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Mark Knapp

Gill Fingers

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Blue cats are actually bigger and more common to catch than flatheads at least in Illinois.Crazy thing happened years ago,the power plant/nuke lakes which there are several started getting warmer and warmer as power demand increased.These lakes  usually a few thousand acres are "perched" lakes meaning a big dike surrounds the perimeter and the water levels are much higher than the surrounding flat farm land.This is to aid in surface cooling.These lakes were fantastic fisheries when they first opened and the bass panfish walleyes stripers catfish musky etc thrived as the artificial environment made year round growth possible.I once caught dozens of catfish on a clouser minnow fishing for smallmouths.Well the party ended as the water got too hot for most fish and the fisheries declined.Shad and algae blooms took over.Someone figured out flat head and more so blue cats thrived in the warm water and roam open water gorging on shad.I know several guys who troll thes lakes with big rattle traps and other chrome colored crank baits and catch giant catfish.No one eats these fish so they just get bigger every year.Big strong fish hooked on crankbaits with big treble hooks in a wind blown choppy lake can ruin your day.A tool like this could come in handy.I have seen flatheads and blues 60 to 80 lbs landed from shore from these lakes.

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19 minutes ago, jcozzz said:

Blue cats are actually bigger and more common to catch than flatheads at least in Illinois.Crazy thing happened years ago,the power plant/nuke lakes which there are several started getting warmer and warmer as power demand increased.These lakes  usually a few thousand acres are "perched" lakes meaning a big dike surrounds the perimeter and the water levels are much higher than the surrounding flat farm land.This is to aid in surface cooling.These lakes were fantastic fisheries when they first opened and the bass panfish walleyes stripers catfish musky etc thrived as the artificial environment made year round growth possible.I once caught dozens of catfish on a clouser minnow fishing for smallmouths.Well the party ended as the water got too hot for most fish and the fisheries declined.Shad and algae blooms took over.Someone figured out flat head and more so blue cats thrived in the warm water and roam open water gorging on shad.I know several guys who troll thes lakes with big rattle traps and other chrome colored crank baits and catch giant catfish.No one eats these fish so they just get bigger every year.Big strong fish hooked on crankbaits with big treble hooks in a wind blown choppy lake can ruin your day.A tool like this could come in handy.I have seen flatheads and blues 60 to 80 lbs landed from shore from these lakes.

Yes, I think the gill tool would a very useful tool to aid in releasing fish like cats and pike too. Tough species you can't kill a with a stick if you wanted too. For more delicate fish, I wouldn't use it.

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That would have been handy when I used to fish offshore more and you would have a bunch of mahi and tuna to offload at the end of the day. 

Another tool for easy fish handling is a Boga Grip:

https://www.amazon.com/Boga-Grip-315-15lb-Scale/dp/B0B6T2M612

The Boga is great since it has the built in IGFA scale, but there are many lower cost options available. I have had a pair of Berkley Grips that have been in use for over 20 years and still function like new and it was only $29.99. It makes handling larger fish and toothy critters easy even when practicing catch and release.

 

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On 11/8/2022 at 3:44 PM, Chasing_Tails said:

That would have been handy when I used to fish offshore more and you would have a bunch of mahi and tuna to offload at the end of the day. 

Another tool for easy fish handling is a Boga Grip:

https://www.amazon.com/Boga-Grip-315-15lb-Scale/dp/B0B6T2M612

The Boga is great since it has the built in IGFA scale, but there are many lower cost options available. I have had a pair of Berkley Grips that have been in use for over 20 years and still function like new and it was only $29.99. It makes handling larger fish and toothy critters easy even when practicing catch and release.

 

I have the Boga grips and like them but the problem with them is (1) you need the fish to open their' mouths for you to grab them. Many of our fish are reluctant to open their mouths, like rockfish. (2) They only hold fish up to a limited size. we pick up fish up to about 50 pounds with the one I made. The Bogo doesn't come very close to that.

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