05-30-2012, 05:56 PM
Good report and quite entertaining.[laugh]
Hey, as far as dealing with large fish on the tube, you might find that the net is more in the way than anything. I'm not sure what kind of tube you have, so this might not be applicable:
My stripping apron is the floppy kind, not rigid like some makes. It attaches with Velcro on each side. What I do is connect it to the Velcro, leaving the apron dipping into the water. When a big fish is on, I'll fight it up to me and basically let it swim itself up onto my lap and then hold it there, wrapping my apron back over it while I dink with the hook.
This is usually good enough to keep them mostly in place, although a few have forced me to do the bear hug routine until they settle down. It also keeps them wet and allows water to flow over their gills, helping them recover from the battle (at least a little) while I'm messing with the hook or camera.
At that point, whether you keep or release them, you can move on to your next course of action.
Hope that helps a little.
If you're apron is the rigid kind, I guess a net might be the only way to effectively handle it unless you're quick to grab the gill plate (for keepers).
Either way, with a fish that big, you might be justified in losing a little blood and just grabbing them by the mouth.[
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I know you said you couldn't get a measurement, but do you have a good guess as to the size? What species?
Enjoy the summer in Phoenix. OUCH![pirate]
[signature]
Hey, as far as dealing with large fish on the tube, you might find that the net is more in the way than anything. I'm not sure what kind of tube you have, so this might not be applicable:
My stripping apron is the floppy kind, not rigid like some makes. It attaches with Velcro on each side. What I do is connect it to the Velcro, leaving the apron dipping into the water. When a big fish is on, I'll fight it up to me and basically let it swim itself up onto my lap and then hold it there, wrapping my apron back over it while I dink with the hook.
This is usually good enough to keep them mostly in place, although a few have forced me to do the bear hug routine until they settle down. It also keeps them wet and allows water to flow over their gills, helping them recover from the battle (at least a little) while I'm messing with the hook or camera.
At that point, whether you keep or release them, you can move on to your next course of action.
Hope that helps a little.
If you're apron is the rigid kind, I guess a net might be the only way to effectively handle it unless you're quick to grab the gill plate (for keepers).
Either way, with a fish that big, you might be justified in losing a little blood and just grabbing them by the mouth.[
]I know you said you couldn't get a measurement, but do you have a good guess as to the size? What species?
Enjoy the summer in Phoenix. OUCH![pirate]
[signature]