Thursday, July 30, 2009

Catch and Release – Am I doing it Right?


We all talk about catch and release and how great it is that we are returning the fish to the water and keeping the fish population strong – heck, we might even catch the same fish again another day. Yet it seems like every time I see a fly fishing video or photo, some happy angler is grabbing on to a fish for the obligatory photo op before releasing it back into the water.

I’ve always tried to keep fish in the water as much as possible, but i'm inconsistent (both the above photos are of me). In the interest of my future catch I decided to do a little research. Some of what I found is old news, and some of it was brand new to me. Here’s a summary*:

1) Nets are bad, especially knotted line nets. If you need to use a net, get a knotless version.
2) Always use barbless hooks. If you can’t land a fish without a barbed hook, you should work on your technique!
3) Don’t reach into a fish’s mouth – if a fly is caught inside, use some sort of forceps or needle-nosed pliers to extract it.
4) If the fly is way down in the fish, just cut the line. Digging way down into a fish to remove a fly can reduce their chance of survival to under 20%, while cutting your line gives the fish a 90% chance of survival (don’t worry – the fly will work its way out over time).

If you really need to pick the fish up out of the water:

5) The less time a fish is out of water the better. 20-30 seconds is the maximum (for when you really need to get that picture) but ideally the fish should never leave the water. The oxygen deprivation can have serious effects on a fish, even if they are able to swim away easily.
6) Never touch a fish with dry hands (or anything dry) as this will wipe away their slimy protective layer.
7) Never dangle a fish from your line. Instead, lift the fish out of the water horizontally.
8) Place the fish back in the water gently, horizontally, and move it side to side until it swims away.

Practicing these techniques can lead to a 97% survival rate of released fish. So next time you catch a whopper, don’t worry so much about the photo. Instead, take pride in knowing that by properly releasing it you can be 97% certain it’ll be there again next time.

* figures cited from Wikipedia.
Posted by at 5:38 PM
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1 comments:

  1. Patrick,

    Since you asked the question, I will answer, from my point of view. Like you, not being a fish biologist, I do not have scientific evidence for what I think is the right way to handle fish.
    I agree with your #2. It should be #1. It is not that the barb will hurt the fish but rather it will make it more difficult to remove the hook, thus prolonging the time the fish is held. If ever a gust of wind has blown a fly into your eye where the hook has engaged, you will fully understand another big plus to barbless hooks. NEVER use anything else.
    I disagree with your #1 but not completely. My experience tells me that the new thermoplastic rubber nets do not scrape the slime off of the fish like the older nylon, polyester, or even cotton nets did. also, I think, especially with larger fish, less harm is done releasing the fish in a net since it can be done with more ease and more speed than when attempting to hold the fish. I've seen a fish tear off half its jaw escaping from my grip when releasing a fish without a net. I have never seen a fish hurt itself in a rubber net. My caveat here is that if you have a small trout to release (say under 10") and you can work your hand down the line to grab the fly in your fingers, you should be able to release the fish without touching it in any way. That beat using a net all day. Most of my trout fishing is for smaller trout and I rarely take a net with me.
    On your recommendation #3 not to reach into the fish's mouth, I would add that a useful tool is a "Ketchum Release."
    The rest of your advice is sound and worth rereading occassionally.
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