Unhooking Pike, handling tips etc.

"Unhooking Pike" by Andy Macfarlane

I assume you are right-handed, in which case I'll describe unhooking as I go about it. You'll find most Pikers carry this out whilst in a kneeling position.
Lay the fish on its left flank, preferably on a wet unhooking mat, with it's head pointing towards your right hand. If you don't have a mat at hand, a wet jacket or a patch of soft, wet grass will suffice but ensure there is no possibility of injury, especially to the eyes. You may want to straddle the fish. I use my left shin to prevent the fish from flipping. I don't apply any weight on the fish. I just don't give it any room to move.
With your left hand, carefully lift the gill flap a little. Have a look under the flap to see the arrangement. You'll see 3 sets of rakers. Make sure your fingers haven't picked up any of these and slide 1 finger along the gill cover, towards the chin. When you get to the chin, you'll find your finger fits nicely into an area of soft skin with no teeth, no rakers and no obstructions.
Lift the head and you should find its mouth will stay wide open without force. You should now have the whole mouth cavity to work with unhindered. You should have at the very least a pair of 12" forceps and a pair of wire cutters at hand, nothing less. A pair of large, long-nose pliers are far more efficient than forceps though and can be bought for a few pounds from most discount tool stores. The wire cutters are for fiddly hook-ups. Sometimes it is easier to break the hooks up for quick removal. Never use the snips for cutting the wire, that's a potential death sentence. As long as you have all your unhooking tools at hand, you should find the whole unhooking operation takes less than a minute.
If you are struggling, don't panic. Take the fish in the net back to the water for a good breather. Give the fish and yourself a minute to calm down before carrying out any other procedures. Allow the fish a minute in the water for every minute you have it from the water.
Don't be scared to ask a more experienced Piker for a hand. They should gladly oblige and if asked, will show you how to cope with difficult hook-ups. Pikers love being asked for advice..it makes them feel important and necessary...lol
Once the fish has been cleared of all oral metalwork. Lift the fish with both hands and carry it back to the water. Once in the water, use your left hand to support the head and use your right hand to hold the tail root. Don't grip the tail, just form a circle with your thumb and finger. his prevents them going anywhere. Pike sometimes try to pull away immediately even though they are exhausted. Just keep a slight hold on the fish until you are sure it has fully recovered. Make sure the gill flaps are working and the fish can hold itself upright. Once its definitely ready to go, you will know. Release your hold and the fish should pull away immediately. Just keep an eye on the fish till it has gone. If its a really happy soldier you,ll get a free drink when it kicks its tail...

This guide is the fookin bees knees

It was this very post that attracted me to this forum in the first place

Very well written mate......and easily understood.

I try to put your advice into every catch mate......so far I have had no probs with un-hooking thanks to the above ramblings


Toight lines mate

as alway andy has put together a very informative post.i think any newbies concidering pike fishing should read this one first before,the tactics and venues threads.

If anyone has any further information with regards to handling and looking after our favourite quarry, post a *link/pictures, write an article and mail it to Andy, start a thread or just add to what has been said already. If you don't understand something, ask for clarification. If you know of a different way of doing something, by all means say so. If you've found a new tool, show us or wish to query a pair of cutters for instance, ask. Everyone has a slightly different way of doing things and if we all chip in, it can only help us all in the long-run.
We have some budding Photographers, Photoshop users and Video producers on here too. Maybe you could put together a something for the site? I've already done the 'Unhooking Pike' article. How about some pictures to go with it?
This is your site so use it. You never know, that article/post/thread/picture could be the beginning of a career in fishing. You'll never know unless you try, so give it a bash.

Regards...Andy...


*would ask that people add a simple footnote if the information has been sourced.

Andy Macfarlane wrote:I assume you are right-handed

No, I'm left handed so I go about it slightly different.

