To all of you guys that are making the Hot Chit videos catching Bass, that a lot of you guys on the TFF seem to love so much.

Please learn about caring for the Bass that you are going to release. It looks really cool to do the boat flipping thing like the Pro�s do, letting the Bass flop all over the carpet (Removing Slime Coat). Holding them up (Sometimes Breaking Their jaws) to take pics. Keeping them out of the water for way too long, just ain�t right.

The organization PETA is doing all they can to hurt this sport that we all love. Right now all they talk about is that hooking a fish causes so much trauma & pain that you should put the fish out of it�s misery, (Total B.S.), but can you imagine what they would do with the knowledge of a fish with a broken jaw or fungus on one swimming around for months dying, due to the slime coat being removed, or it couldn�t feed properly because the Bass flopped all over the carpet or had a broken jaw bone.

I came from the days when all of the Bass were kept & eaten. We learned to catch & release. You new guys to the sport need to learn how to care for the fish & teach the generation just coming into fishing how to do it. These new young folks, like High school & college fisherman need to know how to care for the fish.

I lay a lot of blame on BASS & FLW (In my opinion) for the boat flipping,
I would love to see them go to a net or lipping rule, if the fish intentionally hits the carpet deduct � pound from the overall stringer. A fish that accidently jumps a hook is a different thing altogether.

I would ask the TFF to make a separate Column on Fish Care with advice on handling any fish that will be released. Some of you guys have really good ideas.

Such as:
Transporting fish in a live well.
Taking Pics
Netting
Lipping
Hook Removal
Releasing air from the bladder




Do a Google search (Removing slime coat from bass) There is plenty of documented science on the subject

http://www.arkansasstripers.com/fish-slime-coat.htm

http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/reducing_bass_mortality.html

http://www.lurenet.com/blog/tbt-slime-coat/

http://www.carolinasportsman.com/details.php?id=3388

https://www.bassfishermansguide.com/how-to-hold-a-fish/

You guys that have seen Bass swimming around dyeing with fungus on them to please chime in.

Thanks for reading,
Rube Glover

Where'd you get the popcorn? I want some!

Oh Rube

Poor fish.

Yep, saw one just swimming (basically floating) at the top of the water on Texoma, just covered with fungus.

Yeah I know, this subject has been a Pig in the closet that most people like to ignore!

Go fishing, Rube. Catch a big one of your own and quit being jealous.

I think it comes down between old school guys and the new school mentality

He's got a point... I hate it when bass lay on carpet too.

I agree....more or less.

If your gonna make videos on how to catch them, you should also include proper handling of the fish. Just to help educate people.

The less part? I don't think boat flipping is nearly as bad as some think. Yeh....it touched the carpet. And maybe removed some slime. But, I don't think it is any worse than grabbing them from the water by scooping them with a net or your hand.


Maybe we should fish with our livewells open and just boat flip em right into it. Lol

I don't want to offend anyone's opinion, but I do agree. However, the fish I catch don't determine whether my family eats or not. I think we need to remember that those guys on TV are also entertainers, they have to grow the business to get endorsements. However, as with all sports on TV, the wanna bees think acting like that will make them better at fishing(hell maybe that's what I've been doing wrong:))I'd be willing to bet that most people on this forum do more to protect the fish and lakes than weekend pleasure boaters do. I use to not care as long as I landed the fish. I guess I'm getting older and softer. It makes me sick to hook a fish deep in the throat. MLF I believe does have a landing penalty. I don't know if landing them by the lip or belly makes any difference(I got tired of removing hooks from my fingers) on removal of slime, I just do my best to not handle them very much. Guys I even landed a potential lake record and instead of taking it to a certified scale I laid her right back where I found her, just couldn't sleep at night if she'd died. I absolutely don't blame people who do search out that scale, its just me.

I can unhappily report that lately I have not had an opportunity to damage a fish:). So to conclude, I appreciate the post as a good reminder to protect the sport we all love.

"I can unhappily report that lately I have not had an opportunity to damage a fish:). So to conclude, I appreciate the post as a good reminder to protect the sport we all love."

Greatness JCWebb70

I do fish 1 to 2 times a week, as far as big fish, I have caught my share of DD's with a 12.3 being the largest.