Snagged and not released

[salmotrutta]

Anyone else get something other than a chinook while salmon fishing today?

 

[piju]

Anyone else get something other than a chinook while salmon fishing today?

 

[salmotrutta]

it's possible that you yanked that off of a chinook

I thought I had a big fish, then I thought it was a jack, then I realized it was a motherfu**in parasite!

So yes, I think you are correct. Must add that 90% of my fish today were in the mouth (it was impossible to avoid foul hooking a couple, and I was able to break them off immediately), and about 30% were hooked deep inside their mouth!

I learned a lot today on the river. 6lb test is no worse than 8 or 10lb, never thought so before today. Even the cheap ($1 for 90 pcs) Dollarama hooks are fine for chinooks, they can withstand multiple 30 lbers back to back. And CT's $20 Shimano reels rock! With the drag set properly, even a double digit salmon day did no damage. Last year, I had my drag set far too low. A high enough drag also eliminates line twist, as long as you don't do much reeling.

 

[piju]

I thought I had a big fish, then I thought it was a jack, then I realized it was a motherfu**in parasite!

So yes, I think you are correct. Must add that 90% of my fish today were in the mouth (it was impossible to avoid foul hooking a couple, and I was able to break them off immediately), and about 30% were hooked deep inside their mouth!

I learned a lot today on the river. 6lb test is no worse than 8 or 10lb, never thought so before today. Even the cheap ($1 for 90 pcs) Dollarama hooks are fine for chinooks, they can withstand multiple 30 lbers back to back. And CT's $20 Shimano reels rock! With the drag set properly, even a double digit salmon day did no damage. Last year, I had my drag set far too low. A high enough drag also eliminates line twist, as long as you don't do much reeling.

:razz:

 

[salmotrutta]

sounds like you had a great day with the light line and the "cheap" hooks you must be using a very forgiving rod that absorbs a lot of the tension.

It was a 7' M rod, but the tip was broken off so it's a little under 7'.

It's my only piece of half decent equipment, purchased at Hirk's last year when they were closing. It's a Pflueger President.

 

[piju]

It was a 7' M rod, but the tip was broken off so it's a little under 7'.

It's my only piece of half decent equipment, purchased at Hirk's last year when they were closing. It's a Pflueger President.

:cry:

 

[salmotrutta]

I just cut it down to the next eye. The rod has a lot of eyes near the tip.

 

[rocheleauc]

Nasty. A guy I was fishing with last year hooked one that was attached to a bow and it came flying at me once the fish started to run lol. I had another one attach itself to my boot on my waders the same day too. Hate those things.

 

[Klamp]

Are those things invasive, i.e. don't put back in the water?

 

[salmotrutta]

That's the infamous lamprey, of barrier fame.

I don't think the regs expect people to catch them, so I am not sure if the issue of what to do with one is specifically addressed. Maybe for liability reasons too - they don't want people touching them.

 

[Blair]

Sea Lamprey
Petromyzon marinus


The sea lamprey is a primitive, eel-like fish native to the northern Atlantic Ocean and the Baltic, western Mediterranean and Adriatic seas. Sea lampreys invaded the Great Lakesin the early 20th century through shipping canals.

In their native range, lampreys live part of their lives in salt water, but they have adapted to living entirely in fresh water in theGreat Lakes. As adults they spawn in rivers and streams. The eggs hatch into larvae that live on organic matter in stream bottoms until they transform into parasites that migrate downstream to lakes. The adult lampreys spend 12 to 20 months feeding on the blood of other lake-dwelling fish, until they are ready to travel upstream to spawn. The complete life cycle usually lasts five to nine years.

Range

The native range of the sea lamprey includes the Atlantic coast of North America from Newfoundland to northern Florida, the Atlantic coast of Europe, and the Baltic, western Mediterranean and Adriatic seas. Today sea lampreys are also found in all of the Great Lakes. Sea lamprey larvae live inGreat Lakes tributaries that have suitable habitat until they become juveniles or “transformers.”

