Poll for fishermen....Your input is important !!!

[Jack Magnum]

I wanna poll ice fishermen on their experiences with fish that they have caught and thrown back into the hole & how many fishermen have had the fish flop themselves back out of the hole and onto the ice....I recently had an experience where I caught a bass and threw it down the hole and I walked away to fish another hole...Apparently the fish flopped itself back out of the hole and onto the ice...I didn't realize it had done it & when I was visited by a DEC officer he wrote me up for bass out of season....I explained to him that I caught the bass and threw it down the hole and immediately went to jig another hole BUT, The officer said he's never heard of that happening and didn't believe it.....Anyway, I want to see how many ice fishermen have had fish jump back out of the hole and onto the ice....All your experiences will be greatly appreciated since I plan to take my findings with me to court....

[Gills-only]

Never had a fish flop back up the hole, just me though.

[NYSporty]

Happens to me all the time gills are the worst.

[bluemountainlaker]

have had it happen a few times. some times they will free willy it out on to the ice

[pipeboy98]

I've had that happen.   Usually with panfish.  Especially on thicker ice.  To remedy that situation now I always lift them up 6-10inches above the water and drop them in.  The extra push seems to help them clear the ice and stay in the water.   Best of luck!

[LunkerLake]

I have had this happen to me on a number of occasions especially with panfish and occasionally a smaller walleye. Jack Magnum i understand where you would be frustrated with this situation as I would be as well. Good luck to you in court!

[Robbi]

I've had it happen with perch mostly, but also some smaller trout.  If the fish is small enough to get turned in the hole it can happen.  Seems larger fish can only go the way you point them once in the hole.

[Holden Turbitt]

happened to me a couple weekends ago with a largemouth....they must not know whats best for them 

[jiggly wiggly]

has happened to me lots off times.

[Handy]

For me its usually bluegills but on occasion I have had crappie do it. I haven't had good sized bass do but I do remember a small one doing it once.


Paul

[Gillfisher]

Sounds like a case of suicide

[Flypopper]

Seems like if you put the fish in head first he'll go down, they can't swim backwards!

[musky mike]

I've had smallmouth bass try and jump while ice fishing... Line goes slack... But never through a hole...

I can see how this happened to you tho... Fish get disoriented and are still doing head shakes and running...

How did he know it was your fish??? If an officer asked me if that out of season fish on the ice was mine... I'd just say no sir... I have released all my bass today...

[Pork Rind]

Happens to me all the time gills are the worst.

Same here.

[CharlieBrn]

Many a time.  In fact I've had the same fish jump back out twice after putting it back down the first time.  Must think it's a salmon.

[tapone]

I have had it happen to me as well. Most often with thicker ice. If it is a bigger fish, it may be hard for it to get turned around in the hole and swim up, but they can and do jump out of the hole. Good luck in court.

[NanookofN-MN]

It's seems to happen a couple times an outing for me when ever I am fishing for pan fish.  Perch especially small one in my opinion are the worst offenders.

[Santo180]

It hasn't happened to me yet, but I can definitely see how it could.  I had a few sunnies the other day that didn't quite swim the right way at first.

[woodworker]

I'm the newbie on the block today and just had to respond to your post. I'm sure this DEC officer has seen this before, and he didn't walk all the way out there not to write someone up. I've had fish come flopping back on the ice also when the ice is thick and mostly perch and trout. I think they call it circumstantial evidence.  Good luck.

[tricohatch]

I've had it happen with perch,gills,trout and some crappies! Best of luck in court too!

[delta9]

I've had it happen, sometimes more than once on the same fish.

[Lac Suel Freak]

Me too. Several times especially on thick ice. Hope the judge is an ice fisherman or fisherman period. I have seen fish jump into a boat so they are not to smart. Plus if you were doing something wrong wouldn't you hide it? Most criminals are sneaky right?

