Hi all,

I try to release all the trout that i catch but i've always been a firm believer that if a fish is bleading then it probably will not survive and it should be dispatched.

Is this right?? I've had a bad run of late and had to kill 4 fish last time i was out. I don't eat them and my missus is moaning about the space in the freezer!

Could i have put these fish back?

Any advice welcome.

how is the bleeding occuring when removing the hook I highly recommend crimping all the barbs on your hooks as 9 times out of 10 this is how fish start to bleed when removing the hook with a little to much force

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A Day With The Wife Or A Day Out Fishing Umm Please Dont Make Me Choose She`ll Not Like It

I would recommend putting a plaster on the cut.This may help...then again,it might just come of when it swims away

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Tight Line Dancing

If they're stockies I'd just knock them on the head, but if they're wild I'd release them as they can survive

i'm sure some of the local old age pensioners would be glad of the odd trout now and then

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i once went flyfishing and caught a 7 pound bluebottle

Yep, definitely release them.They're quite hardy creatures and can take surprising amounts of physical punishment on occasion....
The exception is the gills though.
If you get any bleeding from the gills then I believe that you're onto a loser.
But 4 fish killed in the same session is a lot!
You must definitely be killing them in unnecessary circumstances...

Removing the barb from the hook is great advice.
And I find that I don't lose more fish than with barbed hooks.

Remember not to squeeze them too much while handling tho.
Can do internal damage...

Best of luck!

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Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd.

Not anymore its deed noo

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I'm an angler not a fishmonger

Quo Fas Et Gloria Ducunt

if they are bleeding from the mouth no problem ,as said above gillrakers are a different thing as is deep hooking ,and would/ could end up dying dependent on damage,if you are worried about the area bleeding you could get some carp "klinik" this is an antiseptic treatment to prevent disease getting into wounds ,if you cant get hold of it you can use "bonjella" it does exactly the same thing as klinik !!!

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WHEN YOU LEAVE THE RIVER, TAKE NOTHING, AND LEAVE ONLY FOOTPRINT'S!!!

THA CAN TELL A YORKSHIREMAN ,BUT THA CAN'T TELL HIM MUCH !!

No, it's totally wrong.

If you cut your finger do you die from it? Of course not. Then why would you think a trout would always die just because it's bleeding?

Also, the fact that the fish is wet will dilute the blood and make it appear as though a fish is bleeding far more than it actually is.

In the most comprehensive studies of mortality due to catch and release of rod-caught fish, the survival rate is between 97 and 99+%. The studies treat all fish the same, so presumably a good portion of the fish in the study were released with various levels of bleeding and still 97+% survive.

Also, anecdotal as it may be, think about this. The best trout rivers where I fish here in the US are 100% C&R and have been that way for almost 10 years in many cases. The C&R is mandatory, there is no "I conked it because it was bleeding" option. You must put all fish back in the water or you'll be wearing handcuffs.

So given the fishing pressure on these waters, and the numbers of fish being caught every day (hundreds) if all those bleeding trout died, by now there would almost certainly be no fish left, right? In fact, these rivers have the highest populations of trout and they have maintained or increased these populations every year. So much for the theory that all those fish die.

Release the fish and there's a very high chance it will survive. Conk it, and there's a 100% chance it will be dead.

Grouse

thanks all,

It would appear that a few fish have been taken due to an anglers ignorance! Pleased to say that not one of them was wasted though and all found their way into somones stomach!! Just for the record, all my flys are de-barbed if all the fish are going back.

Thanks again.