"John" wrote in message
oups.com...
Greetings all,

I have bee looking for the "safest" way to take Pike and Musky off the
hook and have found a bunch of things to try but I have not found the
best way yet. I always seem to get hurt one way or another. It's
becoming a frightening experience but I still like to catch them. One
thing I have not tried yet is a jaw clamp. They look kind of weak
though.

Any sugestions would be appreciated except those that would harm the
fish.

I've been handling muskies and pike for the past 20+ years without serious
incident. I will, unless guiding simply handland the fish. I do this by
sliding my fingers underneath the gill plate (avoiding the gills
themselves), moving my fingers forward until I get to the vee notch under
the chin. You'll feel a "boney" ridge, clamp down just forward (toward the
fish's nose) of the ridge and that will control the fish quite nicely. Most
times I don't lift the fish from the water, preferring to simply unhook the
fish in the water. If guiding, I have a LARGE landing net, I scoop the fish
and leave it in the water, performing the unhooking operation while the fish
is in the net.

Of course, I have all my unhooking materials already handy, pliers, small
bolt cutter (in the event I have to cut a hook) and jaw spreader before I
start on the fish.

I've done this literally thousands of times and haven't gotten more than
scraped knuckles from the gill rakers.

You could do the same, and if you're worried about scraped knuckles, get one
of those "chainmail" type fillet gloves. I believe Normark sells them.
--
Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com
G & S Guide Service and Custom Rods
http://www.herefishyfishy.com