releasing kings in the heat of the summer

[BAITNH 18]

 I have had  some problems   releasing kings in the heat of the summer bringing them up  from  40ish degree water to 70ish  have tried  holding the tail and working the fish.  What have you   done to have success  doing this ? How about a fish cradle  ?

[chesapeake 14]

I have used a lip gripper, tied off to a cleat. After a few minutes they are usually swimming with or faster then the boat. If not they go in the box.

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[ifishy 46]

I do the same works well

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[bandrus1 132]

Water goes backwards holding them by the tail

[mercury25 1]

X2 on the grip works awesome 99% of fish bolt off after 5 minutes 

[Xxx 309]

13 hours ago, bandrus1 said:

Water goes backwards holding them by the tail

 

[reeleyz 30]

It is nice to see people releasing fish instead of stacking them in the freezer only to get tossed in a year.

[Drebs12 25]

X3 on the grip. found a cheap rapala lip gripper on sale for $6 on Fish USA a while back. I tie it to 6 ft of para-cord and then latch with a carabiner to a eye bolt  on the boat thats close to water level (happens to be the spot my trailer boat buckle attaches). let the fish swim in the oxygen rich prop wash while I clean up and redeploy rig. usually by the time I'm done with that the fish is kickin good and ready to go back down.

[Sk8man 969]

A main consideration is what you do BEFORE placing them back in the water after bringing them in. Folks often forget about the hot floor of the boat, struggles to net them, bringing in after real long fight on long set-ups, and placing hands or fingers in the gill areas while holding them up vertically for pics and then wonder why they didn't make it. They require care at each step along the way at this time of the year especially and if these things are unrecognized or ignored it leads to poor release results regardless of the method used.

Edited July 10, 2018 by Sk8man

[BAITNH 18]

good point there the less handled  the better off they are 

[ifishy 46]

The grip is nice because you can use it to hold without touching the gills also I like to get them towing than clean the deck and set up a pic that much less time out of water

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[ski-dooz 14]

Where can you buy them?


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[BAITNH 18]

just about anywhere    your local   bait and tackle  shop   should have something

[rolmops 178]

 I have had  some problems   releasing kings in the heat of the summer bringing them up  from  40ish degree water to 70ish  have tried  holding the tail and working the fish.  What have you   done to have success  doing this ? How about a fish cradle  ?

For those who get Boat US Magazine, check out page 20 of the 2020 April-May magazine

Cabelas has several fish descender devices. They will allow you to lower the fish to the depth where they were caught and then release them.

 

 

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[rolmops 178]

On 7/10/2018 at 7:00 AM, Drebs12 said:

X3 on the grip. found a cheap rapala lip gripper on sale for $6 on Fish USA a while back. I tie it to 6 ft of para-cord and then latch with a carabiner to a eye bolt  on the boat thats close to water level (happens to be the spot my trailer boat buckle attaches). let the fish swim in the oxygen rich prop wash while I clean up and redeploy rig. usually by the time I'm done with that the fish is kickin good and ready to go back down.

In the prop wash it will also get a not so healthy dose of exhaust gas

[whaler1 1,513]

Lol


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[Drebs12 25]

11 minutes ago, rolmops said:

In the prop wash it will also get a not so healthy dose of exhaust gas

Perhaps prop wash wasn't the best term. my main motor doesn't run when trolling. the fish is connected to the starboard side of the boat and I run a kicker on the port side... pretty sure my 4 stroke 8hp Yammy isn't poisoning the salmon from the other side of the boat with exhaust fumes. the big motor is still down in the water creating turbulence which oxygenates it.

This is the best solution i have found.

 

I have not tried a descending device

 

 

[justtracytrolling 253]

If you want more successful releases don't take the fish out of the water to unhook it, then put the fish on the grip and revive.  Having fish flop on the floor of the boat isn't a recipe for fish survival if that is really your goal.  Pictures out of water on hot sunny days don't help with reviving fish...again if that is important to you.  Rubber coated nets are much easier on the fish as well...they suck for netting comparitively.  It's just a simple case of how bad do you want the fish to go back.  Personally, I'd just smoke the ones that I struggled to revive when it comes to salmon, but I like smoked salmon.  On the other hand I've gotten in the water with a tiger to revive it...