Impacts of Sea Lamprey

The devastating impact of the sea lamprey on Great Lakes sport, commercial and Aboriginal fisheries in the 1940s and 50s ledCanadaand theUnited Statesto form the Great Lakes Fishery Commission in 1955. Since then the commission has led a program to assess and control the species using measures that target different stages of its life cycle. These include chemicals that selectively kill lamprey larvae, and barriers and traps that prevent adult lampreys from moving upstream to spawn.

Although it is likely impossible to eliminate the sea lamprey from the Great Lakes, ongoing efforts to control the species have reduced populations by 90 per cent. Unfortunately, the remaining sea lampreys continue to affect native fish species.

• The sea lamprey uses its sucker mouth, sharp teeth and rasping tongue to attach itself to the body of a fish and suck the fish’s blood. Fish that survive the attack are left with a large open wound that can become infected and often leads to death.
• During its parasitic phase, one sea lamprey can destroy an average of 18 kilograms of fish.

As few as one in seven fish may survive a sea lamprey attack. The result has reduced stocks of lake trout, salmon, whitefish, cisco and burbot.

How to Identify Sea Lamprey

Adults:

• Cylindrical bodies are 30 to 76 centimetres long with no scales.
• Leathery skin is grey to dark brown with dark blotches and a lighter belly.
• Sharp teeth radiate around a rasp-like tongue at the centre of a large sucker mouth.
• The fish has large eyes, two dorsal fins, no pelvic or pectoral fins, a single, mid-dorsal nostril, and seven obvious gill openings on each side.

Larvae:

• Larvae are up to 18 centimetres long, blind and wormlike, with a black to pale grey body and a light underside.
• In larvae four centimetres or longer, the first and second dorsal fins are distinctly separate.

Similar native species include silver lamprey (Ichthyomyzon unicuspis), chestnut lamprey (I. castaneus), northern brook lamprey (I. fossor), American brook lamprey (Lampetra appendix) and American eel (Anguilla rostrata).

What You Can Do

• Learn how to identify sea lamprey and how to prevent the spread of this unwanted species.
• Don’t put any live fish intoOntariowaters.
• Don’t help sea lampreys pass over dams and culverts that block their spawning migration.
• If you catch a fish with a sea lamprey attached, do not return the sea lamprey to the water. Kill it and put it in the garbage.
• For questions on sea lamprey or the Sea Lamprey Control Program, contact the Sea Lamprey Control Centre of Fisheries and Oceans Canada in Sault Ste. Marie at 1-800-553-9091, or learn more about fighting sea lampreys with science.
• Report other invasive species sightings to the Invading Species Hotline at 1-800-563-7711, or report a sighting online.

Other Resources

• www.invasivespeciescentre.ca
• ontario.ca/invasivespecies
• www.glfc.org

 

[Klamp]

@Blair good info. Looks like they wanna know about sightings and Salmontrutta got a great photo of one.

That thing is fugly!

 

[despotiko]

It was a 7' M rod, but the tip was broken off so it's a little under 7'.

Although it is possible to land a chinook with a 7' rod and 6lb test, it is not good for the fish and mortality increases dramatically when playing a fish for so long. I saw the way you played those fish and if you werent chasing them 100m down river, they would have never been landed. Saving money and all is great, but we cant be ignorant to the well being of the fish. I believe over playing a fish is just as bad as landing a snagged one. It causes just as much stress, especially when the water is as warm as it is now in the tribs. A 7'foot medium power rod with 6lb test is just not suitable or engineered to safely handle such large fish, in such tight quarters. On a side note it was nice seeing you on the river yesterday and thanks again for retrieving my float. Hopefully you'll take this advice and put it towards the guiding services you provide, to educate your clients on how to properly play and land fish with adequate equipment. :wink:

Dimitri

 

[salmotrutta]

Although it is possible to land a chinook with a 7' rod and 6lb test, it is not good for the fish and mortality increases dramatically when playing a fish for so long. I saw the way you played those fish and if you werent chasing them 100m down river, they would have never been landed. Saving money and all is great, but we cant be ignorant to the well being of the fish. I believe over playing a fish is just as bad as landing a snagged one. It causes just as much stress, especially when the water is as warm as it is now in the tribs. A 7'foot medium power rod with 6lb test is just not suitable or engineered to safely handle such large fish, in such tight quarters. On a side note it was nice seeing you on the river yesterday and thanks again for retrieving my float. Hopefully you'll take this advice and put it towards the guiding services you provide, to educate your clients on how to properly play and land fish with adequate equipment. :wink:

Dimitri

One or two fish ran up to your side of the pool, the remainder barely even entered the tunnel. 7' rod and 6lb test is fine for salmon, if you're skilled enough to handle it. The ones that ran up obviously had a tonne of power, and I'm not sure I had set my drag correctly yet at that point.

