Wet towel for handling fish?

Does or does not remove slime when handling a fish?

i would think any towel would remove the slime wet and def dry wet your hand then pick them up best way

Fisher wrote:i would think any towel would remove the slime wet and def dry wet your hand then pick them up best way

X2

what about rubber towels

Just Lip em.. Best to wet your hands if possible, then again it depends on the fish, i.e. halis, and toothy critters lip grips would be my call..

Hammer 4 wrote:Just Lip em.. Best to wet your hands if possible, then again it depends on the fish, i.e. halis, and toothy critters lip grips would be my call..

LOL...what you dont lip halis anymore?

Lip grippers are the best way to handle your catch.

sonarbp wrote:

Hammer 4 wrote:Just Lip em.. Best to wet your hands if possible, then again it depends on the fish, i.e. halis, and toothy critters lip grips would be my call..

LOL...what you dont lip halis anymore?

Lip grippers are the best way to handle your catch.

Nah, cut up my thumb to much..lol

this is a little random....the first steelhead i ever cought, i thought u could just grab or "lip" it like u can with trout(i only lip a trout im gonna kill). so i reached down to this 9lb steelie and gripped its jaw...tore the crap outta my thumb....that also made that the first steelhead i ever lost...lol

No to towels, no gloves (of any kind) for me. In the winter, if I am wearing gloves, they come off before I touch the fish, or shallow rubberized "wet" net. I think the jaw grabbing hurts some species. Trouts jaws are not that strong, just my opinion. Bass on the other hand, or Pike or Musky, I get that. Even Carp and Cats.

no towels. towels are for guys who think they are fishermen but are not.

i use a towel to wipe my hand off when there wet some times thats about it

miller wrote:no towels. towels are for guys who think they are fishermen but are not.

I try to handle most fish a light as possible as was stated above the clamps seem to be to much for some fish. I think if you can handle most fish in the water a very little with your hands you are better off. There is a product out there that is called the fish towel I will see if I can find it again and share that with everyone.

Orvis is even selling a glove now. Wet skin on Wet skin, that is all there is to it

Yeah the only time i use a towel is to wipe my handsg off pluss when u lip them enough you thumb looks like sand paper has been taken t it when its all messed u know u had a good day ha ha ha

Hey guys
Towels!? Towels very bad!
Grabbing the lower Jaw?
for trout very bad! (dislocation of jaw and tearing of connective tissue of lower mandible)
for LMBs not as much,.. except when you lever them up horizontal to take a picture, then very bad. (can cause dislocation!)
Grabbers? hmmm ok if you lift straight up and then immediately support fish from underneath. Try not to puncture lower jaw.
Best ?!! Soft plastic molded nets, do not lift fish out of water at all, remove hook in net and release.
Or belly lifting and inverting the fish.
Do not lay in casting apron! they are made of very abrasive plastic coated mesh! can actually remove scales! Next time you take that pic with the fish in your
lap take note of how much slime is left in the apron.
Hate to say this but a good amount of physical abuse to fish is caused by the infernal trophy pic! How many times do you need to take a picture of a 10" Spot anyway? Thats why I like the GoPro scenario. Frame up an area next to your tube, and when you catch one perform your catch and release in the frame line. Or mount your still camera in a like manner so it is ready for action when you need it.
Here's something I find very interesting, check out the Carp fishing sites and vids. (particularly the European ones and especially the competition coverage) By far the best treated fish by ANY group after the catch are the carp. Interesting.
Grabbbing fish by the lower jaw is bad behavior we all learned from TV fisherman. We need to try and stop it. I have been trying, but old habits are hard to break, especially bad ones.

bodfish

It's true. They really protect the fish when they land them. Spend a lot of money doing so. Very, very good point of comparison.

Now I feel like a turd.

I somewhat agree Bod, whats worse, at least for the LMB guys, is laying a fish on dirt, grass, or a deck, and yes, even wet grass will remove the slime, because when you pick it up, guys tend to drag the tail section. There's no need to lay a fish down to take a pic, trust me, I've taken pic's holding 6lb bass all buy myself, and so can you.

O.k. rant over..

Hee, Hee,
Copy That Hammer!!
Waxon ,... I r turd 2!!! Hee HEE,.....

bodfish

waxon67 wrote:
Now I feel like a turd.

Dude.. why? We do the best we can, and weren't you the one that even thought to ask the question in the first place (which is more than most do)? If we really wanted to be ape-sh*t militant fish huggers, we wouldn't even fish at all! Keep in mind, we are yanking them out with a sharp hook in the mouth. On that note, how many people are crimping down the barbs on their hooks? I do the best I can, and try not to kill fish. I taught my son to release fish quickly and gently, and I usually don't spend a lot of time with photos, since I usually have a GoPro on my hat.

The Promar landing net is mega heavy, and super thick rubber coated. I can see how it's very gentle.. but it's way too heavy, and way too expensive. Sorry.. I'm going with a less expensive, lighter, but supposedly still fish-friendly Frabill net.

the only fish i really handle more than hook removal are the ones im keeping to eat....i dont even take pics usually just cause i dont feel the need...most of the steelhead and trout i catch spend 10sec or less out of the water...and if i feel the fight was rough on a fish i'll hold it in the movin water for a couple seconds to revive...up here on the north coast we have wild fisheries and the preservation of them is key