Hands Off Fish

[Macklin]

It really bothers me when I see people land a fish and then feel the need to pick it up and take a picture just so they can show it off to their friends. If you have a small rod holder and a net on your back you can simply net the fish…place your rod in the rod holder…..de-hook the fish and leave them in the net in the water so they can get their strength back and release. I want to start a movement called Hand off Fish…just not sure how to get my messag out their….plea feel free to comment….I forgot one big thing…it should illegal to use barbed hooks on catch and release streams…

 

[hunter1]

Welcome to the forum. I have been fly fishing since the late 1970's, I have never taken a picture of what I catch. I didn't like carrying a camera way back then and don't like pulling a cell phone out now. I have used my WET hands to hold a fish that needed dehooking . If you handle a fish you should always wet your hand first. I use barbless and barbed hooks. When I have a net I leave the fish in the net and take the hook out. No net I gently handle the fish. With trout flies , the barbes hooks come out pretty easy anyway. But you can't make strict laws on what hooks you use. The hooks don't hurt the fish, it's the rough handling that will. Personaly I think not going after fish that are on reds and protecting the eggs is way more harmfull. Oh yeah, thats not me holding a trout in the member prophile. Just a random picture.Tight lines.

 

[goose54cdd]

I take pictures after I wet my hands. If I think it's going to be a struggle to get a picture I just release them.

 

[Macklin]

Welcome to the forum. I have been fly fishing since the late 1970's, I have never taken a picture of what I catch. I didn't like carrying a camera way back then and don't like pulling a cell phone out now. I have used my WET hands to hold a fish that needed dehooking . If you handle a fish you should always wet your hand first. I use barbless and barbed hooks. When I have a net I leave the fish in the net and take the hook out. No net I gently handle the fish. With trout flies , the barbes hooks come out pretty easy anyway. But you can't make strict laws on what hooks you use. The hooks don't hurt the fish, it's the rough handling that will. Personaly I think not going after fish that are on reds and protecting the eggs is way more harmfull. Oh yeah, thats not me holding a trout in the member prophile. Just a random picture.Tight lines.

I appreciate your comments ..thanks for replying …fisherman like you are far and few between….I stil think it’s better not to handle the fish…Hands Off Fish

 

[wildtrout2]

Personaly I think not going after fish that are on reds and protecting the eggs is way more harmfull.

??????

 

[Macklin]

Trout and other fish are constantly producing slime. So even if some slime gets removed with or without wet hands, the trout can eventually produce more slime to protect itself again. However, even with wet hands there will be a period of time that they are exposed to bacteria and parasites.

 

[ryansheehan]

It really bothers me when I see people land a fish and then feel the need to pick it up and take a picture just so they can show it off to their friends. If you have a small rod holder and a net on your back you can simply net the fish…place your rod in the rod holder…..de-hook the fish and leave them in the net in the water so they can get their strength back and release. I want to start a movement called Hand off Fish…just not sure how to get my messag out their….plea feel free to comment….I forgot one big thing…it should illegal to use barbed hooks on catch and release streams…

There are some people who are really bothered when they see others fishing. They don't understand why someone would put a hook(barbed or not) in a fish's mouth just for fun. There are even organizations with the desire to make all fishing illegal.

At the end of the day we've all harmed and killed fish as we catch and release fly fish. To me the biggest thing is to educate people on the best way to handle fish. I enjoy taking and having pictures with my kids, buddy's, etc, it's part of the experience.

 

[CRB]

I like to use the fish gloves to handle fish I would rather have them calm than thrashing about.

 

[hunter1]

??????

Sorry about the error. I ment going after the fish on reds is more harmfull. Dhoooo.lol I agree , you start getting to many regs that are harmfull ti the sport and the anti fishing groups win.

 

[bdhoover77]

I am all in favor of handling fish as little as possible and getting them back in the water as quickly as possible. That said, it seems like most anglers are worried more about trout than other fish, and I don’t understand that. I’ve never heard another angler worry about someone taking a photo of a bass or a bluegill. But when it comes to trout, it‘s another story. Personally I would be more concerned with careful handling a native brook trout (in eastern streams) than other species. I’m not going to intentionally try to harm any fish that I intend to release (other than the fact that fishing in and of itself is essentially a blood sport), but I’m not going to “baby” brown trout, rainbows, or really any other species.

If people want to take photos of a fish, it doesn’t bother me. Just use barbless hooks, wet your hands, take a quick photo, and get it back in the water quickly.

If you really want to protect fish and ensure their survival, don‘t try to catch them.

