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Unhooking mat or not?

Paul Whiteing

Paul Whiteing

Administrator
Staff member
There are lots of subjects where there are two sides of an "argument" some neither right or wrong; some have two camps; some could be viewed as "need educating" or guidance perhaps by those more experienced; some where the experienced might be (wrongly) seen as "holier than thou"

  • 11ft or 12ft rods
  • Centrepin or fixed spool
  • Arsenal or Spuds (well obvious really :) )
  • Chairs with arms or not
  • To pre-bait or not
  • Barbed or barbless
  • Triangular or round
and so the list can go on .........

But in my personal view (not that of BFW Team, albeit they may agree) is that the use of an unhooking mat should NOT have two sides - as per rules of my club, they should be mandatory. No matter whether the landing net can be laid on grass or vegetation, I believe an unhooking mat should be carried and used.

Ok, before I duck for cover, wi' my tin hat firmly buckled on tight, can anyone give a single reason NOT to use one?

exits hurriedly stage left ......... 😁😁
 
I'll get my comment in before it all kicks off 😂 I do think you can safely land and handle fish on the bank in many scenarios without a mat.

But! I always carry one, it rolls up and straps to the top of my rucksack, weighs very little and takes up no space, so there's absolutely no reason why I shouldn't have it with me.

My carp one on the other hand is a big cumbersome lump of a thing and a pain to lug around, but that's why the carpers use barrows!!

Can I also treat this like a quiz??


  • 11ft or 12ft rods - BOTH
  • Centrepin or fixed spool - FIXED SPOOL (cause I can't use a pin, never tried, but will...)
  • Arsenal or Spuds (well obvious really :) ) - WHAT?!
  • Chairs with arms or not - NOT
  • To pre-bait or not - DEFO! (If you can, biggest edge ever!)
  • Barbed or barbless - BARBED
  • Triangular or round - One for carp, t'other for barbel 😅

😂 😂 😂
 
I'll just say that two of those "either/ors, yes/nos" are interrelated. If you use barbless hooks then unhooking mats need to be used much less. Many fish unhook themselves in the submerged net, or can be very easily manually unhooked in the (mostly) submerged net, and can be rested and returned from the net.
 
Terry Simner said:
I'll just say that two of those "either/ors, yes/nos" are interrelated. If you use barbless hooks then unhooking mats need to be used much less. Many fish unhook themselves in the submerged net, or can be very easily manually unhooked in the (mostly) submerged net, and can be rested and returned from the net.
Click to expand...
Ok Terry, I see your point there.

But the options were largely nowt to do with the original question (until you cleverly entwined things) :D. I was simply trying to lighten the ambience of the potentially caustic thread 😁😁
 
If I’m out chasing perch and pike on lures I will carry the net and the unhooking mat because I have to, but... I don’t use them unless necessary, 99 times 100 I chin the pike and get them gone. It’s actually more fuss using the sodding net and carrying it feels like a unnecessary bother.
For my Barbel and Chub fishing I do carry a mat as it’s no real inconvenience amongst all the other crap I’m carting about. In summer in daylight, I will occasionally pop the hook out a Chub in the net and get it gone, I don’t need a picture or a weight.
 
Making unhooking mats compulsory isn't particularly unreasonable, provided the venue concerned, the fish species being targeted and the size of the mat is taken into consideration. There's nothing worse than being told you must have a huge mat or cradle when all you are doing is floatfishing for bits. The same applies to the imposition of a rule where everyone is expected to have a 42" landing net.

The vast majority of my time is spent trotting the higher reaches of Dales rivers for dace, chublets, grayling and trout. I catch the very occasional big chub and there's a very small chance of encountering a barbel. Whilst I actually do carry a multi-mat, with a basic Drennan Specialist mat tucked in it, this rarely serves any purpose other than to sit on.

Due to the nature of the club (a mixed coarse/game one) it's very unlikely that a blanket rule on either nets or mats would be imposed. Should it come to be proposed, I'll fight tooth and nail to have it voted down. That might not be the case if the nature of the club and its waters were different.
 
What about the baby bath brigade? Those cradles set up containing water that in summer will poach the fish? I see them all the time out here. 😀
 
The two clubs I belong too have a rule that everyone has to have an unhooking mat, I use a Korum Fast Mat it's very light and just clips to my rucksack.
 
I used to be very much a mat at atl costs type, but merely having a mat some might feel obliged to place the fish on it to disgorge the hook, this actions prolongs the out of water period, and possible damage. As Terry said, barbless hooks often unhook themselves, so need need for a mat really. I believe mats sometimes give us a feeling that we are offering best practise which I doubt is the case.
 
Neil Smart said:
I used to be very much a mat at atl costs type, but merely having a mat some might feel obliged to place the fish on it to disgorge the hook, this actions prolongs the out of water period, and possible damage. As Terry said, barbless hooks often unhook themselves, so need need for a mat really. I believe mats sometimes give us a feeling that we are offering best practise which I doubt is the case.
Click to expand...

I take it you don't photograph any fish then.
 
Don't use a mat unless club rules state i need to. Also dont feel the need to use one just put some thought to where you put the fish when unhooking i usally find some soft grass and have never had a problem in over 30 years of fishing. If you want to use one go for it what ever suits each individual is fine by me but don't preach that i need to use one please.
 
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