Injuring a fish and then letting it suffer unnecessarily is against the moral principles of angling. This is where unhooking mats & cradles help to prevent this. Similar to landing nets, they ensure that you can land the fish gently. Especially if you release the fish after catching them, you must ensure that the fish are returned to their habitat unharmed. This is why these are considered mandatory equipment on some lakes in Germany.
Unhooking mats serve to protect the fish. They provide a thickly padded base to prevent the fish from resting on the hard bottom. If the fish wriggles and continues to struggle, it can be seriously injured by rough surfaces. In addition, the strong strokes cause further serious injuries to fish on the hook. It is therefore important that the unhooking mats have good, soft padding to absorb the aforementioned forces of the fish.
An alternative are racks where the fabric stretched on the inside is used for unhooking. As there is no direct contact with the bottom, it absorbs the heaving of the fish even better and protects them in the process. These racks tend to take on larger dimensions, making them more suitable for large fish.
The material of the mats and cradles always plays an important role. It must be water-repellent so that there is a film of water on the surface. This helps to avoid damaging the sensitive scales of the fish. The material must be resilient in order to achieve the desired longevity. The same requirements apply to the scales, which you use after unhooking to weigh the fish gently.
When choosing cradles and unhooking mats, always consider how large and unusual the constructions should be. If the mats and cradles are larger, you are better equipped for an unexpectedly large catch. If you are fishing specifically for large fish such as catfish, then correspondingly large unhooking mats are an absolute must. The cradles must also correspond to the sizes and the openings must not be too small.
However, never lose sight of how large the transport dimensions are. You will still miss your targets if both items are unnecessarily large, heavy and awkward to transport. In addition, it should take no more than two to three minutes to set up even very large unhooking racks.
Find the right unhooking mat for your future trips in our store. Don't risk injuring the fish and exposing them to unnecessary strain. So make sure you have the necessary equipment today.