Looking After Your Catch Is The Most Important Aspect in fishing. Here Is A All-In-One Carp Care Guide TO Highlight The Correct Way To Treat Your Carp.
1 REMOVE THE CARP FROM THE WATER
Always be ready and prepared. Have your landing net ready for the moment. Its a good idea to put out a bank stick dedicated to to your landing net close or inside the water so that when the fish slips into the net you can simply hook your net onto the bank stick with your catch inside while you get the rest of your landing gear ready for the pictures.
Make everything wet
Make sure you wet your hands, sling and landing mat properly before touching the fish. This ensures that the protective slimy membrane on the carps skin doesn’t dry up which could cause damage and scarring to the fish. Its vitally important that the fish never touches the dry ground
Choose a great spot
Choose a great spot for you photo taking into account the backdrop you will have and the elements that might be in the picture. Many anglers like to position their mat in front of some bush or reeds in order to hide the location from the viewer. Others like to show the water as a backdrop. Important is to keep in mind from which direction the sun is shining and any shadows that may show up on your photo.
Camera and scales
Get your Camera out and set up a tripod if you have one – ready for the shot. Or in many cases simply direct your fellow angler or photographer where they should take the photo from. Get your Scale out and zero the scale with your wet sling in order to get the accurate weight.
Remove and roll
Now its unhook your landing net poles and roll it up towards the carp so that you keep a tight support and control on the carp when picking it up from the water. Its even a better idea to slip your weigh sling underneath the fish once rolled up in the net to add that extra security for the lift.
Bring ashore
Make sure the fins are nicely tucked to the side of the fish’s body and then lift the carp out of water making sure the fish does not bump into any land objects on its way to the mat.
2 UNHOOKING A FISH
Many of our local pressured waters like Homestead or other urban dams have fish that suffer damaged mouths mostly because of poor unhooking skills or hooks that have broken off during a fight with un unprepared angler. Looking after our fish should be one of the more important skills that any Specimen angler should have. Make sure you treat your hook hold with some disinfectant to ensure the would heals up quickly.
Get a grip
It’s important to grip the hook when taking the hook out of the carp’s mouth. Use your thumb to press down on the eye of the hook while your other hand pulls on the curve of the hook. Popping it out this way is normally the easiest and most effective.
Use forceps
Some hook holds are easier to remove than others. If you’re really struggling to unhook the fish, then use a pair of forceps to clamp down on the shank of the hook and apply downward pressure until it pops out.
Snip, snip
If you find yourself in the unfortunate position where the hook point has gone in and come back out of the flesh, instead of passing it back through, which could cause significant damage to the fish’s mouth, simply snip the point and barb off the hook and pass it back through.
3 TRANSFERRING A CARP FROM THE MATT TO THE SLING
You’ve caught a cracking fish, the photos have been taken, it’s now time to get those all-important figures and find out just how much she weighs. Again, from a fish safety aspect it’s essential to get this right so the fish can return to the water without damage and minimal stress.
Wet, wet, wet
Ensure your sling is wet before attempting to place a carp into it. If the sling mesh is dry then this can cause the protective slimy membrane that covers the fish’s body to dry out and may result in damage or scarring to the carp’s skin.
Place and lift
Lay the wet sling open on the mat and lift the fish onto the sling in an upright position. This is better than laying the fish on its side as the movement of lifting the fish up on its side whilst weighing could cause fin damage.
Fin perfect
Before you zip up the sling and lift the fish onto the scales, check that all the fins are flat to the fish’s body. If they are not this will cause unnecessary stress to the fish and potentially damage its fins.
Zip and lift
Once all the previous steps have been carried out, zip-up the weigh sling to ensure the fish cannot fall out when lifted, then attach the scales to the sling handle and lift your prize, not moving the fish away from the mat, in order to see those pounds and ounces!
4 CONTROLLING A CARP ON THE MATT
Every now and then we catch a real lively one that continues its fight on the bank. Some fish go berserk on the mat and it’s essential that we own the knowledge and ability to calm them down and stop the fish causing itself harm whilst in captivity.
Get over it
The very first action to take if our carpy friend gets a bit excited on the mat is to get your body over the frantically flapping critter and hold the carp in position so it’s not left flapping around of its own accord. This will reduce the light on the fish as your body will shadow any sunlight that is present and you will be able to take full control of the fish so that it cannot injure itself or slide off the mat.
Block the light
If the fish is still giving you the run around, cover its head with a wet sling. This will relax the fish, as the mesh will block
all the light.
Hot potato
If your catch decides to give you a tail slap whilst your holding it for a photograph, then bring the fish close to your body and lower the carp gently onto the mat until the fish behaves. When holding a fish you can tell when it’s going to flick its tail or have a wriggle, as the fish will tense up just before. When you feel the fish tense, lower it onto the mat until normal order is restored.
5 HOW TO HOLD A CARP
This may seem like a no brainer for many, however, we still see people in photographs or on the bank almost cuddling their catch rather than holding it correctly. It is paramount to hold a carp in the right manner for two reasons. Firstly it will be a more comfortable experience for the fish and secondly, your photos will look great.
Keep low
Make sure you are in a crouched or kneeling position when holding the fish at all times, and always hold the fish over the mat, in case for any reason the fish should begin to flap and force you to lose grip.
Fingers and fins
To hold a carp correctly, one hand must be placed with your fingers gripping either side of the pectoral fin and the other hand should repeat the process on the carp’s anal fin.
Close to your body
Never hold a fish too far away from your body, as you will find it difficult to safely control the fish should it start to flap around. Always stick to tucking your elbows and upper arms parallel to your body with your forearms at a right-angle, this is the safest and best way to hold a carp.”
