Quinte Fishing

I am curious as to the present perception of gaffing, while icefishing?

Personally, I will not use them and like to discourage their use.

Regards
The Ziffel

I don't like them either, and even if they are used carefully, they may cause terrible injury to the fish. I suppose if your fish is going to be a 'keeper'....it can be argued they are ok. Bigger Pickrel that I see being returned, may not fair well with their use. If its a biggy...why gaff it if your returning it???

It's all down to personal choice, but I am with you on this one.

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Remember, the best weather to catch fish in, is the weather prevailing when you do!

Be happy, take care, enjoy!

Gaffing is a diffent NO NO if your putting any fish back, cut a bigger hole and you never need to gaff!

I saw a nice gaffe that was custom made a few years back. The guy had bought a big treble hook but cut off 2 of the hooks. He then attached the remaining hook to the tip of a pool cue . When he caught a fish he didnt gaffe the fish in the usual way. He simply put the gaffe near the underside of the mouth then pulled the fish out onto the ice. No damage to the fish.

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Dan Elliot - A bad day on Quinte is better than a good day at work !!!
http://www.quintefishing.com

In my opinion it depends on if I plan on keeping the fish or not, If I plan on keeping it I still try to do a lip gaff. But most of the time I'll try to just pull them on the ice.

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LG Mckeown ,Bacon&Eggs-- A lifes commitment for a pig and only a days work for a chicken!

Hey Guys,

Has anyone used a Boga Grip for ice fishing?

I use a Lindy Fish Glove. I have a gaf but have never used it.

Over the years I have watched people use gaffs. Some with an
almost skill where they hook just under the lower jaw every time.
I have watched other butchers do a belly hook on every fish they
catch.

I plan to leave my gaff at home this year.

Does anyone want it?

BATMAN

As an old buddy of mine said many years a go...fishmongers use a gaff, anglers don't.

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Remember, the best weather to catch fish in, is the weather prevailing when you do!

Be happy, take care, enjoy!

I do not like the idea of using a gaff.

Don Stokes

Hey, it's not a big deal to lose a fish..... It's the good company sitting beside you in the shack, on the ice, or boat that make the day great. The fish is a bonus!!

Does this look right to you?? On the ice or not, throw that thing away.
Well said!! Hope I didn't hurt any feelings saying that!! Get over it!!

Hi all.
I think this is a good topic, it deals with fish handling and the choice of keeping or releasing a fish. I have seen on this forum that the popular choice is release, but if a fish is damaged keep it. This is only my opinion, and here it goes. The fishers here are great conservators, protecting, but also reaping the rewards of a great fishery. I fish for Walleye for two reasons. I cannot say whether I like eating them is more important or the catching. That is a pretty simple statement since if I didn't catch them I couldn't eat them, and of course sobey's has them too.
I truly love eating them.
I truly love catching them.
I thought initially that the gaff thing was a killer, and then Dan showed that carefully thought out gaff with a caring angler could use one efficiently.
Of course that would take practice and true dedication to the release, in other words preaching to the converted, and requiring skill.
We all seem to strive for the skill required to catch these fish, we must also strive to learn about the release.
I believe I saw a post about drilling bigger holes in order to get the fish when ice fishing. I have limited experience fishing through the ice on 5 inches, and I believe that may be good advice. I do however have a lot of experience when dealing with 3 to 8 feet of ice. If you have a six inch hole with 2 feet of ice or more, the 6 inch hole is really good. The fish comes up and even if your line breaks the fish cannot turn around and escape. I watched a very experienced angler pull a very stout but heavy 28 lb pike through a 4 inch hole. We were 8 miles out of Yellowknife on 4 ft of early January ice. That fish once in the hole could not be lost, as fish can't swim backwards. I guess what I am trying to say is that conditions may dictate how and what you do, and that something that seems wrong may be right.
Cheers Clark

are gaffs the same as a meathook??? what is a gaff??

bought a gaff, used it once, stepped in a 10" hold and lost my boot, quick use with the gaff and a soaking wet arm i got the boot back. that was the only time i ever used mine. just get the head into the hole, they usually end up smiming out anyways (fish not boots).