I think there's even more important consideration back country paddlers should be considering than if their fishing handling is " manly" or not

On a Q trip, last thing you need is an infection in your hand/fingers from a lure/gill plate or toothy critter. Even if you dress it properly and disinfect, your always using your hands. Paddling/fishing/camp chores.
The risk of serious infection is there and shouldn't be treated lightly.

I'm a fan of the cheap orange grips, but any way you use that takes in account the possible consequences is better than tearing your hands up and calling it manly

Now if you have hands that can palm a basketball in 5th grade, then I guess you can grab them anyway you wish
For the rest of us mere mortals, I think avoiding anything that can injure ourselves and possibly cause issues is the smart if not " manly" way to go

jaximus wrote on Apr 27^th, 2011 at 8:15pm:


I enjoy light tackle fishing as much as anyone else, but I also believe in using appropriate tackle for the fish you're after. Several years ago I landed a 44" northern on 8# test while casting for smallies, but I would have felt much more confident if I'd hooked em' on my pike rig. This was especially true while he was thrashing around behind the canoe while being blown across the bay by heavy winds. Another situation would be lakers in warmer water where the stress of a long fight on light tackle could lead to death.
I've landed hundreds of fish by hand and don't mind a "roughed up thumb" from lipping bass, but I can't say the same for a deep slice from a walleyes gill plate. You know the kind....just when they start to heal they split open again and never heal until you get home.
And personally, I hate losing big fish! I would consider it more "manly" to land a 10lb.+ walleye like the one noted above than losing it because of "slippage".    That's just me.

Yea man that fish was a beauty! 

mastertangler wrote on Apr 27^th, 2011 at 8:44pm:

lucky for my i was blessed with some monster hands. i could palm a basketball in 5th grade. this spring i grabbed a 44.5 inch muskie bare handed. i dont think i will come across something bigger than that because i only fish freshwater.

If you want to be REAL manly, lip your walleyes and NP with your bare hand  

There is a little something to be said for fighting fish with heavier line and that is you get to feel how strong they are. You can actually put a little weight on them and can feel the power. I like doing that with carp and I also like having a 50+ lb amberjack on with 80lb mono. Serious fun once you get past the bruising part.

The largest walleye I have ever hooked hit around noon in 15ft of water in the St. Clair river and clobbered a grandma musky lure. At least 12lbs it bounced off a salt water gaff twice before coming unglued. That is some tough scales as this was a serious gaff. I wished I'd had a net. Probably better it got off...........the meat would likely of been as tough as well. What a fish.

Once in a while a fish comes along where your hand is not going to span the distance across the back and under the gills. Or maybe you just barely get a grip and he thrashes free. I'm pretty much sold on the boga. I had actually thought to use the glove in conjunction with the boga. I'm thinking one of the biggest threats to my trip is a tore up hand. Fish day after day and hour after hour and sooner or later there is likely to be a close call especially with so many northerns around. Wear a big plug one time and you get a little careful.

i use pretty light tackle and tend to fight the fish longer than most people. although this might wear out fish a bit, what is the point of fishing if you are just going to winch them in with heavy line? the most exciting part of the fish catching experience is fighting a fish. why do you think largemouth bass are the top game fish? they fight really well!

with that said, i never ever ever boat a green fish. its dangerous for me and dangerous for the fish. because i only boat fish after a bit of a fight, i go gloveless and grab them with my bare hands. i grab right at the back of the gill plates where there is a bit of hollow area before the meaty part of the back starts. i grab bass by the lip. barehanded makes me feel manly. and what is better than a roughed up thumb because youve been catching fish all day? nothing i can think of. occasionally you will lose a fish with this method (i lost a walleye in the 30-35" range due to a slippage of grip), but thats life and you move on.

Granted, slightly awkward, but I can honestly say we've never lost a fish boatside as a result of sliding on the glove. The newer version has a velcro tab and is slightly more constricted around the wrist, but the original version can actually be slipped on while it's laying on the bottom of the canoe. Even with the new model, while holding the rod with your right hand, we use the left hand to position the glove between the right hand thumb and the rod butt, then simply slip the left hand in.  Keep in mind, most fish are somewhat wore down at boatside. Besides, I don't like boating any fish that's still "green" as they're more prone to getting injured.....especially in a net. Considering you have one of these gloves I'd highly encourage you to give it a try this year. I also take a Boga that we occasionally use to land and/or weigh large lakers & pike, but almost all walleye, pike and lakers are landed with the glove. Smallies are typically lipped. I think the best attribute is that you don't have to manuever the fish boatside to get a shot at an open mouth for the lip gripper. If you can touch it, you got it.

I have been leery of landing fish, especially northerns, ever since I reached down with a pair of channel locks to remove a magnum rapala (the kind with the metal lips and big hooks) from a 26" hammerhandle and that buggar jumped and deposited the forward hook all the way through my palm. Fortunately the fish got off or it would of been a real mess. I was also lucky it went all the way through and triple lucky I didn't drop the channel locks because that's what I used to crimp the barb down. I got off rather lightly.

I picked up one of those Lindy gloves but I am trying to figure out how to get it on while I have a fish on the line. I would like to employ it on this summers solo but it seems awkward at best as you need the other hand to put it on. You know, the hand that is holding the rod with the angry fish on the end. I can't picture it.

Ancient discussion I know, but I thought I'd share another landing option that works very well. It's called a "Fish Handler Glove" and it's made by Lindy. Not sure what the material is made of, but it's extremely effective for grabbing all species of fish........even slippery lakers. The only drawback is with large fish that you can't grab behind the head, however, those fish they can still be "tailed" quite easily. They also protect your hands from dorsel fins and sharp gill plates and work exceptionally well when catching & releasing numbers of walleye. They cost about $20 and we use them to land 90% of the fish we catch. My partner and I each carry a large, left hand glove at all times as it eliminates having to toss a lip gripping tool (or net) back and forth in the canoe. Won't leave home without it.