 

[Fish Sticks]

I am all in favor of handling fish as little as possible and getting them back in the water as quickly as possible. That said, it seems like most anglers are worried more about trout than other fish, and I don’t understand that. I’ve never heard another angler worry about someone taking a photo of a bass or a bluegill. But when it comes to trout, it‘s another story. Personally I would be more concerned with careful handling a native brook trout (in eastern streams) than other species. I’m not going to intentionally try to harm any fish that I intend to release (other than the fact that fishing in and of itself is essentially a blood sport), but I’m not going to “baby” brown trout, rainbows, or really any other species.

If people want to take photos of a fish, it doesn’t bother me. Just use barbless hooks, wet your hands, take a quick photo, and get it back in the water quickly.

If you really want to protect fish and ensure their survival, don‘t try to catch them.

Agree with extra care with brookies because of species of greatest conservation need status in W.A.P. And I think everyone can agree if your not going to harvest a trout regardless of species we treat it very nicely, just because something is invasive doesn’t mean we shouldn’t give it TLC if its not going be harvested for food or removed humanely for conservation purposes. If something is going back in the water for me i always treat with respect but like Bdhoover said brookies it feels different despite the fact that maybe i treat everything i am not going to harvest the same. I pretty much won’t lift brookies out of the water unless for a split second and i don’t photograph many.

 

[sixfootfenwick]

There is a thing called Keep Em' Wet

 

[dudemanspecial]

You should try out the new style hookless flies. Guaranteed to keep them safe from hands.

 

[hunter1]

Most if not all the flies I buy from Backwater angler are barbless. My saltwater hooks ,no. I'm going to start tying my own flies and bought barbless hooks. My saltwater flies will get sharp barbed hooks.

 

[Fish Sticks]

Another thing is if your fishing for brookies and you have a big comparadun or post fly I have noticed that the stiff fur on top can push the hook into the tongue or bottom of the mouth deeper back instead of catching the lip on the way out. I bend my hook points slightly up so the point is pointing kinda towards the eye instead of parallel to the shank. I have found this along with using hooks of the same size but that have smaller gaps between point and shank helps me get more corner of the mouth hook ups on brookies. Also smaller gap helps the point avoid the eye when you get a corner of the mouth hook up.

This is not as much of a problem on browns because of the larger mouth to hook size ratio

 

[Swattie87]

It really bothers me when I see people land a fish and then feel the need to pick it up and take a picture just so they can show it off to their friends. If you have a small rod holder and a net on your back you can simply net the fish…place your rod in the rod holder…..de-hook the fish and leave them in the net in the water so they can get their strength back and release. I want to start a movement called Hand off Fish…just not sure how to get my messag out their….plea feel free to comment….I forgot one big thing…it should illegal to use barbed hooks on catch and release streams…

I suspect there’s a lot in life that bothers you. Lighten up Francis.

I suppose I need to handle the wild Browns I catch rougher and keep them out of the water longer while taking their picture. (See Repeat Offender thread.) And to be clear, the pictures I take of fish are for me, not for my friends. Does that make it worse?

A Brookie’s soul dies if you take its picture. They are little cherubs to be treasured. 😇

 

[Fish Sticks]

Most if not all the flies I buy from Backwater angler are barbless. My saltwater hooks ,no. I'm going to start tying my own flies and bought barbless hooks. My saltwater flies will get sharp barbed hooks.

In salt water last time I went bonefish fishing I was told that if you touch the bonefish and rub off slime the sharks can kinda hunt it down and eat it when exhausted more easily. I will have to look up if thats true or not at all, it sounded interesting. The guide had me take a shot in the net and turn the barbless hook to release which was kinda convenient. I honestly can’t remember what i fish last time I went saltwater around here, theres both kind of hooks in my box.

 

[Kyle]

i wet my hands first. and i value the pictures taken. they are nice to look back on. some nights i look back on the fish i caught and its as much fun as the day i caught them because im re living the experience. i will never stop wetting my hands and then taking a photo.

 

[ryansheehan]

i wet my hands first. and i value the pictures taken. they are nice to look back on. some nights i look back on the fish i caught and its as much fun as the day i caught them because im re living the experience. i will never stop wetting my hands and then taking a photo.

Amen, to add on I love seeing pictures that others have caught. Friend says I caught a beautiful 10 inch brookie is so much better when there is a picture to see the beauty, size and colors. It kind of sucks that it doesn't have a soul anymore but totally worth it. To me part of taking pictures is for your "crew"to enjoy as well.

 

[Swattie87]

Amen, to add on I love seeing pictures that others have caught. Friend says I caught a beautiful 10 inch brookie is so much better when there is a picture to see the beauty, size and colors. It kind of sucks that it doesn't have a soul anymore but totally worth it. To me part of taking pictures is for your "crew"to enjoy as well.

I have robbed many Brookies of their souls, but apparently not their lives, as I have several in my picture vaults that were caught multiple times, just like the Browns.