|  With your pike safely in the net and carried ashore, place
it on a large, padded unhooking mat. Look to see where
your hooks are before proceeding to handle the fish. Insert
one or two fingers under a gill plate, keeping them well away from any hooks.
You might like to wear a gardening glove on the hand you do this with. Lift the
pike's head carefully and its mouth will usually open. Maintain this hold while
you use a pair of 10-12 inch artery forceps to grip and remove the hooks - top
hook first, then the lower. It is now that you will appreciate the use of semi-barbed
hooks. If the hooks are in deeper near the throat, insert the forceps through
the gaps in the gills below your 'holding-hand'. Please do this with great care
and preferably under instruction if for the first time.
When
fishing with lures, which tend to have bigger and thicker-wired hooks fitted,
you will benefit from the use of pliers as opposed to forceps. Always carry a
strong pair of side-cutters in case you need to cut through the hooks to aid unhooking.
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NEWS
