Releasing Fish

[Bamboozle]

I was fishing the hole called the "Kiddie Pool" right by the hatchery. I could have sworn it was an artificial only section as I read a sign somewhere that said so (I think). I could be wrong.

Heck yeah chumming is illegal. I am ready now. I don't want to witness something like that again. I will say that I have tunnel vision and when I am in fishing mode it's hard to get me to do anything else. Scarlet Jo could probably walk by me in her birthday suit while I was fishing and I doubt my eyes would leave the water.

Yup, that's Section 8 the Class A former no wading permitted "Heritage Trout" section that is now Catch & Release Fly Fishing Only as is Section 5 upstream. Section 8 has never been anything but fly fishing only in my recollections.

FWIW - I have all of the PFBC Regional Law Enforcement office phone numbers programmed in my phone for ratting out purposes. You might consider doing the same.

You might also consider putting my number in there as well, just in case you see "Scarlet Jo walking around in her birthday suit..."

...I can assure you my eyes WILL leave the water.

 

[Wild_Trouter]

I assume you meant the lower Fly Fishing Only Section (Section 8) because there is no Artificial's Only section on the Little Lehigh...

That being said and detailing the reason I gave in my earlier post for carrying a phone... you should have ratted them out to PFBC Law Enforcement for chumming which IS illegal in a fly or artificials stretch.

I once ratted out a "sport" on the Run who was throwing bread in the stretch by the pipe. The WCO appeared out of nowhere in about 10 minutes and cited him!!

Way back in the day (early 90s), I ratted a guy out at the hatchery office for using pellets that were wrapped and epoxied to the hook at the Kiddie Pool on LL. He'd throw a handful of pellets in the water and then drop his pellet on a hook in and just rake them. A WCO promptly arrived and handled business. His argument to the WCO was that the pellet was fashioned to the hook with thread and cement. Contrast that with notching/gluing coffee beans for beetle patterns (black nylon paint brush bristles for legs on underside) back in the day. I was formally told that was a no-no and the WCO didn't like my McMurray Ants either- also on the LL in early 90s.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

I'm with ya Bam. I try to combat fish as fast as possible (within reason). The longer you play a fish the higher of a risk you have in losing it. Knot fatigue plays a big part in this. A knot can only hold up so long under pressure and/or with head thrashes. I don't like putting fish on the reel as I can pull in line and mitigate pressure much better with my hands.

I think a lot of people need to reevaluate the strength of their tippet, it's stronger than most people think. I have landed 8 steelhead in the 18-24 inch category on 5X tippet, granted, the version I am using (Cortland of course), breaks at 5.7 lbs. Yes the fish were put on the reel in those instances. There really be some people out there fishing 3X tippet and putting moderately sized trout on the reel, WTH?!?! You should be able to pull up rocks from a stream bottom with 3X. I have found for a friend that I am teaching that 6lb. test is ideal for him. He doesn't lose any fish and can easily pull flies from snags. This saves me a lot of time as I can actually fish instead of just babysit.

I use a net for all streams besides tiny creeks where it is annoying to have a net on one's body and because I usually try to "bounce" the tiny trout off of the hook when I pull them out of the water. I find a net to be advantageous as I can scoop a fish up before it has expended enough energy to allow itself to be beached, something I am opposed to doing and if the fish decides to thrash around it's better to do it in a soft rubber net as opposed to some rocks. Many times the fish will spit the hook once it is netted due to line tension being alleviated. A fished can be released underwater with ease using a net.

 

[pcray1231]

I put every fish on the reel, even 5" brookies. Just what I got used to.

I play fish quickly and find very little joy in the fight itself. I very rarely use 6x, most fish I catch are on 3x-5x, and I play them quick.

I do take a lot of pics (not every fish, but several a day mixed in with scenery pictures, to kind of re-create the day). I do my best to limit handling, have the camera ready as soon as possible, keep them in the water until it is ready, take the pic and let them go. But it's within reason. Enjoying the fish is part of it! Obviously, good handling increases the % of fish that live. I am not going to lay a fish on dry grass, and we should avoid such things, but frankly, I think the vast majority of released fish survive and we go a little overboard on the "rules". It's not an automatic death sentence to every fish that touches a blade of grass, it's just something you avoid if you can. And I have plenty of pics of a fish caught multiple times to prove it. I think the #1 fish killers are warm water (all bad handling practices are magnified x10 in warmer water), deep hooking, and beginners who squeeze the crap out of fish.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

You might also consider putting my number in there as well, just in case you see "Scarlet Jo walking around in her birthday suit..."

...I can assure you my eyes WILL leave the water.

Oh you dirty old dawg! I suppose the direction of my eyes would be based on how good the fishing actually is.

 

[Bamboozle]

I'm with ya Bam. I try to combat fish as fast as possible (within reason). The longer you play a fish the higher of a risk you have in losing it...

I don't even care if I lose them since I'm not taking a photo anymore. As long as I see them to hopefully identify what I caught, I'm happy.

A lot of this "hating to play fish" has to do with fishing the Letort back in the day during Sulphur hatches. Aside from a few stragglers that you could temp with an emerger in the late afternoon, most of time the fish really wouldn't start rising with reckless abandon until around 8:40 pm. That meant you were lucky to have 20 minutes of fast and furious action.

