Hi all,

I would like to know how people release a fish "safely", the reason I ask is that I was fishing last night and the fishery manager was about. I caught a fish and released it as I usually do, the fish never comes out the water and if the hook doesn't come out easily I will put my hand under the fish to support it to remove the hook.

This is the way that I have been doing it for 12years and was shown by my Dad who has been doing it for more than 25 years... I have never had a fish go belly up on me and truely dont think I am harming the fish.

Back to the story, the next fish I caught the fishery manager "showed" me how to release a fish so I didnt handle the fish. He held the leader while the fish splashed around and was hitting off the side of the bank, he then proceeded to thrash the hook around jerking the fishes head about until the hook came out. This was from the same hook that slipped out easily with my method.

He said that this didn't damage the fish as much as what I did... I completely disagree with and would like to know how others release there fish?

Thanks,
Scott

I'm with you on this. Can't say I've ever seen a fish released like that.

Sounds like for starters the hook was barbed and if fishing catch and release,depending on fishery rules,is the reason why it thrashed about more.If it was barbless the hook should come out very easy and the method of holding the leader without touching the fish is the method I like to use myself and prefer it.I do use a pair of forceps rather than my fingers also which makes it easier and quicker also.

If you are cradling a fish and taking the hook out with the other hand and the fish is still clam,it would be interesting to watch.Do you hold the fish in the net also while doing this.

We all have methods and as long as they have respect for fish and dont do damage ,if it works fine by me.Good to hear though that a fishery manager is taking the time to help and I would take it as a positive rather than a negative.its always good to know other methods.

__________________
Kevin

Very important point about the barbless / barbed hook!!!!!

Stress is possibly as important as physical disturbance in terms of fish recovery. Any method that minimises both handling / bumping / shaking of the fish as well as keeping it calm is likely to be a winner.

I must say that I have witnessed a lot of good behaviour in recent times, especially from young anglers, in terms of attitude and technique in returning fish (mostly coarse fish, as I go for a walk down my local river / lakes). This is very pleasing to see.

Any catch and release trout fisheries could benefit by offering a brief instruction to anglers when they buy their ticket perhaps.

Some interesting comments here on the subject of 'good trout release practises', most common sense but some

Fly Fishing Answers, Releasing Fish - MidCurrent

__________________
[I]"The fish and I were both stunned and disbelieving to find ourselves connected by a line." William Humphrey in "The Armchair Angler"[/I]

For what it's worth, I don't see the important point about barbed / barbless being relevant? If you hold the leader while trying to release a fish it will thrash about whether it's barbed or not. After all, it doesn't come off when you keep the pressure on whilst playing it does it?

I've tried releasing fish without removing it from the water and when netting it and removing the hook on the bank and I much prefer the later. Providing it's laid on damp grass it's easier, in my experience, to remove the hook when it's lying still on the bankside, than thrashing about in the water. The fish need only be out of the water for a minimal amount of time.

If the water is more that a few inches lower than the bank it can be extremely difficult without a net.

Also, using a net, when releasing the fish you can let i recover in it. Without it if it goes belly up out of reach, what do you do?

Having said that, the most important thing is to be careful either way and you should do whatever you find most comfortable.

ps. I would like to clarify that I didn't mean that it doesn't matter whether you use barbed or not when C&R, obviously not.

How to release trout in my opinion humble as it is i hope. Based on years of releasing other kinds of fish that die a lot more easily than trout.

Basic technique,
use a catch and release tool with barbless hooks and a rubber net. Keep the fish in the water the whole time and dont handle the fish at all with the human hand. Use reasonable leader strength to subdue the fish in the first place not a 3 wt rod on a 5lbs fish thats got no energy left to swim away from the net.

The theory why other meothods are not as good the above,
Removing the fish from the water starves the fish of oxygen , in short if you were thrown into a gas chamber however briefly you would agree with this statement.

Handling the fish is a no no , why because the hand/net (out the water) removes the slime off the the trout (its second skin) fish released on small catch release ponds sometimes end up with white growth where they have lost their slime in some cases you can see finger outlines. Its that import to think of the slim as the trouts skin, since trout need it to survive.

Having said the above is the best meothod, doesnt mean that other meothods of release dont work i want to clarify that. The mortality rates for different meothods might be margin ie 5% for one and 10% for another, whats acceptable? probably open for debate.

I think catch and release in the UK as a whole suffers from opinion, and thats everyone might as well be killing the fish when practising C&R as they do it wrong. Obviously fishery managers who sell tickets that say you must kill you fish on 5 fish ticket etc have a certain financial bias.....the old argument if you want to carry on fishing you have to buy another ticket enough said really.

A bit more seaons ticket £500 income to fishery C&R ticket £250or less simples its not going to happen.

The ameriacans have practised catch and release of trout etc so much so that its the norm when in the Uk as far as trout goes it certainly isnt. But we live in a world over here resorces (trout etc) are limited and the usa is bloody huge so one could argue the £30 a day ticket etc is needed for the manager to make a living.

With that in mind catch and release is probably never to go main stream in the Uk which is a sad though on the whole.

Reading icejohn's post makes me wonder about one or two points. For a starter it's not the weight of the rod that determines how quickly a fish can be landed, but the ability of the angler. I've watched plenty of people using standard reservoir 7 weights effing around with 3lb fish to the point of total exhaustion then expecting them to swim away. A good angler with a light rod who doesn't mind seeing it bend will get a fish in faster and with less stress.

Next point. Just what does icejohn think happens to fish on the fish farm? Is every one handled with kid gloves to make sure it comes to no harm? Not likely. Also, I do, and have done, a lot of fish surveys during which trout and other fish are captured by electric fishing, netted out of the water, put into an aerated tank, transferred from there to another tank, weighed, measured, scales taken, returned to an aerated tank and finally returned to the river. After all this stress and handling do they all die? Funnily enough they don't.

Fish are a lot tougher than some would give them credit for. Play them hard and fast, handle with respect and return them as quickly as possible.

I agree with all of the above. Furthermore, there is nothing wrong with handling a fish, as long as you wet your hands before you touch it, so the slime is not removed. Trout are tougher than you might think, but there are a few "no, no's" about handling them and any fish..... don't squeeze them too tight around the trunk, as internal injuries could occur. Don't lift the fish up by putting your fingers in the gills, unless you are trying to kill it, and never ever lift a trout up by the bottom lip, as it risks dislocation. A net is always a good idea, even with small fish.

Interesting views and methods, I'll add mine in the hope that it will help.
I actually coach this method with beginners. I net the fish and lift them out onto grass, leaving them in the net. After the hook is removed I place the net back in a shallow area of the water and tip the fish out, sometimes they swim away instantly, sometimes they will turn belly up, some sink to the bottom and others lay on their sides, provided that the gills are moving and the fish breathing i find that they will recover. I then set about getting the fly ready for fishing again keeping an eye on the fish to make sure that no weed or dirt is going into the mouth.

I do not hold the fish for i believe that (stress) kicks in, I leave it there provided that it is breathing.

After about a minute using either my hand or the net handle I tap the fish on the tail and nine times out of ten it springs to life and swims away fast. If not then another minute will do the trick, before re tapping on the tail.

I have lost to one 'Grayling' in practicing this method in the past 20 years!.

__________________
Gwilym Hughes
www.GwilymHughes.com