Boatless Fishing Forum, Reports, Info

Hazzards of Handling fish.

Can I get some input as to things to avoid such as sharp gils, fins, teeth or anything that say a fresh water fisherman should watch out for when handling salt water fish. Species specific would be helpful.

Sandman

Most saltwater fish have teeth of some sort. Some have sharp gillplates that will slice you up, like snook. If you are concerned, get yourself a fish grip like one of these so you don't have to handle the fish.

viewtopic.php?f=120&t=30966

There's a lot, but these are a few that I can list off the top of my head...
1. Keep hands away from all fishes mouths, untill you figure out if they have teeth or not.(I have been bitten by snapper, bluefish, flounder and spanish mackerel... Not fun!)
2. Watch out for stingrays if wading... If you catch one handle with care!
3. Handle catfish with extreme care!!! They are not like your freshwater cats... They are dangerous!
4. If you catch a stargazer cut the line...
5. Do not feed the pelicans... They will attack you eventually... (bad personal experience)
6. Be careful of jellyfish and man of wars...

Other than that I can't think of much right now, but I am sure others will chime in. Good luck!

Thanks, I really like the grip. Espically the price, looks pretty sturdy to.

Great info. What is a Stargazer?

tesanders wrote:Thanks, I really like the grip. Espically the price, looks pretty sturdy to.

Great info. What is a Stargazer?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargazer

Generally...if I cant identify what it is just by looking at it, I dont touch it. Eels, I cut the line. I NEVER put ANY part of my hand or fingers very far in any saltwater fishes mouth. I am not a big fan of grabbing a fish by the gills anyway.

Main thing...if it looks dangerous...or scary...it probably is...use caution. Common sense goes a long way when handling unknown fish.

heres the 2 things to always have with you

as PP said the fish grips
and an arc dehooker http://www.ebay.com/itm/ARC-Dehooker-16 ... 5aef83ae12

with these items you will never have to touch a fish

Thanks for the info!

Watch out for the barb at the end of the tail of a stingray ,they are painfull and poison

If you're wading in the water, wear some type of decent soled water shoe to protect your feet. You should try to shuffle your feet, not step, because you could step on a ray. Shuffling should just make the critter swim away from you. There's other species besides rays, like crabs, stonefish, etc., but you get the idea.

The biggest hazard to me has been in trying to remove a hook or lure from the fishes mouth without using pliers or hook remover.

For some reason I tend to get cuts from the gill plates on Snook. When the fish is going to be released , I want to get it back quickly and don't take my time. There's nothing worse for me then releasing a fish that I don't think is going to make it.

There's a species of small thin jack that I've caught over the years @ both Halover and Newport piers.

I heard some locals call them skipjacks, but to my knowledge that's a whole different species.

Anyway, this fish has a spine slightly sticking out of it's dorsal fin that will cause a wound that won't heal for weeks.

I, of course, found that out the hard way when I was as a kid.

skipjacks aka leatherjackets

fishnfool73 wrote:skipjacks aka leatherjackets

Thanks for the info, now I know what it's real name is.

Had a fishing buddy who got really nailed by a leather jack on his own boat. He was in serious pain for more then two hours. I got nicked by one yesterday fishing for mackerel even though i was taking precautions and wrapped a rag around it to retrieve my jig. I waited for the pain to come but only felt a slight burning that didn't last very long. (landed 4 macks, 2 cut offs, and lost another on the hoist)