Hi, just wondered what your thoughts were on this subject. Just recently fished a water on a catch and release ticket which i was doing ,but i had a warning from the bayliff who said that i can not lift the fish into the boat but unhook them in the water.Ok i understand why but i think this is also dangerous as fish can lunge suddenly and the hook go into your face,which it did do,fortunatly hitting my glasses and hooking my hat.If a fish is hooked so you are unable to see the fly how do you do this without messing about trying to get it out . My point is using a landing net getting the fish in the boat would cause the fish less stress than messing about leaning over a boat.I wont be using catch and release anymore for this reason just think its a shame to kill fish you dont need specially when the biggest was knocking 9lb .

Why not net the fish,but leave it in the water,in front of the boat,still gives you control.and when the hook's out you just turn the net inside out, job done. works the same from the bank.

Jim

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The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

I fish almost 100% C&R from boat and bank. I have found it necessary to net some fish from the boat but never from the bank. Normally I would grab the hook and pull it out without touching the fish at all, often being barbless it falls out if I do net them.
Lifting fish into the boat is a bad idea as
They belong in the water, taking them out causes huge stress.
Flopping about in the boat knocking against solid surfaces and god knows what is not gonna be very good for them.
You don't say if you have been fishing for long? personally I got pretty good at quickly and neatly unhooking fish with a bit of practice.
I can really only think of one time in recent years when a fish was deep hooked. I had to kill that one.
Normally it,s never an issue, what methods are you using?

Not been flyfishing that long so this is all new to me,im not saying the bayliff was wrong its his job to protect the fish but to try to get a flie out of a trout which was thrashing about seems dangerous for bouth of us, also the rules say to get the fish in quickly so as not to cause the lactic acid in the fish to build up. Think il have a word with him when i go next may have calmed down by then.

---------- Post added at 04:46 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:44 AM ----------

Forgot to mention i was using a floating line with a 9 ft leader and a lure.

Another thing that is essential when using C&R is a good pr of Artery Forceps (haemostats)

Jim

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The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

Had them and barbless hooks maybe need a little more confidence when releasing them .

There will be more opinions on this subject than you can shake a stick at!!

Here's My Opinion :

1 Always have a landing net with you; even if you don't need to use it.

2 You need a good set of Forceps.

3 The safest way to remove a fly (hook) from a fish; is to always use Barb-less Hooks! When a fish is shallow hooked, you could if you wish, remove the fly while the fish remains in the water, but, I believe the safest way to remove a fly from a struggling fish, is to net the fish and remove it from the water! make sure your hands are wet and cold, then gently cradle the fish in one hand, while removing the fly from the fish with the other hand - or - forceps if deep hooked. This method is far safer for fish and angler; and the fish is less traumatised and less likely to bleed, then gently return the fish to the water, ensuring it is fully recovered from it's ordeal and allowed to swim away naturally! Then go catch another one and repeat the process!

Thats exactly what i did but the bayliff said i would have to leave if i did it again .I cant understand this rule im trying to put the fish and myself out of harms way and i get told im doing wrong. forgot to say it states any injury which happens on the fishery the fishery excepts no responsibility . Dont get some rules

Don't forget that the rules have to allow for the lowest common denominator and the idiots who would net a fish, allow it to trash around in the bottom of the boat and very possibly damage itself.

The price of a C&R ticket normally reflects the fact that no fish are taken and if they start to lose fish through poor handling it's no different to anglers taking the fish home in financial terms as they have to be replaced.

You have to obey the rules or fish somewhere else. Rules apart, to net a fish, hold the fish in the wet net, pop out the hook and release it back into the water is not going to harm the fish in 99.9% of cases.

A good way to release fish on barbless hooks when using a single hook is to wind down to the hook and use the rod tip as a disgorger to pop the hook out (Don't do this with an expensive or very thin tipped rod!) or use a Ketchum tool.

I helped look after a fishery where we had 100% C&R for a couple of seasons, statistically we caught each fish a couple of times and we lost very few fish to poor handling......but then we didn't have any idiots fishing.

Some international and domestic competitions require the netting of fish, passing to your controller, measuring the fish in a tube, and returning them safely to the water and this does not present any issues with fish mortality, provided that it is done quickly and carefully.

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“There is no more lovely country than Monmouthshire in early spring. Nowhere do the larks sing quite so passionately, as if somehow inspired by the Welsh themselves. There is a blackbird on every thorn and a cock chaffinch, a twink as they call him there, on every bush...... It moved me profoundly. I had been spared to see another spring, and I thank God for it.”

Oliver Kite
“A Spring Day on the Usk”
A Fisherman’s Diary

good way to release fish on barbless hooks when using a single hook is to wind down to the hook and use the rod tip as a disgorger to pop the hook out (Don't do this with an expensive or very thin tipped rod!)


I cant see this being a popular method to remove a fly

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Robbie
Amnesia, i forget what that means
Harbour lights flyfishers