If you’re heading out the door to fish, at the very least, you should bring a fishing pole. Most people would. However, there’s a surprisingly large amount of videos online featuring people using their bare hands to pull fish out of the water.
Check this video out:
In the clip, you see a man hanging off the dock with a small fish in his hands. He patiently waits until he strikes and grabs hold of a much larger fish. The biggest fight is pulling the more than 16-pound animal out of the water.
While very few state-sanctioned wildlife websites seem to have regulations on catching fish this way, you’ll find a number of blogs with tips on how to try to grab a fish directly from the water.
Catching a Fish With Your Bare Hands
First, some warning: fish will fight back by any means necessary, and you should expect animals like catfish to try to bite you to get away. Hopefully, we don’t need to warn you against sharks, but if we do, maybe don’t try to catch sharks this way.
One website says the best tactic is similar to the video above. Use a worm or fish to lure in a catch, just like you would if holding a reel. It also helps to move the bait to mimic the actual creature. Be patient and wait until the fish gets close enough.
If the fish gets close enough, you need to move fast and try to grab the fish by the gills. The gills have a lot of bone and cartilage, and it’s an easier place to hold onto these slippery animals. If all goes as planned, hopefully, you’ve snagged a fish afterward.
Don’t forget to be a good steward of the outdoors, and be like this guy in the video, with a nice catch-and-release ethic.
