Short cabezon video

Here is a video of a decent sized cabezon that I caught on a recent trip.

Man, You need to reed the regs! Cabezon is not open until July 1

Sore lip but swam away strong

Wow, thats just stupid... Use a lip gripper

That's what I read also

Yeah, not exactly legal to gaff a fish like that when retention is closed.  That's a beast though!

While I am not a fan of a lip gripper, I think you will find there are many ways to control your fish without a gaffe. But it is your fishing experience and if your aren't breaking the law do as you please.  I tend to get cabs and lings by the front gill plate while avoiding the gills... For the fish and my fingers... Every time I have used a lip gripper I end up with a fish with a broken jaw/lip. But I may not be using them correctly.

Well ok then,

Didn't have one (lip gripper) at the time.  Will definitely have one next time.  Thanks for the suggestion.   

 Felt/feel like doing it the way I did was the best way to release it at that time. 

Not trying to get anyone fired up just trying to share.

Ya ... Gaffs are reserved for fish you are going to kill. Often you can just grab the jig and pull the fish into your lap too.

Cabezon don't have too gnarly of teeth, so grabbing the lip is ok too.  If you really didn't want to grab the lip and grabbing the jig wasn't an option, a last ditch option would be to run your gaff hook inside the gill and out the mouth while being very careful to avoid damaging the gillets - even this would be considered bad form by some but it would be a lot less harmful if done carefully enough.

Ya,, I admit I was way too aggressive with the gaffing.  In my head it was going to be just a hook to the inside of the mouth to lift show him off then get the jig out and then off he goes and minimize the time out of water.  Based on the response from some very experienced fishermen, I probably wont be doing that anymore. 

I always have long needle nose pliers in my vest pocket, and grab the curved part of the hook and with a quick jerk can usually back out the hook while the fish is still in the water.

I always have long needle nose pliers in my vest pocket, and grab the curved part of the hook and with a quick jerk can usually back out the hook while the fish is still in the water.

+1+2 I carry long nose pliers there starting to rust now after 5 yr fishing and also carry on I leash a pair of org medical forceps that also have the scissors on the lower end Incase the hook just needs to be cut loose.

Well ok then,

Didn't have one (lip gripper) at the time.  Will definitely have one next time.  Thanks for the suggestion.   

 Felt/feel like doing it the way I did was the best way to release it at that time. 

Not trying to get anyone fired up just trying to share.

Your video cuts off right after the gaff job so it would lead one to believe you kept the fish. Sorry to be so harsh, just hate to see fish being misshandled. Like Bill said you can usually just grab the jig head and pull them in the boat. One thing to watch for on lingcod, like rev was alluding to, they like to do the death roll amd they break their jaw if you hold the grippers tight, gotta let them spin and yes youn shit gets tangled up but at least the fish can be released without a broken jaw

Every time I have used a lip gripper I end up with a fish with a broken jaw/lip. But I may not be using them correctly.

Friendly suggestion: Put the lip grip strap around your wrist. If the fish starts to thrash and you don't intend to keep it, simply let go with your hand but keep the strap around your wrist. There is almost no leverage for the fish to hurt itself this way. Once it's settled down you can grab the grip again.