There was a thread on here a while back about should you use a net or not
when unhooking a fish.
Quite a few lads on here said the best way to do it was just to reach
down into the water and unhook it by hand or by forceps.
I went out yesterday on a boat and thought I will try that, so I didn't take
my landing net.
I only had one fish of about three pounds- and what a performance.
Holding the rod with one hand and trying to unhook with another.
It was on the point fly so I had the dropper swinging around my head.
I'm a big lad - the boat nearly capsized while I was trying to maneuver my
self into position for this task.
One of out members was on another boat he had already netted
and returned 2 over wintered doubles, the last of which his net got broken.
He then went on to catch his third double without having a net.
It was near on impossible for him to control the fish to get it into position
for unhooking.( He was on 6lb line-the fish was about 15lb)
He did manage it in the end but it took some time.
The fish was stressed and he had to hold it in the water for ages before it
would swim away.
No harm done I hope.
It must be easier to play the fish- net it- leave the net and fish in the
water- lay down your rod and make safe your droppers- reach down into
the net- unhook the fish- keep it upright within the net
until it is ready to swim off.
I wont be going out again without my net---- I know whats best for me.

If I'm going to chin a fish or release it in the water without a net I grab the leader and drop the rod first. No problems that way.

I have to agree with Morrisdancer, I find it very awkward without a net for all the same reasons.
However, I have just bought a catch & release tool, so I will have a go with that next time, but I will still have my net handy, just in case
Cheers,
Gary.

__________________
"Calling Fly Fishing a hobby is like calling Brain Surgery a job."

Chin a fish?

I released 13 fish on Saturday without using a net.
It's a lot easier if you're fishing from the bank & I only do this if I can actually see the fly in the fishes' mouth during the fight.
All of the fish kicked away instantly which you often won't get if they are landed, taken from the water, unhooked & then released.
I just make sure that the fish is reasonably well played-out, step in to the water or kneel on the water's edge & then slide my hand down the last foot or so of leader, placing the rod behind me on the bank.
Next I try to reverse the hook straight out of it's hold as soon as I can make contact with it.
If it doesn't come out first time I'll wet both hands I'll hold the fish upside-down & then remove the hook, all the while the fish is in or around the surface.

The key is to do this from the bank & only when you can clearly see exactly where the hook-hold is during the later stages of the fight.

I always net my fish , due to phyiscal resons, and i see no reason not to , if you unhook a fish in the water and it goes belly up , how the hell do you revive itweve been using nets for donkeys years and if they were that hamful we would have loads of fish deaths, just need to handle the fish with care , no tight grips and back ito the water quickly and allow it to revive

__________________
If in doubt, get the montys out

Intelligence is relative to your environment

Simply wait until it kicks away.
If you unhook immediately without handling & the fish doesn't swim away or goes belly up, just hold it gently upright underwater & move it a foot or so back & forth. In my experience within 30 seconds the fish will fully revive & kick firmly away.
You're far less likely to have a fish do this in the first place if you've unhooked without lifting from the water for well over a minute in a net.
I understand that some people must use a net for physical reasons though.

I don't think there's a right or wrong way to do it. On steep or slippery banks it's probably safer to net the fish than risk falling in; having had a dunking at a chalkstream-fed lake I know how hard it is to climb back out of ten feet of water when the bank is soft marl! As long as the net has a soft mesh and the fish is not kept out of the water for any longer than it takes to remove the hook, I don't have a problem with it.

Talking of nets, when will the game angling trade wake up to the fact that net meshes should be available in a finer gauge than the traditional half-inch? Coarse nets are much better for C&R but are unwieldy to carry.

That said, I much prefer to release the fish without removing it from the water, and this I do by using the tip eye of the rod as a disgorger to poke the fly out, thereby avoiding any need to touch it. This is only possible on fish of about 12oz and over; small wild brownies don't have enough weight to work against so have to be handled, though as browns tend to be rather hardier than rainbows it's not such a problem.

Cant imagine me doing that(the tip eye of your rod-you sure?)
If I tried that I would hate to think about the mess I would get into.
Please could you explain further, on how you do that.

Play fish to bank, draw in line with left hand whilst lowering rod tip down line to fish (maintaining light tension) until tip eye slips over hook shank. Give rod a gentle push away from you and the hook (which ought to be barbless or de-barbed for C&R) will slip out easy as an easy thing.