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We Care About Fish Care - Angling Priorities
Fish are fragile things, even though the fight they can put up on the end of your line, and the damage the larger specimens can do to your tackle, may make that hard to believe! The issue with angling is that it involves taking fish out of their element of water, and anything out of its element is at risk.
As responsible, considerate anglers, our goal should always be to watch the fish we've brought to the bank, weighed, and photographed swim off strongly, an insouciant tail swipe making it clear that the fish in question has learned from the experience, and plans to be even more of a challenge to the next angler.
Does Fishing Hurt Fish?
While many observers worry that the process of playing in a fish is cruel and risky, statistics show that most of the harm that comes to fish as a result of angling happens on the bank, when a lively or panicked fish injures itself by thrashing on the ground. This kind of injury can easily be prevented with the use of appropriate fish care.
For some fish, the experience of being caught and landed, coupled with time spent out of the water, can be much more stressful than it is for others. These fish will need to be safely held in the water before being finally released, to give them a chance to get sufficient oxygen through their gills, and recover from what, for them, was quite an ordeal, even if the angler in question was as considerate as possible with them.
Why Is the Correct Fish Care Important?
Every angler understands that fish care is one of the primary aspects of fishing. Without adequate fish care, fish can end up injured and cannot swim and feed as freely as they would like. This means that fish don’t live as long as they could and don’t grow to the size they could.
This poses serious problems for anglers. We want to catch big, healthy fish, which in turn increase the fish population by producing big, healthy, offspring. To do so, we need to ensure that we take the utmost care of our captures on the bank – returning them to the water in as healthy a condition as we removed them. In this blog, we look to aid anglers in their fish care by providing information about the highest quality fish care products on the market.
Ways To Protect Fish
Fish care is vital at each stage of your angling session. First things first, you need to ensure that you’re choosing the best tackle items for the job which ensures that your fish will have the least stressful time on the bank possible – thus ensuring that when you return it to its home it will be able to thrive and flourish.
Unhooking Mat: An appropriate unhooking mat, which offers a protective, padded, gentle surface between fish and bank. Unhooking mats that are more deeply padded also seem to act to calm particularly lively fish, and are an essential part of any predator angling kit.
Cradle: allows you to support the fish in the water until it's strong enough to swim off safely, comes in very useful, and avoids the distressing experience of watching the fish you've landed die just moments after release – something no angler ever wants to go through.
Weighing Sling: keeps the fish calm, cool, and supported while you get it on the scales. Weighing a fish in a sling is a simple process; simply zero your scales with the sling attached, and avoid faffing about subtracting the weight of the sling from the weight of a fish – which relies on remembering what the sling weighed in the first place!
To help anglers purchase the best unhooking mat, cradle and weigh sling we will cover them each in more detail below!
Anglers should also entertain appropriate terminal tackle items such as unbarbed or micro barbed hooks, perfect tools such as disgorgers and pliers, as well as landing nets. We stock a huge range of landing nets on our site and in our stores, all of which have dedicated fish-friendly meshes. It is only by investing in the appropriate gear that you’re going to be able to ensure the safety of your catch as you remove it from its watery home.
What Feature to Look For in Unhooking Mats
As the name suggests, this is the mat that you place your capture on whilst you unhook them. Unhooking a fish isn’t always as simple as it sounds, particularly if you’re faced with a sharp-toothed predator on the end of your line, and it is important to have a firm and safe surface on which to rest your fish whilst you negotiate the hook from its mouth. There are two main types of unhooking mats available, although there is some cross over between the two, and we stock a selection of both to ensure that you’re always able to have access to the type of mat which suits your needs.
The first unhooking mat option is the basic mat. Usually padded, this is a flat mat that you place on the ground, ready for your capture. Some of the mats we stock will come with extra padding around the perimeter of the mat, which not only serves to hold any water in the mat but it also gives your capture a little additional protection.
Some unhooking mats will also be equipped with pegging points. This is especially useful if you’re on the bank in windy conditions and you want to have your mat set out before you’ve had a take. By pegging the mat down, you can ensure that it is exactly where you need it when you need it. Many of these flat unhooking mats are able to be folded or rolled, allowing for their easy transportation in, or strapped onto, your luggage. Some unhooking mats have attached covers, designed for laying over the fish to keep them in the dark whilst you set up your weighing equipment.
Benefits of a Fishing Cradle
The second fish care option is the ‘carp cradle’. This has the same padded base as the classic unhooking mat but it also has the added benefit of high rise padded sides. If you’re someone who regularly finds themselves having to battel with particularly hard fighting or aggressive captures on the bank, this is the perfect option for you. Not only does it trap the fish, meaning that if they do begin to fight back they aren’t going anywhere, but it also calms the fish.
Many of our cradle options also have long handles. This is ideal if you’re set up some way away from your swim, as it allows you to unhook your capture near to the water’s edge and then carry it up the bank to where your photographic and weighing equipment is already set up.
