I don't use one, but I have seen Bucher use one and if Bucher uses one it must be OK.
I don't use one, but I have seen Bucher use one and if Bucher uses one it must be OK.
I think as long as you aren't lifting the fish with the boga the fish will be fine. Esox (especially big ones) aren't designed to have all their weight suspended from their jaw, or tail for that matter. A lot of testing has been done with saltwater species to confirm this. Much testing has been done on Muskies that were captured by net also, as long as its wet it does little or no harm.
"the other andy"......from Madison?
Brian
FWIW I'm from Park Falls. This site has some good tips for handling muskie.
http://catchandrelease.webs.com/muskietools.htm