I caught a fish for the first time ever today (named him/her Frobert) during a moment when I was least expecting to (while helping my S.O. untangle his line lol). After the quick photo I panicked and looked up how to hold a fish and am now scared that I injured him badly.
A few things I did some research on: I’m 80% sure I’m only holding the gill plate since it was all bony and fingernaily, I didn’t feel anything squishy, and Frobert darted away immediately after I put him back in the water. Now I know to hold him horizontally and by the mouth(??) but I’m terrified that I really hurt him.
Posted by HyperrealisticCarrot
4 Comments
Bout like this much https://youtu.be/wKbU8B-QVZk?si=bR70h-oZWRUmbGet
Frobert is dead and you have to live with that guilt for the rest of your life.
He’s fine. You’re holding the gill plate, not the gills. It’s not advisable to do this because it is easy to inadvertently damage the gills this way, but now you know better. If you damaged the gills you would know right away because they bleed profusely.
Holding a smaller fish like that by the gillplate (making sure not to go between the gill rakes) is generally safe. On bigger fish youd want to hold them horizontally using one hand to hold either the jaw or the gillplate and one hand to support the body. Its always a good idea to try and avoid putting your hands in the gills if you have stuff on your hands like sunscreen or bugspray, but other than that im sure Frobert will live a happy life.