Fish Count

[flyflicker]

They don't count in my book, but it always makes me think about my presentation and how it happened....i.e. why did my fly strike the fish there? Or why did the fish strike my fly there? All part of the story of a day on the stream.

 

[jacob]

#21 Re: Fish Count flyflicker Posted on: Today 20:46 They don't count in my book, but it always makes me think about my presentation and how it happened....i.e. why did my fly strike the fish there? Or why did the fish strike my fly there? All part of the story of a day on the stream. Reply Top

I think of it the same way. I think it's likely that they sampled the top fly and by the time you set the hook, they've let go and the point fly stings em'. Could be the other way around as well dependent upon currents.

 

[jacob]

Or you just hooked em' by chance!

 

[fter]

by moon1284 on 2017/9/22 2:02:29

I don't count them. When I foul hook a fish I point my rod tip at the fish and strip line in. I usually break them off.



I have to ask, what benefit do you get with the double-edged sword of snagging a fish, then leaving a hook (call me bold, but I'll bet it's not barbless) and a piece of tippet/leader inside of it? Wouldn't it just be a bit easier to reel the fish in, unhook it, release it, and not have to retie your fly?

 

[moon1284]

The benefit is I'm not exhausting the fish. Snagged fish usually get into the current and go downstream and when you bring them in they come in sideways against the current. I'm no expert but I think less damage is done breaking the fish off than trying to drag a fish sidesways upstream with 2# test.

 

[bigslackwater]

Are we concerned that the fish was simply snagged with no intention of eating the fly? If so, then I wouldn't count them. For my own benefit, if I'm trying to determine if the fly I tied is working, then I would not count a fish snagged anywhere on the body. Foul hooked anywhere around the head, I tend to think the fish was going for it. But we never really know exactly what fish are thinking. Its completely possible that a fish could be snagged inside the mouth. Your zebra midge could drift right in to an unsuspecting fish's open mouth.

 

[poopdeck]

Counting a foul hooked fish is cause to lose your tweed hat of the month club membership. A gentleman would not count foul hooked fish and would he would penalize himself by forfeiting a lip hooked fish from the count.

 

[fter]

Ehh, I'm not the guy to be fishing two pound test just cause I think it'll help me fool a fish. I'm a large proponent of fishing the heaviest tippet you can (I usually use 3x for nearly everything) so that you don't stress the fish out. I'd rather sleep a little better knowing I didn't leave a bunch of tippet in the stream and maybe I caught one or two less fish, though I don't find that I usually catch any fewer fish with heavier tippet. Also, as a reference, most tippet materials won't biodegrade for around 500 years. I'd imagine making that a practice of leaving tippet in our waters does more damager over time than the death of a single fish, which, let's be honest, probably isn't going to die if you fight correctly and handle correctly once it's at your feet. And even then, say your tippet gets wrapped around a tree in a current, and that fish you just snagged gets stuck and can't move but the 18" of tippet that's sticking out of its back; where does that leave us? Just my 2 cents, but I probably still owe a few more.

 

[Swattie87]

I checked with my brother on the shark. He said he had the same question, so he asked the shark. The shark, having been caught and unhooked, felt like it counted. So we'll go with that.

The real question we should be asking is WWFTAD?

 

[moon1284]

Fter, I'll agree to disagree. When I foul hook a fish regardless of species I will point my rod tip at the fish and strip it in or break it off whatever comes first. This is the correct way to fight a foul hooked fish. Playing a foul hooked fish to exhaustion is bush league, and being that the fish is foul hooked, its illegal to keep, even if you kill it during the fight. The weakest connection is the knot to my hook so I'm not sure what the concern with mono is. I don't foul hook many fish so it's a moot point.

 

[Hook_Jaw]

Damn all you bush league fisherman that foul hook fish and exhaust them its illegal. Only bait slobs can they just throw em on the stringer anyhow.

 

[Swattie87]

Hook_Jaw wrote:
Damn all you bush league fisherman that foul hook fish and exhaust them its illegal.

I think they call this Salmon fishing.

 

[Hook_Jaw]

lol this is true swattie

 

[moon1284]

swattie hit the nail on the head

 

[Hunttroutbum]

Fish caught while fly fishing never count. They were fooled into taking something unnatural. So in essence they are all foul hooked.

 

[FarmerDave]

jacob wrote:
I'm with those that don't count them. Also I typically lose count of caught fish after 4 or 5 if I'm having a good day.

I always remember how many I caught when it's a big fat ZERO. Haha

Me too, but I also remember when I catch only 1 or 2, but I am pretty good at math. :-D

BTW, do you guys count it when you floss a steelhead? ;-)

 

[ryansheehan]

Trout takes top fly, comes unbuttoned but dropper fly foul hooks the fish, +1/2?

 

[FarmerDave]

jacob wrote:

#21 Re: Fish Count flyflicker Posted on: Today 20:46 They don't count in my book, but it always makes me think about my presentation and how it happened....i.e. why did my fly strike the fish there? Or why did the fish strike my fly there? All part of the story of a day on the stream. Reply Top

I think of it the same way. I think it's likely that they sampled the top fly and by the time you set the hook, they've let go and the point fly stings em'. Could be the other way around as well dependent upon currents.

It is one of the reason I don't like tandem rigs. However, I dislike getting skunked, even more, so I do occasionally use them.

 

[FarmerDave]

ryansheehan wrote:
Trout takes top fly, comes unbuttoned but dropper fly foul hooks the fish, +1/2?

Happened to me once where a I hooked a steelhead in the mouth with the lead fly, and the trailer somehow hooked it in the side. Lead fly popped out in the net, so I counted it, since it was the only one I landed that day. That's my story and i am sticking with it. ;-)

 

[FarmerDave]

Nevermind on this one. Please delete.