quote:
Originally posted by Josh Roelofsen
Sammy obviously has no clue what he's talking about or is just trying to stir the pot......
Catch and release is very effective, somewhere around 99% when done PROPERLY. Once in a while fish do get deep hooked and mortality is inevitable. I don't feel bad keeping a deep hooked fish, it's happened to me exactly 3 times out of about 300 fish I've landed so far this fall. Those are so far the only 3 fish that I've kept and I would be very surprised if any one of the 297 or so others died shortly after there release. IMO fish fought quickly and handled properly should not need to be "revived". Every fish I release will immediately bolt out of my hand when pointed back into the flow and my hand removed. A fish being released shouldn't have any trouble keeping itself upright or swim away in slow motion.....
I try to land most fish up to about 6lb in the water and keeping them in the water. I use only my bare hand and grip tightly around the tail with my thumb and middle finger. Smallish fish are easiest grabbed gently around the middle. When landing small to medium sized fish on my own in the river I will often turn them upside down in one hand removing the hook with the other. Flipping them upside down will immobilize them quite effectively. Bigger fish I try to pull into water just shallow enough to turn them on their side, the hook is pulled and the fish pointed back into the current and released. The fish is only ever held by the tail and supported under the belly. NEVER should you EVER hold a trout up by the gills! And always try and hold the fish OVER THE WATER.
Generally I only bother getting pictures if I'm fishing with someone. We make sure the camera is already out and the fish lifted from the water for no more than about 10 seconds for the picture. Studies have shown that mortality due to being removed from the water generally starts to occur after about 30 seconds.
Proper tackle can also play a factor in safe release. Overplaying fish is not a good idea. If you can't land a fish inside of a few minutes your tackle is too light! rarely will I have a fight last more than about a minute and a half.
Another thing I find important is to match the size of hooks to the size of fish that are prevalent. Although I prefer to use as big a hook as I can get away with the #6 and bigger will stay in the bag if there are alot of shakers around, Bigger hooks can do alot of damage to those little guys. Pinching the barbs down whenever lures are being use is also important to me as trebles can be tough to remove without doing so.
Josh
Sammy can't catch real fish so he trolls on the internet LOL