How to catch and release a fish properly

[JackM]

I find if fish will not pose for a photo, a light slap on the head calms them down. Anyhow, they are fish and if 1/10th of the trout I hook in the gills survive, I will take my chances by releasing them all.

 

[IloveBrookies]

Also, don't just toss them back into the water. Place them in slower current and let them swim off on their own.

 

[Chaz]

Cold air temps do not adversely impact trout as long as you hanlde them properly. Slow me the science that says it does.

 

[JackM]

I have never seen a trout's gills freeze now that I give it some thought.

 

[WildTigerTrout]

The best way is a LDR(Long Distance Release). I have been known to use that technique from time to time. ;-)

 

[MKern]

Bottom line is don't fight a trout too long. It should instantly swim away; at least with a pinch on the tail.

I will say the other stuff has been covered: wet hands, minimal time out of water, no snow or sharp ricks (where a fish can bang itself up), debarbed hooks.

However, I do think debarbing your hooks save the fisherman more time. I know once I net a fishthe trailing flies always get stuck in my net. Without buying a rubber net, debarbing speeds up the hook removal fromt eh net and other articles of clothing.

 

[DGC]

ROVERT wrote:

Stream surveys done by biologists subject a fish to just as much handling and time out of the water as an angler who gets a quick pic to remember his day on the stream.

That handling is done after a fight when the fish is at some stage of stress, sometimes not much, sometimes a great deal as you yourself appropriately note.

But an electroshock disables the fish so that stress from being fought is not present or at least greatly reduced. They also use clove oil to anesthetize. Not an apples to apples comparison.

However, the survey handling supports the notion that slime issues from handling may not be as much of an issue as is often suggested.

How anyone gets a fish to stay still on the bank next to their rod for a photograph is a mystery to me. When I started taking a camera on trips a few years ago, I tried it and every fish flipped and flopped like mad. I just gave up trying after a few attempts.

 

[mike_richardson]

One thing i did not see was get a good net. I have a mesh net that will soon be switched to a more fish friendly net. I think the mesh net can take a way a lot of their slime, plus it can be a hassle if your hooks get snagged.

I have caught a ton of trout in the winter and kicked water onto a rock or ice and took their picture, caught the same fish a few days later and never had any issues. I am not a huge believer this process. i am sure the fish would rather have me take its picture and let him go than keep him to put him on the wall.

That being said i did kill one trout last year by playing it too long and trying to get a picture. I felt terrible after this. You can tell how played out a fish is when you bring it in. If it is very tired or stressed I wont even attempt a picture.

It is a bummer to let the a fish go in a DHALO area that is sure to die, but nothing on the fish will go to waste. There are tons of creatures both in the stream and out that will benifit from this trouts deatch.

Barbed hooks are a must IMO. I personally believe you get far better pentration with a barbless hook. You may loose a small amount of fish but the benifits far outweigh the negatives on this topic.

 

[ROVERT]

That handling is done after a fight when the fish is at some stage of stress, sometimes not much, sometimes a great deal as you yourself appropriately note. But an electroshock disables the fish so that stress from being fought is not present or at least greatly reduced. They also use clove oil to anesthetize. Not an apples to apples comparison. However, the survey handling supports the notion that slime issues from handling may not be as much of an issue as is often suggested. How anyone gets a fish to stay still on the bank next to their rod for a photograph is a mystery to me. When I started taking a camera on trips a few years ago, I tried it and every fish flipped and flopped like mad. I just gave up trying after a few attempts.

Some agencies use clove oil, some do not. The handling aspect of harming fish is not related to the stresses of being caught. Handling that damages their protective membranes (knotted nets, rocks, dry hands, etc.) threatens their ability to fight off future infection, not recover from stress.

Negative effects of being out of the water could be exasperated by increased stress levels. A few seconds for a photo is not going to be the difference between life and death for the fish, though. My point was that gentle handling and limited time out of the water is not going to significantly negatively affect the fish's chance of survival. Those saying that a fisherman should never take a fish out of the water, especially for a photo, are overestimating the effects that these actions can have if done carefully. It may not be an apples to apples comparison, but I've never seen an internet comparison that was.

As far as getting the fish to stay still, you just need to play them out a bit more. Wear 'em down enough and they'll stay still for you.

 

[Chaz]

Guy, seems some of you can't read, SEE POST # 15, I talked about fighting the fish and using a net.

 

[ROVERT]

Guy, seems some of you can't read, SEE POST # 15, I talked about fighting the fish and using a net.

I'm not sure how providing additional information indicates an inability to read.

All of the tips you provided in POST #15 ("Play the fish quickly, use a landing net , wet your hands, use barbless hooks, and use forceps.") had already been pointed out somewhere in the previous 14 posts so I'm not sure what the deal is here.

You and several others pointed out that a fish should be played and brought in as quickly as possible. I just thought a little more info could be provided on that topic.

 

[barbless]

Chaz:

Cold air temps do not adversely impact trout as long as you handle them properly. Slow me the science that says it does.

Here's a list of search results

http://tinyurl.com/FreezingTempC-R

"Handling properly" includes getting them back into the water before their gills or eyes freeze, which takes a little while unless it's bitterly cold, like Minnesota or Alaska cold.

Consider what happens to anything else out in the weather when temperatures are below freezing and it gets wet- like what would happen to the end of a scarf if it were dipped in a stream. It would freeze, but it would take some time to frost over at the typical temps of a Pa. winter- which are almost always above 0 degrees F (-18C).

But gill and eye freezing will happen eventually. And I would avoid putting the fish in the snow if possible, because I'm fairly sure that snow draws heat away much faster than cold air. (Consider that 35 degree water draws body heat away 20-30 times faster than 35 degree air. Snow is probably somewhere in between on that scale.)