Perch.

[rayner]

I enjoy drop shotting for Perch.
Mostly because I can pick my bag up and go with hardly any preparation for a few hours.

One thing that really annoys me is the practise of anglers (mostly on you tube) that have got the habit of picking up Perch by the bottom lip with fingers placed under the fishes chin.
This I've spotted a couple of times locally to where I fish, obviously mimicking the Yanks on you tube.

Is it a practise that should or shouldn't be used, is it safe to hold a fish in such a fashion.
It certainly doesn't seem to me that it's a good way to treat fish.
Is my annoyance well placed or misguided. If this is a good way to hold a fish I would be interested to know why.

 

[Derek Gibson]

No your annoyance is well founded mate, there really is no need in my opinion to hold Perch in such a manner. Thousands of us anglers have handled Perch as youngsters, only needing to be aware of the ''Dorsel fin spines'', and the point of the Gill plate, learning quickly to avoid these places.

Like you I believe this is a trend adopted from U-Tube. It's a policy used by the Bass pro circuit and copied over here. It's a ''fashion'' thing, not unlike the ''Boga grip'' used for Pike, you may have seen that too, and that also is a nonsense in my opinion.

 

[qtaran111]

I agree, I don't like it either.

 

[tikka]

I agree entirely, I wouldn't like it if I was picked up by the lips & I think it an inhuman way of handling any type of fish.

 

[BarryC]

The poor little dears do'nt like the spiky bits.

 

[S-Kippy]

No your annoyance is well founded mate, there really is no need in my opinion to hold Perch in such a manner. Thousands of us anglers have handled Perch as youngsters, only needing to be aware of the ''Dorsel fin spines'', and the point of the Gill plate, learning quickly to avoid these places.

Like you I believe this is a trend adopted from U-Tube. It's a policy used by the Bass pro circuit and copied over here. It's a ''fashion'' thing, not unlike the ''Boga grip'' used for Pike, you may have seen that too, and that also is a nonsense in my opinion.

I'd be interested in your thoughts on "chinning" fish, Derek ie hand under the gill flap.

 

[Derek Gibson]

I'd be interested in your thoughts on "chinning" fish, Derek ie hand under the gill flap.

Skip, chinning Pike as many now call it was a natural progression from ''Pike gag's'' sometime in the early sixties. And brought to the attention of Pike anglers by the likes of Barrie Rickards. In my own case it was demonstrated to me by one Ryan Tingay, purely from an ''unhooking'' perspective. Having mastered the technique it was but a short step to realising just how secure a hold one could maintain on the fish, and I for one incorporated it into trophy shots.If done properly no harm comes to the fish as the fingers are in the vee bones of the lower jaw. Inevitably with a particular lively fish the anglers fingers may be nicked by the gill rakers, which prompted some Pike anglers to wear soft leather glove, each to their own.

So my thoughts on ''chinning'' are all positive from the welfare of the fish's point of view. ''Once mastered'' I know of no more secure hold on Pike, particularly from a trophy shot perspective on a long fish like the Pike. But they should not be held verticle, nor should they be held out towards the camera. Close to the body should be the by-word.

 

[binka]

I'm another that doesn't like to see perch being held in the manner that the op refers to.

The Perchfishers also advise against this, with this taken from their handling code...

"Jaw holding of perch without support of the body

Whilst no specific research has been done on the effects of this method of holding perch, some scientific evidence exists on the effects of jaw holds, especially with boga grips on other species. The most significant research was done on Barramundi (Gould & Grace, 2009), where damage to jaw membrane in the mouth was found along with the more serious evidence of long term damage to spinal alignment when the fish were suspended vertically by the jaw. Boga grips with the body supported caused less jaw damage and did not cause spinal displacement. The Perchfishers do not have a rule about handling fish, however based on the present data, the Perchfishers Group stance on jaw holding of perch vertically is that it is advisable to avoid it, especially on fish of a size that require a landing net, as the negative effects of this activity are unknown. The body of the perch should be given as much support as possible while out of water.

References: Gould, A., Grace, B.S. Injuries to barramundi Lates calcarifer resulting from lip-gripping devices in the laboratory. North American Journal of Fisheries Management (2009), 29;(5): 1418-1424."

Perchfishers - The Perch

 

[naxian62]

Likewise. Don't like it and never do it.

 

[terry m]

No reason to pick up perch like that. Seems to be a practice brought over from American bass anglers. Pointless and thoughtless.

 

[iannate]

Boga grip

Had to look this up - disgusting tool.

 

[steve2]

Why are we so worried about how fish are held when we have just removed a lump of metal from their mouths?

