Catch and release has become much more the norm and in the course of my job I see too many fish being handled badly (usually unintentional) which often can result in the fish being damaged. So a few thoughts on how to handle your fish so as to release them unharmed.
First rule is to care for your fish, and then handle them as you would a baby!!
Play them out as quickly as possible, use a net to land them. Then remove the hook with the fish still in the water and in the net.
If you wish to take a photo, work the fish out of the net and circle the fish's snout gently with thumb and forefinger, (this stops them from being able to swim forward and escaping) grip with the other hand just in front of the tail while still keeping the fish in the water all the time.
Once you have the fish out of the net and under control, slide your front hand back under the fish's chest. You only need to cradle the fish, do not squeeze him.
Now you are ready for your photo, try to show the fish off as best you can, but don't stand up with it, just lift the fish up in front of yourself and only just above the water. As soon as the picture's taken put him back under the water.
This way if the fish struggles, as they often do, it's not going to fall from a great height onto the riverbank. It's best if you hold the fish over the water all the time so then if it gets away from you it's going to land straight back in the water and so reduce the risk of any harm coming to it.
Only keep your fish out of the water for the minimum of time. Put him back under the water while you wait for the photo.
Remember he's just been fighting for his life and will need as much oxygen as he can get.....just like we would in a similar situation
When you let him go gently release him into some slow flowing current so that he gets a good supply of water through his gills and so that he'll not have to work hard while he re-gathers his strength.
If you've done it right the fish will usually charge off once he realises he is free. If your fish cannot stay up right and takes a long time to recover then you've been way to hard on it.
Fish that are dragged up and let to flap about on river boulders or that are dropped from great heights onto the riverbank are going to be damaged and will have a much reduced survival rate. The term "throw them back" should also not be used literally.
A finale thought - Where is it reasonable to take fish for the table? On the last day of the season I visited lovely a spring creek that's home to only a few fish, maybe 10 - 14 fish in total. Some a good size. Just as I arrived I met a bloke just packing up to head home - with a dead trout. 8lbs of prime spawning stock. While it's quite legal you have to ask why would you do this? It's pretty oblivious that if every fisherman that visits this stream were to keep a fish then very quickly it would not be worth fishing, so really it's quite a selfish act. That fish had made it through the whole season, probably seen many fisherman, and probably alluded most of them, was fat and set to spawn to create the next generation. It's particularly sad when just a few kms away on the road back home are several lakes where there are plenty of trout and where taking one for the table would make little difference......
Steve
Flyshop
2005
