Am I the only one who gets irritated seeing Bill Dance handle a fish after he has caught it?  It is like fingernails on a chalkboard seeing him hold the fish with his hand inside the gill plate.  There is no reason to do this, is there?   >

You're not alone.

In fact, it was as recent as his last show this weekend.

I said to my wife, "somebody has GOT to show that guy how to handle a bass"!

He's forever jamming his stubby fingers underneath the gill plates into delicate mucus membrane.

He's also famous for supporting 10-lb bass by the their lower jaw, almost turning them inside-out.

Roger

is that bad for the fish or somthing?

Yes, if you put to much stress on the fish's lower jaw it can seriously damage the fish's mouth.

"Finger nails on a chalk board" .... That's a good way of describing how it feels to me too.  I don't know much about the biology bass, but it sure does look like it's uncomfortable for the bass.

I agree that you should treat bass like a newborn baby,but heck,Bill is fishing a private owned lake that is jammed full of lunkers.He's just hurting himself,well and the bass too.I don't watch him that much cause my 5 year old could go to those lakes or ponds and catch a 30lb. stringer.If you notice he ain't never fishing a known resevoir or a river system.Nope,its always that little hog pit of his or whoever's.

The heavier the fish the more injury to the jaw tendons, nerves, damage to lips, mouth membranes and gills hemmorhaged, and stress is magnified. His actions sell a lot of video footage, looks macho to the average guy.

Jim

I agree that you should treat bass like a newborn baby,but heck,Bill is fishing a private owned lake that is jammed full of lunkers.He's just hurting himself,well and the bass too.I don't watch him that much cause my 5 year old could go to those lakes or ponds and catch a 30lb. stringer.If you notice he ain't never fishing a known resevoir or a river system.Nope,its always that little hog pit of his or whoever's.

Finally,someone else who realizes Dance's game.Or lack thereof.

It really kills me when he's floating around in his big fat Procraft on one of his little ponds,acting like he's on a big lake or something.  :

.....and dont get me started on Roland Martin.Anytime he fishes outside of Florida to get show footage,he's got the best local guide money can buy in the boat with him. :-?

Think about it.He can promote any lure.Those fish in that pond will bite anything.He probally always knows where their at.

I dont even understand why he has the urge to reach in the gills. Its like hes trying to "fluff up" the fish or something to make it look bigger for television.

I always try to handle bass with care but the bottom lip thing was a new one to me. Are you saying that with bigger bass, say over 5 lbs you should hand by the top lip?

I dont even understand why he has the urge to reach in the gills. Its like hes trying to "fluff up" the fish or something to make it look bigger for television.

I always try to handle bass with care but the bottom lip thing was a new one to me. Are you saying that with bigger bass, say over 5 lbs you should hand by the top lip?

No,if you hold the bottom lip on a bigger fish,hold him straight up and down,dont try to hoist him up sideways with the lower lip.

If you need a sideways pic or something,hold the bottom lip or under his mouth and then under his belly.

ah.. gotcha, thx

Think about it.He can promote any lure.Those fish in that pond will bite anything.He probally always knows where their at.

Oh,I've thought about it plenty.I would bet he has friends that own small private lakes and ponds and he pays them with cash or free tackle to keep everyone out except for him.Or Strike King,Stren and all his sponsors have all chipped in and made those ponds for him.It's a very smart ploy either way.......I just wish people didnt worship the guy so much for catching those pond bass all the time.

I'm not saying the guy cant fish but he'd have a little harder time getting 30 minutes of fish-catching footage if he actually fished like everyone else on the big lakes.But if he did that,that would cost the film crew more time and money,thus cutting down on the profit margin.

I cringe when I see him hold a heavy Bass with his thumb inside the Bass's mouth and his fingers splayed under its jaw and then he lifts it to a horzontal position.  That alone can break or distort the Bass's jaw.

Dan

the fish in my avatar, is that a correct way to hold a fish.  one of my freinds holds them like i do but bends there back like dance does.  i always tell him its bad for the fish, but he dont care.  is he hurting the fish?

the fish in my avatar, is that a correct way to hold a fish.

yes,straight up and down if you're holding the bottom lip.

I too have noticed Bill Dance mishandle bass. It's pretty bad if you ask me.  >

Senko77,

Your bass may not be the best example.

I doubt that Bill Dance could hold your enormous bass by the lower jaw without breaking his wrist

Roger

Hey Senko77,You might want to e-mail Bill.He would probally pay you good $$$ to fish that lake you put her in.

Well, here is something that doesn't get a lot of play, but highlights really how good Bill Dance is: He and his partner, James "Big Catfish" Patterson fish in a local professional catfish tournament held here in Memphis on the Mississippi River. They won the first tournament and have either won or finished near the top every year.

Now, I'm not defending his handling of those bass we're talking about, but the man can still fish. There are no "controlled" situations on the Mighty Mississippi! Biil was intrigued by big catfish that very few fishermen target, I'm talking 50 lbs +. He was a quick learn, as you might expect and has truely mastered a drift technique on the Big River and that's not a small achievement.

Just something of local interest I thought I would share with you.

You guys see the gill thing as I see nets. Don't like gilling fish or nets, any time you use a net or stick your hands inside the gill plate, its bad.

MattFly,

I've mentioned this before, rubber nets are fish friendly. They don't get tangled and neither do treble hooks. Until we're ready for the picture, our fish don't leave the water. I can safely unbutton the fish and leave it in the water, in the net. Everything is simplified and no apparant harm comes to the fish.

I'm a big fan of rubber nets.

RW, I'm one who thinks the less a fish is touched in any way is better off than rubbing on something or some one.    I know trout fishermen do wonders in handling their fish.  We all have dislikes, mine are nets, boat carpet, Fish Fishburne, Bill Dance and any one else who mis handles fish.  

If my team partners wants to use a net in the boat on his and my fish, thats okay, his money is invested also.   Practice is just practice and I haven't netted any of mine.

I figure my net is better than the gaff.

;D ;D ;D

I agree with all of you on the B.D. thing.  

I also don't really care for the way that tourney fishermen throw their fish in the boat and then allow them to flop around while trying to grab them.  Again, like MattFly said, the fish have a slime on their bodies that protect them and is detrimental to their survival.  If the fish is bouncing around in the bottom of the boat they lose all of  their slime.  Also, how about the effect of living in water your whole life and then being brought several feet up in the air and dropped into the bottom of a boat?  Ouch! :'(

I like the idea of rubber nets, or landing by hand whenever possible.  Boga grips too have a great advantage.  You can land a fish and never have to touch it.

Just something to chew on.  

Jeff