When I catch bass, I lip them (careful not to strain their jaw) but with Picks and trout, pikes and others, what's the proper way to hold them?
Very Carefully! lmao, but for real you can grab them under the gill plate being carefull not to a) not damage there gills and b) not sticking your fingers in to far and getting them bitten off
Or just cradle them one hand under the gills other hand on their belly
I handle Pics and Pikes with long needle nose pliers, they never leave the water, they slime up every thing and they stink!!
Smallys sort of fall asleep if you hold under their belly. Never tried to see for how long.
Large mouth i lip but be careful as their weight can break the jaw.
Pike,just grab under the gill if you cant hold over the back.Sure they can cut you. See the blood in the pic? That's not the fishes blood
horn pout- cut the line! lmao
been stuck once and it burns like a bastard. So the once every 3 years i catch one i use an alternative method.lol
Large mouth i lip but be careful as their weight can break the jaw.
Pike,just grab under the gill if you cant hold over the back.Sure they can cut you. See the blood in the pic? That's not the fishes blood
horn pout- cut the line! lmao
been stuck once and it burns like a bastard. So the once every 3 years i catch one i use an alternative method.lol
I hate the thieving bastids (pickerel) 
I always hope that they shake off before I have to handle them. But, when forced to land them I will grab them from the top just behind the gills. I have a pair of fish grabbers but the picks just don't cooperate and it is easier to grab them by hand
I always hope that they shake off before I have to handle them. But, when forced to land them I will grab them from the top just behind the gills. I have a pair of fish grabbers but the picks just don't cooperate and it is easier to grab them by hand 
We have some big Picks in Monponsett, and they can give a great fight, but I hate 'em. When I was first learning to fish, I lipped one and quickly learned about thier large, sharp teeth. I now own a pair of fish grabbers that I keep on the boat for those nasty slime rockets! I pulled this one oput earlier this week fishing from the dock.
I like using the lip grips pictured above as well. I'm a huge supporter of CPR so if im not keeping the fish I try to handle the fish as little as possible. Touching the fish with dry hands will take a slime coat off the fish which could lead to an infection.
My lip grips are like $80 because they have a built in scale (not sure how accurate it is) but you can find cheaper ones that do a great job as well.
Depending on the type of fish I'll just lip them but obviously you can't do that if he's got a set of teeth...
My lip grips are like $80 because they have a built in scale (not sure how accurate it is) but you can find cheaper ones that do a great job as well.
Depending on the type of fish I'll just lip them but obviously you can't do that if he's got a set of teeth...
I hate pickerel too, especially if you catch them on a treble hook, it can be a real nightmare extracting that thing if it's deep in his mouth or throat. I keep a pair of gloves with me for handling them, you can hold them by the lip and often they'll open right up like bass. Don't feel the teeth at all if they try to chomp you. Then I just wipe the slime off the gloves on the ground or in the water.