Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike P
You'll kill more fish #^&#^&#^&#^&ing around with tape measures, cameras, and some kind of identifiable object like a playing card to validate the date.
Fish laid on rocks will thrash and lose scales. Sometimes they'll flop while someone's reaching for the tape, camera or identifier and wedge between the rocks, and big fish are a bitch to get out of the rocks. Fish laid on the sand will thrash and lose much of their slime that protects them against parasites and infections. I think that if you learn how to correctly place a scale inside of a fish's jaw, and how to avoid touching the gills doing it, you'll kill far fewer fish than having them out of the water for an extended period while measuring and photographing them. Most people land a big bass that way anyway--no one who's experienced tries to lift a fish over 30 lbs. by lipping it.
If you've ever tried to remove a hook buried in a bass' jawbone, you know that their jaws are not fragile in the least
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Its not a question of hurting their jaws. Hanging a big fish displaces their internal organs, often leading to death, days later.Some studies have put the death rate as high as 25%.A sling like Zimmy posted will cure the problem.Otherwise I agree, anything that delays getting the fish back in the water is not good.