without holding it for it to recover though.

 

BTW I obviously mean holding it in the water, not just standing there expecting it to grow lungs!

 

It's a balance, for me, between handling the fish as little as possible and holding the fish lightly but securely whilst it recovers. The way that I know that a fish has recovered is that it gives a wiggle of it's tail and disappears.

[Guest Brumagem Phil]

I agree entirely but we were talking about weigh sacks as I understood it?

 

Personally I use a largish specimen net so place the fish in the water IN the net to recover........usually thats enough and when they look ok I will manouvre the net so they can swim out of it. If I feel such action is not enough then I will then hold the fish by hand and move it backward and forward in the water to move water through its gills to help it.

 

My rule of thumb is simply the less time its transferred from one place to another or held by hand, the better.

 

I'm not a prude of course and will take the occasional pic of me holding a fish but only if the fish looks ok for it, and then only if the fish is a PB or some other good reason for doing so etc.

 

Its a personal preference thing really I guess, but I certainly don't fall into the category of angler that lobs 10lb carp from waist high into 6 inches of water as i have seen done!

[Unimexsol]

Well, I think?? I was talking about the same thing. It's a breathable type sack that you can weight a fish in but also allows the fish some comfort in the water until it is released. I suppose that my landing net could serve the same purpose, although I'm not sure that it would offer the same support.

 

I fully agree with you about trying to minimise the time out of the water and the amount of handling, it's to try to minimise the amount of handling that I've been considering one of these sacks. I also weigh most of my fish in my landing net. Saying that I don't weigh many of my fish, only those that I think are largish.

 

On the same type of subject I always used a keepnet when I was a kid, now I can't remember the last time that I ever put a fish in a keepnet. I can understand it for match fishing but I can't see any other reason to use one.

[Elton]

A carp sack, which sounds like what you're talking about above, can be purchased for a few quid. I look after the Nash site and have a couple of these:

 

http://www.nashtackle.com/Carp-Care-and-Sc...CARP_SACKS.html

 

That said, there are plenty of other companies offering similar products.

 

Although I've disagreed with brumagenphil elsewhere, I totally agree with this comment of his:

 

Good fish handling in my mind is all about limited time out of the water and minimum literal hands on type handling more than anything else

 

I wouldn't weigh small fish in a carrier bag myself, but can see that it's probably a lot more fish-friendly than some methods.

 

Basically, the key is to get the fish back as quick as possible, with the least 'touching' as possible. And, of course, making sure you hold it in the water until it's ready to go.

[Guest Brumagem Phil]

Well, I think?? I was talking about the same thing. It's a breathable type sack that you can weight a fish in but also allows the fish some comfort in the water until it is released. I suppose that my landing net could serve the same purpose, although I'm not sure that it would offer the same support.

 

I fully agree with you about trying to minimise the time out of the water and the amount of handling, it's to try to minimise the amount of handling that I've been considering one of these sacks. I also weigh most of my fish in my landing net. Saying that I don't weigh many of my fish, only those that I think are largish.

 

On the same type of subject I always used a keepnet when I was a kid, now I can't remember the last time that I ever put a fish in a keepnet. I can understand it for match fishing but I can't see any other reason to use one.

 

 

I'm not a big fan of keepnets either. Thing is angling like most things in life has many participants and often many have differing views. I see people slapping 200lb of 10lb+ carp in keepnets at earlswwod in matches and I've personally watched while a contest weighed one fellah in using 20lb scales to weigh his 300lb+ haul while the fish were frothing and bleeding from the gills. I was appaled but maybe the next weeks match had much smaller weights and an adequate set of scales.........I guess what I'm trying to say is nothing is as black and white as we'd like to think and its what rests well with our own conscience that really matters.

 

I think that 30 quid is a lot of money for what a decent landing net can do, but hey, its your decision and your money, so who am I to argue! Good luck whatever you decide to do.

[poledark]

Well I suppose someone has to put the other point of view..

 

Regarding big fish (not tiddlers) then a proper smooth material sling is best for weighing and subsequently returning to the water. Shaped properly it doesn't "screw up" the fish and the fish can then be slid safely and smoothly back in the water.

 

Don't be tempted to "sack" up any fish.

 

As for fish like Roach, these can lose scales very easily so I use a plastic carrier bag, again this is smooth so will not catch on the scales.

 

Using the landing net to weigh fish in is a horrible way to treat a fish, all screwed up in the mesh, but probably OK for small fish up to about 4/5lbs (depending on the net size)

 

Pike are a "long" fish so get screwed up quite a bit.........and are pretty easy to catch, and even a 5lb Pike is quite a big fish.

 

If you are mainly concerned with pike, then you really should invest in a large landing net, and a proper weigh sling, most waters would expect you to have them anyway. Cost should not come in to it.........

 

Den

Edited April 28, 2007 by poledark

[Pangolin]

I bought a weigh sling, for a lot less than thirty quid, but I'd still regard it as a total waste of money. I don't bother taking it with me any more. At first, I weighed each fish I caught and the problem was the smell! It doesn't pack up easily into the tackle box and if I do make the effort to carefully fold it, I can't be bothered to unpack it again for a fish. Why the obsession with weight anyway? Sure, if you're looking for record fish, it matters. I tend to take a digital pic of any decent fish I catch, which is far more use when I want to tell somebody about a success. I've always the option of unscrewing the landing net from the pole and using that to weigh the fish in.

[kleinboet]

I have a "fish friendly" landing net which I connect to a landing pole with the "quick release" attachment.

If I catch a sizeable fish, I unhook it in the net IN THE WATER!, then connect the scales, lift it out of the water for about 15 seconds to weigh the fish and then release it.

If I want a snap of it add another 15 seconds to the time!!