So did you put the fish back afterwards or did he take it for evidence when he could have snapped a photo? If that fish was iced he would swim off after an hour on the ice, especially in temps that an officer would come out writing tickets in. LOL. If he took that fish, I say who was the one that's really committing the crime? No fish in the lake, no fish on the table = criminal action and is detrimental to the lake. Talk about adverse imposition of fishing regulations!! Bring this up. The origin and purpose of the law in question should raise an eyebrow from any judge.

[Itinerant]

Jack, while it's likely that anyone who has ice-fished a while has seen this happen you will not be allowed to present the anecdotal statements made in this thread as evidence at court because it's all hearsay. You would have to have witnesses in court testify that they had seen this themselves for it to be admissable. Good luck.

[Jack Magnum]

Thanks to all of you that has taken my poll..Please keep this coming and I wanna get as many comments as possible....The stories are great But, Please answer briefly and with a yes you've experienced fish jumping or flopping back up on the ice or No you haven't....So far this phenomenon seems to be quite common...... To all those wondering why I'm fighting the ticket the answer is simple....I've never received a ticket for a DEC violation in my entire fishing career....I'm ethical & resent being called a liar...My intentions weren't to keep that bass & common sense should have told him that if I did want to keep the fish I would have tried to hide it & not leave it in the open....Anyway, Thanks guys for all your input I hope many more will take time to comment..

[Lac Suel Freak]

Thanks to all of you that has taken my poll..Please keep this coming and I wanna get as many comments as possible....The stories are great But, Please answer briefly and with a yes you've experienced fish jumping or flopping back up on the ice or No you haven't....So far this phenomenon seems to be quite common...... To all those wondering why I'm fighting the ticket the answer is simple....I've never received a ticket for a DEC violation in my entire fishing career....I'm ethical & resent being called a liar...My intentions weren't to keep that bass & common sense should have told him that if I did want to keep the fish I would have tried to hide it & not leave it in the open....Anyway, Thanks guys for all your input I hope many more will take time to comment..

So did he take the fish or what?

[Bullelk34]

I've never had a bass do it, but trout- yes. Putting them down the hole head first will almost certainly prevent it in the future. Good luck.

[Jack Magnum]

So did he take the fish or what?

  No the officer didn't take the fish...He never said a word about the bass BUT as I walked around my holes picking my perch and blue gills up I saw the bass..I picked it up and released it..went right down the hole and that's when the officer said ,Too late & I said what do you mean & he said he was going to write the ticket for black bass out of season....that's when I tried to tell him that I had put the fish back when I caught it and it must have jumped right back out....He said my intentions were to keep the fish and I told him I had my table fare of perch &  blue gills and didn't even like bass...If my intentions were to keep it ,why wouldn't I try to hide it...another thing.....He parked his vehicle and headed out on the ice and he was 500 yards from me..I had plenty of time to get rid of the bass if I had known it was there...LOL..after I put the fish back and went right down the hole..he said it was dead and I told him it wasn't ...The fish went right down...the outside temp.. was a balmy 47 degrees and I told him if it was dead it would have been floating in the hole....Anyway, that's the summary ...LOL

[nodakbassmaster]

nope, not me. had a pike swim itself up after getting off the hook. that's about it 

[double trouble]

 It has happened to me on numerous occasions . Mostly perch ,but both pike and bass have jumped back out of the hole. Once we had a fish we did not catch jump out. If you were going to keep a fish out of season , why would you leave it out in the open? Also , why would you even admit you caught it if you were trying to hide something. Ask the judge and officer that question in court. 

[Jack Magnum]

It has happened to me on numerous occasions . Mostly perch ,but both pike and bass have jumped back out of the hole. Once we had a fish we did not catch jump out. If you were going to keep a fish out of season , why would you leave it out in the open? Also , why would you even admit you caught it if you were trying to hide something. Ask the judge and officer that question in court.

Double...My sentiments exactly !!!! Thank you