How to Hold a Muskie
Catching a muskie, which is officially known as a muskellunge, is often an exhilarating and awarding experience. Handling a muskie, however, can be difficult and, sometimes, dangerous. Knowing where to grab the fish and how to hold it can save you, and it, unnecessary risk of injury.
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Things You'll Need
- Large fishing net Damp towel Long needle-nose pliers Jaw spreader Bolt or hook cutters
Instructions
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Handling a Muskie
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Net the fish. Once you've hooked your muskie and brought it alongside your boat or up near shore, use your net to secure your catch. These fish are large, requiring 4-feet as a minimum legal size to be caught and kept, and it is essential to have a net large enough to hold one. A rubber-coated net is easier to handle and prevents your tackle from catching on. To net the fish properly, keep your fishing line taut and swoop the net over the fish from behind in one, smooth motion.
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Hold on to the muskie. It is essential not to underestimate the sheer strength of a muskie and the damage it can do to itself and to you when flailing. According to the website Muskie411, the best way to hold a muskie is to grab it over the back, behind the gills, making sure to avoid the eyes unless you're planning on keeping the fish instead of releasing it. If you're going to be keeping the fish for consumption, grabbing it by the eye sockets is a common practice, though it makes removing the hook difficult, as the fish will clamp its jaws tight. If you're planning on releasing the fish, hold it by its back and drape a damp towel over its eyes to prevent it from thrashing when you remove the hook.
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Remove the hook. Use long needle-nose pliers when attempting to remove the hook from a muskie's mouth. The fish has a mouth full of large and tiny hair-like teeth, all of which are capable of causing an unprotected hand a remarkable amount of damage. If the muskie is being difficult, use a jaw spreader to open its powerful mouth and retrieve your hook. According to the CARP Association, it may sometimes be safer to remove a hook from a lure with bolt cutters and then remove the hook from the fish.
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Lift the muskie. The most common way to lift a muskie is by its gill plate, but caution is needed because the gills themselves are capable of cutting through the flesh of your hand. To do a gill hold, hold the fish securely by the back with one hand and then open the gill plate with the other and pull it out and away from the gills. Hold the plate open with constant pressure and slide your fingers inside and lift. Do not let your fingers slide into the gills, and make sure to maintain pressure on the gill plate to prevent your fingers from being injured if the fish attempts to thrash. Place your other hand under the belly of the fish and hold it horizontally, as holding a fish vertically can cause damage to its muscles and spine.
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Release the fish. If you're looking to just catch and release a muskie, make sure to release the fish in calm, shallow waters. Hold one hand under its belly and the other around the thinnest part of its tail. Place the fish in the water next to the boat or near shore and carefully move the fish side to side until it can move away on its own.
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Tips & Warnings
When holding onto a muskie, make sure to not let it fall into the bottom of your boat. The slimy coating that protects its scales will come off, leaving it open to damage in the wild.
Always be mindful of where your hands and fingers are when dealing with a muskie or its relative, the Northern Pike. These fish are capable of removing fingers when thrashing and struggling.
References
- Photo Credit U.S. Department of Fish and Game
