Fish Bonking

[Bodofish]

Last post. If they don't flinch they don't feel pain. Simple as that.

Can't resist... if they don't flinch you aren't hitting them hard enough.

Me too......

[eat-sleep-fish]

On certain occasions, I feel no pain. Sorry, different topic. Bonked myself once or twice and not only did I flinch, spoke a foreign language all of a sudden. I like the little aluminum fish bonker that the guy on Hawg Quest uses, sounds like a nice pop with a number one driver. PING!

[woady]

I tried the no-bonking technique yesterday. Caught a buck pink and put it on the stringer, then into the water with good flow.

Sure enough, later on it was swimming in place. Hesitated on killing it.... in the heat of the moment bonking is part of the adrenaline after rush. Decided to give it to my boss. Slit the gills and watched the life drain from the little fishie. Circle of life....

[spoonman]

Just got a new fish bonker from my grandpa today, it is sufficiently heavy and should be able to dispatch even the most unruly humpy

[schu7498]

ha now thats a fish bonker!

[Bodofish]

Red Hawk? That's quite a bonker!!!!

[Gwendylyn]

I never had much luck knocking them out with a found stick & didn't like how big the fish knockers were in the stores so I commandeered one of my hubbys old collapsible batons. Works great & fits nicely in the tackle box when collapsed. We call it "the aluminum shampoo"

[Weekend-warrior17]

Why during spawning do the bucks (male salmon) go after the competing males physically, most the time the salmon (two males) aren't only just chasing the other around the stream out of territorial reasons I've noticed them also biting the other males tails as well as everywhere else. I was thinking the other day why would a salmon bite down on another fishes tall out of "anger" if fish don't feel pain? I was hoping some of you guys could help me answer this question, my apologize if this comes a crossed as a "dumb question" was just curious why.To me that makes no sense, they would have to know it hurts to want to do it to another fish out of greed for reproduction/spawning with the hens. By the way I personally don't care for bonking my fish I just pull the gills when I'm getting ready to head back to the truck. (keeping them alive till then)

Thanks all, tight lines.

[Gringo Pescador]

This is how we bonk in my boat...

[Gringo Pescador]

Last post. If they don't flinch they don't feel pain. Simple as that.

On the bank I just cut the gills and let em bleed out, in the boat I bonk em if I need to stop em long enough to get the hook out and out of the net. I have no reservations about either way - used to help grandma dress out her chickens which started with stringing em up on the clothes line by their feet so she could cut the heads off. Also been fishing since age five. Maybe those things have something to do with it.

But for some reason I got to thinking about this - How in the heck would a fish "flinch" in the 1st place?

[spoonman]

This is how we bonk in my boat...

Oh yeah, use the children to do your dirty work. How do sleep at night?!?

[BentRod]

...How in the heck would a fish "flinch" in the 1st place?

Two for flinching...bonk, bonk.

Similar to you GP, grew up with the farm style mentality, so no qualms when it comes to bleed'n 'em or bonk'n em. In the end, it's food on the table. I'm not going to lose sleep over fish.....hated losing wounded ducks or pheasants when I used to hunt them though. That always made me feel bad.

[Mike Carey]

Why during spawning do the bucks (male salmon) go after the competing males physically, most the time the salmon (two males) aren't only just chasing the other around the stream out of territorial reasons I've noticed them also biting the other males tails as well as everywhere else. I was thinking the other day why would a salmon bite down on another fishes tall out of "anger" if fish don't feel pain? I was hoping some of you guys could help me answer this question, my apologize if this comes a crossed as a "dumb question" was just curious why.To me that makes no sense, they would have to know it hurts to want to do it to another fish out of greed for reproduction/spawning with the hens. By the way I personally don't care for bonking my fish I just pull the gills when I'm getting ready to head back to the truck. (keeping them alive till then)

Thanks all, tight lines.

I don't think fish "know" in the sense that you or I know things. What you are seeing is extreme territorial behavior and males under the influence of their biological drive. Our drives our subtle compared to their drives. They get one shot and then they die. Their bodies are on a chemical over-drive we can't imagine.

[Bodofish]

Last post. If they don't flinch they don't feel pain. Simple as that.

On the bank I just cut the gills and let em bleed out, in the boat I bonk em if I need to stop em long enough to get the hook out and out of the net. I have no reservations about either way - used to help grandma dress out her chickens which started with stringing em up on the clothes line by their feet so she could cut the heads off. Also been fishing since age five. Maybe those things have something to do with it.

But for some reason I got to thinking about this - How in the heck would a fish "flinch" in the 1st place?

Same way we do a short violent twitch in response to external stimulus. When they thrash in the net, it's s series of connected flinches.

[NFCustom]

Did anybody read the link to the study I put on the bottom of page 2. It explains everything.

[Bodofish]

Too many studies published with flawed procedures and speculative results but yes, physiology kind of trumps all the studies.