 

[S-Kippy]

Skip, chinning Pike as many now call it was a natural progression from ''Pike gag's'' sometime in the early sixties. And brought to the attention of Pike anglers by the likes of Barrie Rickards. In my own case it was demonstrated to me by one Ryan Tingay, purely from an ''unhooking'' perspective. Having mastered the technique it was but a short step to realising just how secure a hold one could maintain on the fish, and I for one incorporated it into trophy shots.If done properly no harm comes to the fish as the fingers are in the vee bones of the lower jaw. Inevitably with a particular lively fish the anglers fingers may be nicked by the gill rakers, which prompted some Pike anglers to wear soft leather glove, each to their own.

So my thoughts on ''chinning'' are all positive from the welfare of the fish's point of view. ''Once mastered'' I know of no more secure hold on Pike, particularly from a trophy shot perspective on a long fish like the Pike. But they should not be held verticle, nor should they be held out towards the camera. Close to the body should be the by-word.

Thanks Derek....my experiences are much the same. I'm quite confident doing it and done properly I didn't think it could be doing any harm.

Gloves are for girls though and I have the scars to prove it !

 

[binka]

Why are we so worried about how fish are held when we have just removed a lump of metal from their mouths?

I kind of see your point but to me it makes sense to handle and preserve our fish in the best way possible without putting any additional undue strain on them.

Not just for the sake of the fishing but also for the fish themselves, similar to why we don't put barbel in keepnets etc.

 

[rayner]

I believe that Perch are just as delicate as Pike and should be treated in a safe way IE handled with care.
I get the idea folk that grab the bottom lip of Perch think they are tough because they are predators.
Either that or they have no idea what they are doing.

 

[dann]

I have often pondered about how much damage human skin does to the scales when we hold fish, especially for any length of time. I presume the oils our skin produce, the body heat and the pressure of holding a fish doesn't do it any good?

And if the above is bad for them, how does it compare to holding as the OP mentions. For this I mean small perch that can be swung in without a landing net.

And the irony isn't missed on me about worrying about how we hold them when we have just yanked them out the water via a sharp hook piercing their mouth mg:

 

[rayner]

I have to net all fish so touching fish doesn't come into it where I'm concerned.
Even small Roach/Perch are netted, unhook and put back via the net.

 

[BarryC]

Why are we so worried about how fish are held when we have just removed a lump of metal from their mouths?

Because if we are going to fish there is no aternative. Many of us use barbless hooks, take care to unhook carefully and return our fish asap to keep any likelyhood of damage to a minimum.
But the use of this lip hold does have many alternatives all less harmfull to our quarry.
So while not sticking hooks in fish and removing them from the water is likely to be better for the fish we are first and foremost sport anglers and it goes with the territory. Lip holds, boga grips, gags etc do not.

 

[soft plastic]

I enjoy drop shotting for Perch.
Mostly because I can pick my bag up and go with hardly any preparation for a few hours.

One thing that really annoys me is the practise of anglers (mostly on you tube) that have got the habit of picking up Perch by the bottom lip with fingers placed under the fishes chin.
This I've spotted a couple of times locally to where I fish, obviously mimicking the Yanks on you tube.

Is it a practise that should or shouldn't be used, is it safe to hold a fish in such a fashion.
It certainly doesn't seem to me that it's a good way to treat fish.
Is my annoyance well placed or misguided. If this is a good way to hold a fish I would be interested to know why.

Raised the very same point myself mate on this very forum some time ago. Yes, it's a horrible trend that has crept in.

 

[flatsfishing]

Skip, chinning Pike as many now call it was a natural progression from ''Pike gag's'' sometime in the early sixties. And brought to the attention of Pike anglers by the likes of Barrie Rickards. In my own case it was demonstrated to me by one Ryan Tingay, purely from an ''unhooking'' perspective. Having mastered the technique it was but a short step to realising just how secure a hold one could maintain on the fish, and I for one incorporated it into trophy shots.If done properly no harm comes to the fish as the fingers are in the vee bones of the lower jaw. Inevitably with a particular lively fish the anglers fingers may be nicked by the gill rakers, which prompted some Pike anglers to wear soft leather glove, each to their own.

So my thoughts on ''chinning'' are all positive from the welfare of the fish's point of view. ''Once mastered'' I know of no more secure hold on Pike, particularly from a trophy shot perspective on a long fish like the Pike. But they should not be held verticle, nor should they be held out towards the camera. Close to the body should be the by-word.

Totally agree, there is no more secure way to hold a pike. Yes, sometimes you end up being caught by a raker and bleed a little, but I would rather it was me bleeding than a damaged pike. It also helps to get the pike to open it's mouth to unhook it and worst case if you have to go in carefully through the gills you can (not that I have ever needed to but I almost exclusively lure fish). Only bit of your post I don't agree with I have corrected below:

"which prompted some girls to wear soft leather glove..." :wh

Lip holding of perch is just not necessary and I have had many arguments in person and online with people who use it.

Just don't get me started on boga grips for pike or the stupid salad tongs which continental LRF anglers appear to use to hold fish!