On more than a few evenings the fish were extremely cooperative and not dinks... I remember times literally trying to shake them off the hook rather than play them because there were risers all around and the clock was ticking down and playing a fish meant loosing precious minutes of fishing time to rising fish...

 

[hooker-of-men]

I put every fish on the reel, even 5" brookies. Just what I got used to.

Same. It seems all the "pros" (or influencers? whatever we call them now) disagree. The justifications I've heard for landing them by hand have never made any sense in comparison to landing fish with a pile of extra line at your feet.

 

[Bamboozle]

Oh you dirty old dawg! I suppose the direction of my eyes would be based on how good the fishing actually is.

I'm glad MY priorities are in order regardless of the fishing conditions!

 

[Bamboozle]

Same. It seems all the "pros" (or influencers? whatever we call them now) disagree. The justifications I've heard for landing them by hand have never made any sense in comparison to landing fish with a pile of extra line at your feet.

I remember a conversation I had with Vince Marinaro back in the 1980's. Vince made bamboo rods and advocated when necessary, point the rod at a fish and always let "the reel's drag do the job it was designed for."

I'm not ashamed to admit that Vince Marinaro & Charlie Fox were and still are the biggest "influencers" of my fly fishing life so I heeded Vince's advice and still do to this day.

 

[wildtrout2]

I do take a lot of pics (not every fish, but several a day mixed in with scenery pictures, to kind of re-create the day). I do my best to limit handling, have the camera ready as soon as possible, keep them in the water until it is ready, take the pic and let them go.

Exactly what I do. My cam/phone is out and ready to take a pic even before the trout gets to hand. I make that decision very quickly.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

I put every fish on the reel, even 5" brookies. Just what I got used to.

I think the #1 fish killers are warm water (all bad handling practices are magnified x10 in warmer water), deep hooking, and beginners who squeeze the crap out of fish.

Your cyclic rate for those 5 inch brookies has to be abysmal. I'd try and break that habit for that specific fishing situation. Hand-lining is much more efficient. On a lot of those creeks where I am fishing for those kinds of fish I hardly have any fly line out of the rod tip anyways. A lot of times I'm not even moving line in or out of the rod, I just lift the rod when I get one and try to bump it off, then it's recast and repeat, while occasionally wringing out my dry in my shirt before tossing it into the powder floatant jar for a few shakes. Amplify the cool factor by smoking a cigar while doing so and then trip fall in and scuff your custom Abel rainbow trout TR Lite like I did lol. Thankfully I had my wading belt on that day so I didn't drown in the foot of water I fell into. Probably wouldn't have fallen if only I had a wading staff...

Totally agree with the second part.

 

[wildtrout2]

Your cyclic rate for those 5 inch brookies has to be abysmal. I'd try and break that habit for that specific fishing situation. Hand-lining is much more efficient. On a lot of those creeks where I am fishing for those kinds of fish I hardly have any fly line out of the rod tip anyways. A lot of times I'm not even moving line in or out of the rod, I just lift the rod when I get one and try to bump it off, then it's recast and repeat, while occasionally wringing out my dry in my shirt before tossing it into the powder floatant jar for a few shakes.

This. ^

 

[jifigz]

For me, it's barbless hooks and a simple twist out while the fish is still in the net or water. I rarely take any pics anymore because I have enough pics of pretty gemmies of all sizes and cookie-cutter wild browns and some bows for you, me, and Dupree. It's a rare occurrence that I take photos unless it's a very deserving fish, and even then, it is done with the utmost respect and least amount of stress on the fish. If it is Summer, I don't even bother with elevated water temps.

If this spring season keeps going like this we'll have elevated water temperatures in no time. 80° and no rain in April.....

 

[wildtrout2]

If this spring season keeps going like this we'll have elevated water temperatures in no time. 80° and no rain in April.....

Yes, but we need an all day soaker desperately!

 

[HopBack]

I like to give a good bass set when I’m fishing for native brook trout. I don’t ever have to handle anything and I’m giving back to the local raccoon and opossum community at the same time.

 

[Swattie87]

I like to give a good bass set when I’m fishing for native brook trout. I don’t ever have to handle anything and I’m giving back to the local raccoon and opossum community at the same time.

Not cool around these parts anymore. We may have to cancel you. (Feel free to do this with Brown Trout obviously.)

 

[hooker-of-men]

I like to give a good bass set when I’m fishing for native brook trout. I don’t ever have to handle anything and I’m giving back to the local raccoon and opossum community at the same time.

Just making room for the browns and bows!!

 

[barrybarry]

I know this post has taken a turn but has anyone seen a case where stocked fish die quickly? Water release, not knocked on the stones.
I think the water quality had them stressed beforehand. Thoughts?

 

[springer1]

Go Barbless , the fish will thank you.

 

[sixfootfenwick]

I know this post has taken a turn but has anyone seen a case where stocked fish die quickly? Water release, not knocked on the stones.
I think the water quality had them stressed beforehand. Thoughts?

I have not but I'm sure that happens.