Big fish picture tips
By Nick Simonson
With this weekend’s news of the North Dakota state walleye record falling, and the conditions aligning for early angling opportunities, it is a picture-perfect time to catch some huge spring fish. If you plan to take some photos of your angling success this spring or any time during the openwater season, here are some tips for ensuring a safe release for your subject matter and for getting some quality pictures to detail the event. Fish handling Before the fish is even landed, proper care should be shown. Anglers should not over-play a fish, or fight it into complete exhaustion. Like humans, fish get sore from prolonged activity and studies have shown that the buildup of compounds in the fish’s body after being caught are similar to those which cause people to get sore after a hard workout. In the case of a walleye or a pike, those buildups can weaken and eventually kill those larger fish already under the strain of spawning rigors. When landing a fish, it is best to use a net. A gaff is certainly off limits for landing spring fish that are to be released. The best nets are those designed to impact fish as little as possible. A rubberized net does the least damage to a fish’s protective slime coat. Furthermore, pike are notorious for twisting and wrapping a net around their bodies once they have been landed. This gator-roll maneuver results in lost slime and scales.
