Page 39 - 2011 Lake St. Clair Guide Magazine

≈ Gas Dock & Pump Out Service on the North Channel ≈ 1784 N. Channel Harsen's Island

810-748-3082

8AM to 4:30 PM Daily

▪ Summer Wells ▪ City Water ▪ 30 Amp Electrical Service
▪ Heated Swimming Pool ▪ Picnic Pavilion & Beach ▪ WI-FI Access
▪ Private Restrooms & Showers ▪ Overnight Dockage Available ▪ Scenic Safe Harbor on the River

Call us Today for Our COMPLETE MARINE SERVICE
Competitive Pricing
CERTIFIED MERCURY MECHANICS ON DUTY
Winter Storage: Out Drive Services & Rebuilds — Computer Diagnostics
"60,000 ft2 of Heated Storage"
Engine Overhauls — Oil & Filter Changes — Tune Ups
• Inside Cold Storage • We are equipped for most types of boat repair, give us a call
• Outside Storage • and our friendly crew will help you with your boating needs!!

EXPERIENCED BOAT HANDLERS www.SunsetBoatHarbor.com

Continued from previous page.... jaw without having to grasp the fish’s body.
• Minimize deep hooking by setting the hook as quick- • Landing nets made of soft, woven, knotless nylon

ly as possible. Do not play fish to exhaustion since or rubber do much less damage to the fish than nets
this adds to stress levels and lengthens their recovery made of hard, knotted nylon twine.
period. • When holding the bass, grasp the lower jaw. This
• Protect the Slime Coat. Fish secrete a protective usually immobilizes the fish, provides a good, firm
“slime” or mucus as a barrier to disease. Every effort hold and allows the angler to remove the hook without
should be made to avoid removal of the mucus coat. touching the fish’s body. Once the fish is in the boat,
• Swinging or flipping fish into the boat and onto the hold it vertically, touching it elsewhere as little as pos-
floor should be avoided. Pulling small fish out of the sible. Never bend the fish’s head down or try to hold
water by the line allows the angler to grasp the lower the fish horizontally by the lower jaw.
• Minimize hook removal injury. For years it was as-
Scott‛s sumed that it was best to leave the hook in a deeply
Charters hooked fish because the metal would rust away.
Recent studies, however, have confirmed that this is
Keep your not always the case. Every effort should be made to
catch alive... remove hooks as quickly and with as little tissue dam-
age as possible.
• Air Exposure. Each air exposure adds more stress
— landing, unhooking, measuring, bagging, weigh-
in, etc. Unhook fish quickly and measure them on a
wet measuring board. Place them in the already filled
livewell. As a rule-of-thumb, limit air exposure to no
longer than you can hold your breath – because a fish
out of water is holding his.

The author, publisher, or seller assumes no liability with respect to the use of information contained herein. Page 39