So, I foul hooked a fish the other day and this concerned me a little. I realise that it will happen but the fish went nuts as I brought it in.

Once I realised what was happening I yanked it in as quick as I could, to try to minimize stress.

What has bothered me is I was at Barnsfold (no bailiff) and I was at my catch limit. i put the fish back but it has played on my mind that because of the nature of the wound it may get infected and ultimately the poor trout will die a slow death.

Am I wrong here? My first urge was to knock it but didnt want to cause a comotion with going over my catch limit.

what would / do you do in these circumstances?

Cheers

Return any foul hooked fish without question. It's regarded as very poor form to keep one.

IMHO, if in doubt, dispatch the fish. Any reasonable fishery manager / owner will understand..

__________________
Eddie
"We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation."
Voltaire

You see this is where I am confused. At another fishery, I saw a foul hooking and the manager was walking by at the time as the fish was being played / landed.

He insisted it was knocked as he didnt like to put them back after such an ordeal, even if we were not going to take it.

It was hooked just under the pelvic fin in my case, so it was quite a wound, although I had used a barbless hook.

Ultimately I want to cause as little suffering as I can in this situation.

Don't beat yourself up. You will, from time to time, 'foul hook' the odd fish. Usually it will be because the fish has been attracted to your fly, taken it ... or turned at it ... rejected it or a similar scenario and the fly will attach itself in a fin or in the skin and attach itself surprisingly firmly!

Foul hooked fish almost always seem to fight strongly, when a fly is lodged in their mouth it's easy to turn them but in the side, back or tail they're free to use their 'strength' to the maximum.

Should you kill or return? You need to make a judgement - I'd say that if the foul hooking results in a gaping wound then kill ... but how often does that happen? I can't see that being a common problem. Usually, it's possible to release the hook hold and allow the fish to swim free although it's often quite difficult to extract the hook from a fin or even from the skin. Small hooks often being the most difficult.

Remember, fish even with quite severe cormorant wounds, appear to survive and continue to feed confidently, even healing without infection if they're not confined within too dense a stocking environment.

__________________
[I]"I still don't know why I fish or why other men fish, except that we like it and it makes us think and feel."[/I] Roderick L Haig-Brown

[url]www.wildfly.net[/url]

[url]http://www.gameanglinginstructors.co.uk/[/url]

Good point, thanks for that and as was said, even if I went over my limit the manager would understand.

You have to consider all forms of fly fishing, not just small put & take waters. If instructed otherwise by the manager then of course you have to chap it. However, if I saw any member of our club taking a foul hooked salmon or sea trout he/she would be in for a tongue lashing for sure. If a fish is foul hooked, you have not fairly caught it, it's an accidental hook up, and thus it should be returned.

Different scenario.

__________________
[I]"I still don't know why I fish or why other men fish, except that we like it and it makes us think and feel."[/I] Roderick L Haig-Brown

[url]www.wildfly.net[/url]

[url]http://www.gameanglinginstructors.co.uk/[/url]

Same fundamental issue though Paul. It's frowned upon, indeed there are byelaws in place which specifically state any fish not hooked in the throat or mouth must be returned to the water with as little injury as possible. I would suggest 'all' anglers apply this mindset to all forms of fishing. Let's not introduce ambiguity where none is needed.

if the fish was badly wounded then it should of been killed and put in the bin if over catch Limit.


Cheers
Spencer