Lip gripper Q??

I answered my own question. Possible, yes. Would I do it again? Not sure. This went just fine on this particular fish. I used a Field and Stream brand spring loaded gripper from Dicks and it held ok. My first try was with those orange plastic vise grip style grippers that's in the picture of me holding the mac. He thrashed sideways once and sent them flying like a child's toy. Then I used the others and no problem. I will probably take a net next trip but I was in a traveling light frame of mind that day and wanted to try the grippers.

Nice fish, Chris!

Nice fish, Chris!

Thanks. Leaving town for a few weeks but hope to return to hot estuary fishing. That's a custom bonker in the picture I made from quilted myrtlewood, by the way. Works dandy.

Too bad you're already in the pic of the month, this one would have been a good shot as well.

Thanks for sharing, makes sitting here at work so much harder. 

Any more details on the fish?

Too bad you're already in the pic of the month, this one would have been a good shot as well.

Thanks for sharing, makes sitting here at work so much harder. 

Any more details on the fish?

I posted this on OFF. Location is encoded in the first paragraph. 16 lbs.

http://www.oregonfishingforum.com/showthread.php/28300-First-salmon-in-quite-awhile


If not for my wife being the shutterbug, all there would be is a tailgate shot.

Sweet. I bet it tasted pretty good too! What body of water was that?

I don't fish for salmon much but I would think the Boca (sp?) type would be superior for their mouth structure, compared to the plastic plier-type.

I carry and routinely use a lip grip when harvesting toothy fish, but for some reason I feel like it's always my duty to remind people that it's probably not the best choice for fish you intend to release: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165783608001781

I've used them on fish I've released, so I'm not trying to be a hypocrite. I just try to minimize the impact on released fish.

Too bad you're already in the pic of the month, this one would have been a good shot as well.

Thanks for sharing, makes sitting here at work so much harder. 

Any more details on the fish?

I posted this on OFF. Location is encoded in the first paragraph. 16 lbs.

http://www.oregonfishingforum.com/showthread.php/28300-First-salmon-in-quite-awhile


If not for my wife being the shutterbug, all there would be is a tailgate shot.

Nice job - that's a great looking fish!  I read your post on OFF, and was wondering on the conditions there as I'll be in the same area next weekend with my family.  Thoughts of dropping crab pots in the bay, and fishing up stream a ways.  I took my son to another coastal river on Friday, but found mostly a river pretty choked with salad - no luck trolling, and spent a lot of time clearing our lines...

As for bringing in a large Chinook with the lip-grippers, I'm just hoping to get the thing close enough to get the thing into the net!

Thanks,
Sam

I have to be honest... I am not sure I understand the value of a lip gripper at all.  Seabass you grab my the bottom lip, lings you grab under the gill plate... I know I must be missing something cause lots of you guys use them.

Grabbing under the gill plate and inadvertently touching their gills is potentially not good for them if you are CNR-ing.

I use the lip grippers pretty much on only on lings that I plan on releasing just to control them while I take the hooks out.  If I'm going to keep them, they get the gaff.

-Allen

"As for bringing in a large Chinook with the lip-grippers, I'm just hoping to get the thing close enough to get the thing into the net!"

 My thoughts exactly..with the salmon I've caught,and they havent been very big,I felt lucky to get them in the net,let alone close enough to lip grip. The long trolling leader length is a factor,also.