PM sent to you Mr. Jigawho...

Get'em Ken!

Maybe I missed something. Really, is this jaw thing a problem??? Has the number of bass been falling off recently??? Are there any real statistics on the number of bass that have died due to this??? I personally haven't seen any dead bass floating around the ramps or washed up on banks following tournaments.... Seems to me that since the tournament guys quit nailing the bass to planks at the weigh in and gone to catch and release, things have done just fine... I catch lots of fish that have been caught before.. Just give me some substaniated / validated data showing that jaw breaking is killing fish and that this is the source of a huge problem. Where is the proof? Just don't get the global warming scientists to gather the data.

I suggest that we take the picture, throw 'em in the live well, and take 'em home, slice 'em up and fry 'em up... no problem with the jaw... bury it in the garden.. great fertilizer for onions to put in the hush puppies... The next thing we know, this will be the PETA or SPCA or some other tree hugger kind of forum....

Of course if you want to try and catch them on hooks without barbs and handle them like 2 minute old babies, then fine, go for it.. just don't try to get everyone to buy into it... next thing we know, there will be another law limiting fishing...

Just my opinion... one opinion.

Ken, Im wrong and I apologize to you. I did make a sarcastic sttement towards your comment. However, I did not mean any harm and was only trying to bring a little light hearted humor into my argument. I am sorry if I hurt your feelings or if you felt like I was trying to make you look foolish. Honestly, this was not my intention. I do not know you and am sure you are a great perosn. You have every right to your opinion and I value it though I may not agree with you on this matter. I was not trying to be personal at all and and it is just a debate of opinions, not persoanl!

Have a good one!

Its all good here bud. This is a great site to talk about & debate the sport we love. It is completely understandable that every once in a while some of us will disagree strongly about one thing or another. It just shows we have a passion for this sport of bass fishing.

You really don't owe me an apology and I wasn't offended. I was simply telling a story about something I witnessed in person and was glad I did...

Let's meet one day at Lake Fork Marina and I will buy you a cheeseburger basket and pie. Then we can hit the lake and catch a biggun. Just don't be hatin on me when I don't hold it per specifications for the pic...

Ken

Where does Bass Pro get most of the fish that they display in the aquarium? If they are donated by fishermen I'll bet there's a good chance that they have been hoisted vertically by their lower lip. (And I could be wrong about this.) But they do seem to feed alright when the minnows hit the water. However if there's a chance that this is hard on the bigger fish, I'll try to minimize handling the few that I catch this way.

oops

You think holding a fish by it's lower lip will break it's jaw, but what about the hook set and ensuing fight to get it to the boat?

take a jig and hold it between your forefinger and thumb, have a buddy back off 25yds away while you hold it. HAve him set the hook while you hold the jig.... If he's using mono, he can't snatch the hook out of your fingers. (don't try this with braid)
IMO, your not going to break a bass' jaw on hookset.

It don't hurt their jaw;It hurts their Head!

I haven't hurt jaws or heads in a month or so now.......I'm ready for warmer water

Anybody have any real scientific evidence that holding a bass by its lower jaw causes injury? I do take care not to abuse the fish, but never heard or felt a bass's jaw "break" while holding it. IMHO, like someone else has said - if a big fish has a little fight left in it while holding it with the 2 hand method - it's gonna fall on the ground, deck of the boat, etc., and flopping on the ground can't be good. Let's see some scientific evidence. I think these bass are tougher than we think. JMHO

Here's an article that has it covered.

http://ofsjournal.ofieldstream.com/2009/06/lip-grip-is-out/

The Problem: Gripping the lower lip (dentary), while holding the fish horizontal. Thus, forcing the entire body weight of the fish to be supported at the operculum fulcrum point [OFJ](jaw).

The Result: The muscles connecting to the OFJ are subjected to extreme flexion. At the minimum, severe muscle stress and strain, resulting in the inability to use these muscles for eating. This puts a fish at high risk of fatal release. At maximum, muscle and cartilidge are damaged, along with the connecting tissue, with possible socket disslocation. This would be a broken jaw and a 100% post release mortality.

It is according to the article the horizontal lip holding of the fish, which makes sense. I don't do this, if I hold them by the lower jaw I only hold them vertical.

It doesnt break everytime, the biggest one I caught and put in my pond was just fine, I hooked it over a year after I released it and it broke 17lb test line after she decided to make a last second surge right in front of the dock. I do think it's better to be safe than sorry though and will be more careful if I ever get another chance to latch my hands onto another good'un. Horseplaydvm, this is what you mean by holding them vertical, right?