Fishing with other people can be a lot like driving during rush hour traffic - you see a lot of people doing things they really shouldn't. It's not my job to tell people how to drive anymore than it is to tell people how to fish but...
Okay, I was fishing this past weekend and one of the dudes I was with was doing some "old school" catch and release with his throwbacks and I mean he was literally throwing them back in the water Maybe his techniques were considered okay back in the day when you could catch wheel barrows full and not make a noticeable dent in the fish pop but those days are obviously gone. Some folk need to use a kinder and gentler approach to releasing fish or it's really going to continue cut into my chances of landing THE BIGGUN
If You Are Releasing A Fish DO NOT:
(1) Use barbed hooks
(2) Hold a fish by the eyes when removing the hook
(3) Hold a fish by the gills when removing the hook or getting a snap shot before release
(4) Throw a fish back in the water
(5) Throw an injured fish back in the water
If You Are Releasing A Fish DO:
(1) Use barb free hooks or remove the barbs
(2) Support the fish under the belly when removing the hook or posing for a pic
(3) Holding the fish under the belly lower it into the water and gently move it side to side until it gets moving on it's own and then release it
(4) Tell'im "no hard feelings", wave good-bye, and wish him the best of luck
For a much more thorough "catch and release" guideline check this site out:
Using barbless hooks are a no brainer. Although barbed hooks are now illegal in Alberta, I've been pinching them shut for years. More sporting that way. Good tips all.
Ideally, remove the hook while the fish remains in the water.
Don't use a net, and pick up fish with wet hands.
If you must use a net (eg: gunnel too high to reach the water), leave the fish and net in the water, and pick up with wet hands.
Some recommend a cradle, but I find they can lead to problems landing fish unless the angler has excellent fishing skills. If the cradle is not wetted first, it's no better than a net and could be worse.
How to pick up varies with the species and the size within the same species... find out the best method for what you typically catch. What works with one species may get you bleeding, or worse, with another.
Keep larger fish horizontal, including for pictures. Vertical positions are unnatural (for the fish) and stress the connective tissue that holds the organs in the fish's body cavity. With large fish, a horizontal position can be fatal.
Fish from deep water that contain swim bladders may need to be burped. Avoid bringing fish too quickly from deep water (30 feet or more).
Avoid picking fish out of the water by the hook and line, or with the rod alone while still hooked. Many fish are harmed by this practice.
Have cameras ready, with room on the card or film loaded, batteries charged, and know how to use them.
Each second counts when a fish is out of the water ... two minutes and you've probably killed it, even if it seems to swim away fine. Try to keep it under 30 seconds. Catch-And-Release is predicated on 24-hour mortality; by far the majority of fish who die will do so minutes or hours after being prematurely released in apparently good condition, not at the boat.
The best way to revive varies by species as some are more fragile while others are more robust. The side-to-side method should only be used on more fragile species, as it's the least effective method.
Some notes:
Back and forth, like side-to-side, is not ideal but if it's the only way to get water moving across the gills from the front, do it. Best for robust fish (walleye, pike, muskie, not stream trout). Fast forward, slow backward. Backward movement does nothing to get oxygen into the system, but sometimes it 's the only way to move the fish forward as well.
Some fish can be held by the tail when reviving.
Oxygen levels in the water are critical. Warm water holds less than cold, and shallow water less than deep.
Fish can only take oxygen from water when moving water moves through the gills from the front. Healthy fish at rest move the water themselves by gill action, but note that some species cannot do so and must swim all their lives to stay alive.
Unpolluted streams and rapids have excellent oxygen levels. If there is current, you can simply hold the fish, head facing the direction of current.
You can move a boat with the motor while holding the fish. If you do so, do it at a slow speed so you don't damage the fish when you are holding it, and move to deeper water as you do.
Revive the fish as deeply in the water as you can.
Smaller fish are more robust, and since a pre-spawning age fish has about a 95% chance of being eaten in a given year, some carefully released ones are going to become lunch. They give off stress hormones and vibrations that attract predators when they are caught, and if they are not 100% healthy when released. In a healthy waterbody, it's not the end of the world if a few end up being targeted as a result of being caught, since someone was going to get eaten that day anyway.
Large fish are fragile. They carry the best genetic stock of the waterbody, and carry many more eggs than young spawning fish; hundreds of thousands versus a very few thousand is not unusual. All trophy sized fish are females.
Fighting large fish builds up lactic acid in the muscles, and fish are all muscle. A 40" Muskie has a heart about the size of a man's thumb from tip to first knuckle. Go ahead, look at your thumb if you fit the description. If she can't move blood through the muscles, she can easily cramp and die, even if she may appear to swim away. If she can't move oxygenated blood through the brain, organs will shut down. Take your time; with the largest fish 20 minutes is not unheard of. Be sure of the vital signs before you let go: gills moving, fins moving, 100% upright and good balance.
Last edited by gordguide; Oct 6th, 2008 at 02:31 PM.
Ideally, remove the hook while the fish remains in the water.
Don't use a net, and pick up fish with wet hands.
If you must use a net (eg: gunnel too high to reach the water), leave the fish and net in the water, and pick up with wet hands.
Some recommend a cradle, but I find they can lead to problems landing fish unless the angler has excellent fishing skills. If the cradle is not wetted first, it's no better than a net and could be worse.
How to pick up varies with the species and the size within the same species... find out the best method for what you typically catch. What works with one species may get you bleeding, or worse, with another.
Keep larger fish horizontal, including for pictures. Vertical positions are unnatural (for the fish) and stress the connective tissue that holds the organs in the fish's body cavity. With large fish, a horizontal position can be fatal.
Maybe his techniques were considered okay back in the day when you could catch wheel barrows full and not make a noticeable dent in the fish pop but those days are obviously gone. Some folk need to use a kinder and gentler approach to releasing fish or it's really going to continue cut into my chances of landing THE BIGGUN 
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