As per Andy's post, lay the fish on your wetted unhooking mat or patch of soft grass. If he/she is particularly angry and active, thrashing about like a good un, then all I do is lay them on their back and this fairly quickly subdues them. I use my right hand for the opening of the mouth (the same way as Andy describes, up under the gill cover & into the chin area) and have my 12" forceps in my left hand.

Now, as I have traces with 2 single hooks the actual unhooking is really quick and easy but I still always make sure I have wire cutters and 12" needle nosed pliers with me. Best to play safe.

I've only ever once deep hooked a pike and have to admit that I panicked. I was fishing on my own and started dozing off as I had a particularly crap night's sleep as my youngest son was still fairly young and us parents know that means sleepless nights

Anyhow, I quickly realised that I've got to help the pike by not trying to rush and stay calm as possible. So, just as Andy states, let him have a breather for a few minutes in the landing net while I gathered my thoughts. I remembered reading once that you can in fact turn a pike stomach inside out by pulling VERY GENTLY AND SLOWLY on the trace. It took some courage to do this as I was frightened of hurting my catch and had a good look around for any other anglers that I could shout over. There were none so had no choice but to go for it.

"It's true you can do it" I remember thinking and quickly got to work cutting the hooks and removing them and the bits I'd cut off. This is most important when you have to resort to cutting the hook, make sure you remove every single piece of hook as this can cause severe damage to the fish at a later date.

The stomach will return to normal fairly quickly and then it's just a case of putting him/her back into the landing net for another breather before releasing back into the water, making sure that recovery is full before doing so.

Although I found the experience frightening and traumatic at the time, I now have some certainty that if I do ever deep hook again that I can deal with the situation.

Just like Andy says in his post, ask another pike fisherman (or woman, let's not be sexist) for advice or help. Not only will, hopefully, you get someone with experience but I always think more highly of a person if they ask for help and advice as this shows they are willing to learn and not just soldier on regardless. Doing that can cause harm to your catch and/or yourself.

Maybe my post is not as good or instructive as the mighty Andy's but just thought I would give you my 'two pennorth' as it's from a left-handed perspective and thought I should add about if you are unfortunate enough to deep hook.

Keep up the good work Andy.

That's quite a brave admission but we're all human, accidents can and do happen and your situation demonstrates exactly why it's good to know these procedures inside out. It does get the heart going a bit when you have to remove a trace from a gut-hooked fish. Annoyingly, I've lost count at the number of fish I've caught with someone else's gear down the gullet but it's all practice, even if it's unwanted practice. Anyway, I'm glad it turned out alright for you.

Thankfully, I've not yet come across a fish that needs help due to another angler's mistakes/incompetence.

Notice how I say 'yet'. No doubt one day I will meet a fish in this situation but hope I never do.At least I know what to do to give the poor things a fighting chance if needed.

I just wish people would read up on how fragile the pike is instead of thinking it is the ultimate freshwater fish to catch, a real trophy that's hard as nails. Until the inexperienced trophy hunters do something constructive BEFOREHAND and actually bother to get some real advice and help from experienced pike anglers then we will continue to see/find distressed or dead pike in our waters.

Another good reason not to shout our mouths off about venues. Please guys, it can't be stressed enough, stick to PMs when discussing venues so we don't have to experience the above scenario.

Has nobody got any more to add? Surely someone has something they just can't kep to themselves.

My latest innovation...lol...innovation...was an addition to my usual piece of angling furniture. I normally use my unhooking mat to have lie on when I'm pike fishing but recently, I've been getting a little damp and cold. I was in town the other day and I saw a reflective screen/cover for car windows. It's fuzzy material on one side and it has heat reflective foily stuff on the other. It didn't weigh anything at all. Like paper actually and it was only 2 quid or something. I tried it out on my last 2 frozen wilderness expeditions and I have to say, it's been luxury. Down goes the mat, then down goes the shield, foil side down and then me on top. It's been brilliant. I can lie down now without having to cart a chair around and I can stay dry and warm. It's mad I know but for 2 quid, I can't grumble.

.....Regards....Andy.....