Kneeling When Unhooking Fish
Both options of mat and cradle can sometimes come fitted with an additional padded side flap. This is for you to kneel on whilst you unhook your fish, protecting your knees from the lumps and bumps of the ground in the same way that you’re protecting your carp. If you are someone with bad knees or you simply prefer a more comfortable option, this might be the deciding factor that pushes one mat ahead of another when you’re picking between two high-quality options.
Why Do I Need an Unhooking Mat?
Fish are used to swimming through the water and, as such, they are not designed to be pressed against a firm surface. By placing your fish directly on the bank, you seriously risk damaging its scales. Not only is the bank hard but it is also rarely smooth.
Twigs, stones, and other bankside debris can be dangerously damaging for your capture. This is why all the unhooking mats in our range are padded. This padding protects them from the lumps and bumps of the bankside terrain – ensuring that you can return the fish to the water in the exact same condition in which you removed it. In the water, the carp (or other fish) is somewhat protected from the feeling of its own weight, as it is partially supported by the water. Padding on your unhooking mat ensures that it does not cause so much damage.
Why Should I Wet My Unhooking Mat?
Another important thing to remember when using your unhooking mat is that you need to keep it wet – preferably with cold water directly from the lake. This is because a dry mat will strip the protective mucus layer from the fish, placing the fish at risk of diseases and damage. Whilst your fish is on the mat, you should pour more water over it. This not only helps to keep the fish cool, which is vital on a hot day, but it also keeps the mat lubricated.
Consider The Size of your Fish
When you’re looking to invest in an unhooking mat, it is important to purchase one which is big enough for your target fish. You don’t want your fish shuffling off your flat mat and you certainly don’t want to be forcing your fish into a too-small cradle. If you’re uncertain, we would recommend erring on the side of caution, as it is almost always better to have a mat that is slightly too big, as opposed to a mat that is too small.
How Much Does an Unhooking Mat Cost?
Our unhooking mats start at as little as £10, so practising good carp fishing care need not cost a fortune. If you do want to invest in a slightly larger or more padded option, then top-end carp cradles can be as much as £150. There are plenty of options in between these two figures, though, so whatever budget you are on and whatever requirements you have, you’ll be able to purchase the ideal unhooking mat for you.
Pros of a Weigh Slings
The second-largest type of product in the fish care category is weighed slings. Like unhooking mats, the name of this product is fairly self-explanatory. It is literally a sling that you place your capture in, which hooks around your scales in order to accurately weigh your fish.
For many anglers, knowing the weight of their capture is one of the most important aspects of angling. Ask any carp angler you meet about their favourite catch and chances are they will start by telling you the weight of the fish. It’s therefore not only important to invest in an accurate pair of scales, in order to ensure that you’re able to precisely record your captures, but it is also important to hold the fish safely and securely whilst you weigh it. Many fishing weighing slings have all been designed in a shape that complements the natural shape of the fish, and have been made with fish-friendly materials to look after their delicate scales.
Many of the weigh slings at Angling Direct can also double up retention or flotation slings. This means that they not only give you somewhere safe to hold your fish but they also provide a safe place for your fish to recover in the water before you release it back to its home.
Giving your fish adequate time to recover is just as important as any other aspect of fish care. Being out of the water is not only stressful for the fish but it is also tiring, so giving it the chance to ‘get its breath back’ before it has to swim off again is incredibly important and can make a huge difference to the ultimate growth and survival of your fish. After all, the 20lb carp you catch today could be the future UK record, so giving it the best chance to grow and thrive is ultimately going to benefit your fishing in future years.
How Much Does a Weigh Sling for Fishing Cost?
The weigh slings we stock range from simple netted slings to fully covered combination bags. These range in price from around £50 to under £10, once again ensuring that there is always the perfect weigh sling for both your budget and your needs.
Best Fish Care Brands
With both we weigh slings and our unhooking mats, there is a range of brands to look out for. These include the likes of Trakker, Aqua, and fish-care fanatics Korda. Because we’re passionate anglers ourselves, we’ve also created our own-brand range of fish care products. Our Advanta range provides excellent value for money products that we’re proud to call our own.
Fish Care Accessories
Unhooking mats and weigh slings aren’t the be-all and end-all when it comes to fish care, however. We also stock a range of carp care kits, from leading carp fishing brands such as Korda and Nash. These are medical kits which allow you to repair any damage you or other anglers may have accidentally caused.
Placing a bit of medical serum into the mouth of the carp where it was hooked can help the hook wound heal. Similarly, you should take the time to examine your capture on the bank before weighing it, as these gels and serums help can also be applied to other wounds on the body where other anglers haven’t been so gentle. If you want your carp to thrive and continue to grow, these medical carp care kits are vital additions to your tackle box.
