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Thread: How to hold crappie?

  1. #1
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    Default How to hold crappie?


    When I catch a crappie that I'm not going to keep, how do I hold it so I can get my hook out without damaging their slime layer? They're usually too small for me to get my thumb in their mouth so I've been holding the line and using pliers to pull the jig out but this gets to be awkward when they're trying to bounce around.

    Thanks,
    Last edited by LA_poorboy; 06-13-2007 at 02:59 PM.

  2. #2
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    I generally hold them like I do a bream.. fingers holding down the dorsal fin, thumb across belly - gap between palm and side of fish. Use forceps to remove the hook. Very little slime comes off that way, and it gives enough grip to quickly remove the hook and get the fish back into the water.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by joejv4
    I generally hold them like I do a bream.. fingers holding down the dorsal fin, thumb across belly - gap between palm and side of fish. Use forceps to remove the hook. Very little slime comes off that way, and it gives enough grip to quickly remove the hook and get the fish back into the water.
    That works plus I don't think crappie are as sensitive to that as bass.
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    If they are too small to put your thumb in their mouth you must be catching some dinks or you have ham hocks for hands. I agree with joejv4 in the way he holds them.

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    As a general rule with all fish you can't lip land you should wet your hands before you handle them. It keeps you from rubbing slime off with your dry skin. It also helps to not grip them like your shaking someones hand, but lay them sideways in your hand and curl your fingers up around them without gripping after wetting your hand. Even when your lip landing fish it helps to wet your fingers. Fish can grow fungus even on their jaws and lips. Also have some kind of hook removal tool handy so that your handling them as little as possible. I often keep a small stick with a small Y at the end in my pocket when I don't have pliers or forceps on me. With a tool to remove the hook you can lip hold almost any size crappie unless you have sausage fingers.

    If your really concerned with getting fish back healthy you might consider folding down the barb on your hooks. If you do it carefully there is still a sizable hump on the hook that helps hold fish. You will probably lose a few more fish, but removing the hook will be a breeze and you'll hardly have to handle the fish at all.
    Last edited by GRIZZ; 06-13-2007 at 01:23 PM.
    Good things come to those who bait.


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    Quote Originally Posted by joejv4
    I generally hold them like I do a bream.. fingers holding down the dorsal fin, thumb across belly - gap between palm and side of fish. Use forceps to remove the hook. Very little slime comes off that way, and it gives enough grip to quickly remove the hook and get the fish back into the water.
    ditto

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    ^^^ YES, what GRIZZ said!

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    Thanks for the suggestions. I'm new to the idea of not handling the fish too much. I've been reading this "catch & release" stuff and started feeling guilty about how I had been handling fish.

    As for size, I've caught some bait sized crappie and bream for sure. I could get a finger, or at least the tip of my finger, in their mouth easy but I've heard that crappies have "paper mouths" and I figured the smaller they are the more delicate their mouths would be?

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    Actually its the other way around. Because they have delicate mouths its the larger fish with some weight to them that you have to be careful of, but really unless they are kicking around really hard you are almost never going to damage a crappie by lip holding them. The smaller fish would be next to impossible to damage by just lip holding them, so you don't need to worry about that.

    They call them papermouths because the structure of their mouths are paper thin and can tear out hook easily especially with larger fish. Its one of the aspect of crappie fishing that make it challenging. Getting the biggies in without tearing the hooks loose.
    Good things come to those who bait.


  10. #10
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    I think someone needs to post this underwater so the fish can read it!! Some of the bream I've been need to I know, Just barely lip hooked, and will NOT cooperate.
    "Do you WANT to be my dinner??"
    That's the way my father taught me, wet your hand etc. Another guy tht fishes around here told me I should not take them out of the water.....
    What makes a better lightning rod than a graphite fishing rod? NOTHING!

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