Hands Off Fish

krayfish2 said:
Listen, it's all fun and games until I ask for your manager and destroy you on Yelp.

My level of outrage and offense is so high that I can no longer be offended. Continue.

Looks like cabin fever is running wild already! Please refer to these 194 brook trout studies as proof. Yeah, I went there
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I was just getting ready to make some comment about cabin fever hitting early this year...carry on.
 

What’s Wrong With Catch-and-Release Fishing?​

Fish who are released after being caught can suffer from loss of their protective scale coating that makes them vunerable to disease, a dangerous build-up of lactic acid in their muscles, oxygen depletion, and damage to their delicate fins and mouths. According to one fishery expert, catch-and-release victims “could be vulnerable to predators, unable to swim away, or if nesting, not capable of fending off nest raiders. Some guarding males could in fact abandon the nest.” Researchers at the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation found that as many as 43 percent of fish released after being caught died within six days. - PETA
 
This is not directed at you Dave.

I'm all for handling fish gently and ethically, but geez, it's starting to sound like we should all just take up bird watching and abandon a sport whose main goal is to put a hook through the face of a fish.
 
thanks Dave,

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I'm sure a lot of the posts on this subject tongue in cheek but I have to make a serious comment. I could fill pages on the horrifying episodes I have witnessed over the last 31 years of fly fishing of folks landing fish. I fish catch and release waters 99.7% of the time. I use barbless hooks and a net, currently a wooden frame with a rubber net. I attempt to land the fish ASAP. I probably lose lot this way, but it is catch and release. I lose a lot too due to the barbless hooks. Once in the net, I leave the net in the water. I NEVER take the fish out of the net and out of the water. I rarely handle the fish. Most of the time, with the barbless hooks, the fish frees itself. I'll use forceps if needed or will cut the tippet if necessary. I've been tying my own flies for thirty years so it's not a big deal to lose a fly. With the hook out, I turn the net over and release the fish. They briskly swim away. With the thousands of fish I have caught, I only have about four pictures. These were taken very quickly or with the fish in the net in the water. I usually fish by myself or even when with a friend, we fish apart, so there is no one near to snap a picture. A picture is not that important to me. I have seen, mostly younger fisherman in their twenties and thirties, land a fish with a net, pick the fish up with their hand, fumble with forceps to remove the hook, show it to their buddy and then release the fish. I saw a twenty something kid on the Delayed harvest section of the Loyalhanna catch a fish from the bank. He lifted the fish out of the water. I was walking up the trail about forty feet from him. He still had the fish in his hand when I got near him. When I called him on it, he was very rude and said he knew what he was doing even though I had forty years on him. We saw a trio of twenty something fishers land a twenty inch plus brown on Yellow Creek, Bedford County, fly fishing section. It was landed in a net, then carried in the net out of the water ten feet to the bank. Five minutes or more must have passed between the time the fish was landed and released. Unfortunately, I have seen older fishermen do these thigs too. I read an article years ago in Fly Fisherman that said the one thing that hurts the fish the most is the loss of pressure on the fish when taken out of the water. Even leaving the fish partially submerged is a big help. I'm not a biologist so I don't not what the truth is. However, based on my personal observations, I see too many folks unnecessarily taking a fish out of the water. Even in videos on TV or YouTube, I find myself yelling "get that fish in the water!".
 
kbobb said:
Someone should tell PETA that if this statement were true then Spring Crk would be essentially devoid of trout
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Or the typical spring creek angler is more ethical than your typical knuckle dragging angler. When a trout is released without harm you can sometimes hear angelic harmonies coming down from above. If done without a photo you will also hear a harp playing softly. I've only heard the harp around others, never for myself - I take too many photos. I've found the dry fly fishing around these saints to be quite good as the halo draws in the bugs.




(I hope this is over the top enough that everyone knows I'm joking. All for better fish handling, but I do take quick photos and don't feel bad about it).
 
This thread is certainly a popular one. It got me thinking about how many photos I take of fish. I’ve caught 414 trout/salmon so far in 2022. I didn’t recall taking many photos.

Examining my iPhone I have taken exactly 50 photos in 2022 (12% of the time). I found the category with the largest amount were from small unstocked wild trout streams (24). I took 18 photos from stocked streams, but most were of nice brook trout caught there. The last 8 photos were from the Great Lakes tribs.

Reflecting on that. I had more “dry hand” occurrences than I expected on small wild trout. I tend to take more photos of small wild trout so I can review them later and compare differences by stream for my own curiosity. Although it made me consider cutting that number in half. There will be a day when I won’t be able to fish those streams anymore and it will be nice to look back at those photos. But it is a good reminder to handle the fish with care.
 
I take pics of certain wild trout that I catch (ALWAYS wet hands), usually because of it's sheer beauty, rather than it's size. Weather native brookie, or wild brown trout, they're some of the most beautiful fish swimming. Some folks prefer bigger trout on bigger water, but the smaller wild trout on mountain freestone streams usually have the most vivid colors. I enjoy sharing my pics with folks who appreciate seeing them.
 
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We are fishing. Try to handle the fish respectably. Enough said. Not everyone does or ever will. But alot do. Go fishing and have fun dont waste your time on worrying about things you CANT control. And no matter how many people want to think they can, you cant control another anglers behavior. The fish are way tougher than they get credit for. Or else we wouldnt have such outstanding trout fishing in PA!!! Period.

And to the post about mishandling on Loyalhanna Creek, of all places to worry about it. An almost zero natural reproduction stream with pellet heads roaming all over. That kid was right to be irritated.
 
I think fish handling in the last 30 years has come a LONG way. So the idea that we can remind people or just have a conversation about it especially on a flyfishing site seems perfectly fine to me. I believe catch and release was most likely started by flyfishermen and has now spread to many other species. Musky fishermen have become very receptive to it. I would guess that study cited by PETA may very well be true but you would have to look at the specifics of the study,
 
geeze guys. why do some of you even fish? its nonsense for me to catch a fish and not pick it up(with wet hands of course). maybe some of you need to just start starring at fish while they swim around. and leave the rods at home. you can tell your wives " im going to go stare a fish in their natural habitat" instead of CATCHING them.
 
Kyle said:
geeze guys. why do some of you even fish? its nonsense for me to catch a fish and not pick it up(with wet hands of course). maybe some of you need to just start starring at fish while they swim around. and leave the rods at home. you can tell your wives " im going to go stare a fish in their natural habitat" instead of CATCHING them.
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I do that all the time.
 
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