Malibu Kayaks of Canada

Written by Jeffrey Goudreau, http://www.xkfx.ca

Originally published on Canadian Kayak Anglers.com

Republished with permission. Copyright. All rights reserved  

Now I know these fish can be intimidating to a new angler but it is your responsibility to understand the proper techniques used in handling them if they are targeted by you and your friends. These fish often seem spunky and resilient but in fact they have a high mortality rate after release. There are different theories on a lot of this but these are based on my thoughts and experience: 

Catch and Release with Esox:
Without a net or cradle landing, an Esox species can be a bit of a task to manage safely for the fish. First off, make sure you have the tools you need to handle these fish.

Get yourself some long needle nose pliers to get into the depths of the mouth, hook cutters if they are buried deep and you cant get them out without killing the fish,  jaw spreaders for emergency use only and a bit of courage to get up close and personal with these toothy critters.
Now, you are going to have to take a good assessment of the hookset to see where the hooks are buried before attempting to land the fish. I try to grab the opposite side to the lure for obvious reasons. Here is the underneath of an esox.

When landing an Esox, there is almost a handle that is created if your hand slips in and under the white flesh and along the inner part of the gill plate. If you hold the fish in this area you have the power to perform quick surgery and deal with the shaking that may occur until you are reviving the fish. It also allows for nice photos like this one. 

One thing to think about is that these fish have linear organs that are held nicely in order naturally by the pressure of the water. When removed from the water, the pressure is gone and the organs are dangling around unsupported. Length holds like this one can be damaging if held to long. Though the pics are nice, the fish should not be moved around like this for long, if at all. 

Also, things like lip grippers and jaw spreaders can do lifetime damage to fish. It seems to be a big thing in kayak fishing to use these lip gripper tools, but if you want to practice good catch and release, you will leave the lip grippers at home. The Jaw spreaders are necessary in some cases, and you should always be equipped with them because of this. That said, you should not use the jaw grippers unless necessary. Holes can pierce through the membrane of the fish’s lower jaw that can lead to fungal growth that threatens the protective slime of the fish later in life. I’ve caught a bunch of very old Esox Luscious that had some big old holes from jaw spreaders. I’m not experienced catching them with lip gripper holes but I can only imagine the same outcome is taking place after viewing a lot of these kayak fishing photos with the species. The holes don’t seem to impede the fish’s ability to eat but I can only hypothesize that during spawn (shallow flood land aggressive behaviour) these fish may rip the holes further, and over time problems result.  In the long run these tools will have a result that is undesirable and should only be used out of necessity. 

When dealing with a fish that is smaller, there is a easy way to grab the fish. I grab the head of the fish just behind its eyes to grip it hard enough to apply your dehooking tool and still maintain control to keep my hands safe. This works as long as you don’t press your fingers too hard so that it forces the gill plates to cram into the gills themselves. 

While gathering media with these fish, we should be extra vigilant to keep these fish in good health. It’s tough to gather good photos with kayaks because of all kinds of variables. Keeping these fish in the water and protecting their slime from rubbing all off is a must. Get yourself in a secure position against the shore if possible and if not have your photographer get in position before yanking the girl out of the water. 
 
Reviving the fish. Make sure that you hold the fish in its upright position. Often I find the fish gets disorientated during all of this and obviously the upright position is the desired end result. A tired fish will have a tendancy to roll over belly up so try to support the fish to keep this from happening. Ultimately, the fish should start kicking a bit and have gill flares to show it’s breathing and ready. DO NOT hold the fish by the tail and pull it back and push it forward. This is a common mistake even with seasoned anglers. The misconception is that this is oxygenating the gills. That’s bullocks‘. This is in fact impeding the oxygen and natural intake. Fish do not naturally move back and forth to breath. Keep it natural. Let them gill flare to get a burst if they want. Face them in the current if that’s possible but don’t yank them back and forth. 

All this said, dealing with these fish on a perfect C&R level is almost impossible. People need to be prepared with the right tools, knowledge about the species and be vigilant. Oh! And quick. Haha. It’s not going to be perfect every time. No chance… So just do your best to do what you gotta do and know that you did your best. If the fish dies and you’ve done your best, then you can float away knowing you gave it your all. 
TIPS: 
Cut hooks. A lot of the time it’s faster and safer for everyone to cut hooks. 
Keep the fishes head in the water. Lol. Often I see people trying to do the good deed of keeping it in the water but they are holding the fish by the head and its gills are out of the water. Its funny to watch but I don’t think the fish is thinking that.
If you get a hook set where the lure is deep and because of mulitple hooks on the lure it is to hard to get the lure out of the mouth it is sometimes easier to slide the lure out through the gills and then chop your line to finish the job.

Improper holds:
This is called the I have no clue how to hold one and the instant it thrashes it’s gonna be on the floor where I will kick it till it stops thrashing hold.
 

This ones called Freezer burn

And last but not least. The Eyeball Hold

Proper holds:
Guide and friend Chad Hanson from Wollaston Lake lodge with proper technique

If you’re lucky enough to get one of these out of the water, just support it the best you can