The guys on their pins yesterday weren't exactly landing theirs in a timely fashion, I might add. No one was - they're chinooks for God's sake. I landed a couple in under a minute, that was by chance because they ran themselves into shallow rapids.

I do agree that an 8' or longer rod would give me a lot more leverage in fighting a 25lb chinook, especially when I am standing in the creek as opposed to on a bank where I have more leverage.

Like I said to you on the creek, I landed 10 fish yesterday, more than I saw anyone else land. The ones that were fought to exhaustion were kept for roe, as I had zero roe prior to yesterday, having not kept any female steelhead last spring. I would rather cull a female chinook than a female steelhead.

As far as guiding for salmon goes, not one of my clients has ever showed up for salmon fishing with a rod under 8', and they usually bring longer ones, on my advice.

 

[despotiko]

One or two fish ran up to your side of the pool, the remainder barely even entered the tunnel. 7' rod and 6lb test is fine for salmon, if you're skilled enough to handle it. The ones that ran up obviously had a tonne of power, and I'm not sure I had set my drag correctly yet at that point.

The guys on their pins yesterday weren't exactly landing theirs in a timely fashion, I might add. No one was - they're chinooks for God's sake. I landed a couple in under a minute, that was by chance because they ran themselves into shallow rapids.

I do agree that an 8' or longer rod would give me a lot more leverage in fighting a 25lb chinook, especially when I am standing in the creek as opposed to on a bank where I have more leverage.

Like I said to you on the creek, I landed 10 fish yesterday, more than I saw anyone else land. The ones that were fought to exhaustion were kept for roe, as I had zero roe prior to yesterday, having not kept any female steelhead last spring. I would rather cull a female chinook than a female steelhead.

As far as guiding for salmon goes, not one of my clients has ever showed up for salmon fishing with a rod under 8', and they usually bring longer ones, on my advice.

I beg to differ everyone in the pool i was fishing with was landing there fish quite effectively, they came in and went back in fast enough that they didn't have to be revived. I cant say the same of course for the idiots with the 50lb braid who took 5 minutes to land a fish and either took it with them or left it floating belly up. And part of being a skilled angler is understanding how to safely handle and land fish. I lost count of how many fish i landed, it was a spectacular day indeed, but i do know i did not have to walk more than 5 meters to land them, and as you know that particular spot has a set of riffles adjacent to it that they love running up, i cannot say i'd be able to keep them from running me up those riffles and around the bend without the right gear. Again not trying to bash you man, just a suggestion. If you find it fun though, all the power to you.

 

[fishermandan420]

what the eff do you if that thing bites you? they look like something from a horror film :unsure:

 

[Rain-Bow]

You can pull it off. It'll leave a mark though :smile:

 

[fishermandan420]

You can pull it off. It'll leave a mark though :smile:

tis but a scratch

 

[Klamp]

what the eff do you if that thing bites you? they look like something from a horror film :unsure:

If the urban legends I heard as a kid hold true, you can do one or all of the following:

1. Pour salt on it.

2. Use a lighter to burn it off.

3. Have someone (sober) pee on it.


:mrgreen:

 

[salmotrutta]

That's leeches and snails, given that these hail from the Atlantic, I'm not sure how well salt would work.

Can't think of any animals or fish that are impervious to heat - so the lighter may work.

A lot of people swim in the Great Lakes - and you don't really hear of human incidents involving these.

They actually have eyes and a discernible head, I should have taken a pic of that. Everyone's already seen their nasty teeth in pics.