[Hamish Young]

In light of certain things I've seen of late  I thought it might be useful to have a 'sticky' topic about C&R. Idea being you can post your own ideas on how it should be done and, as I have done, add a link related to the topic 

Here's quite a good one to start off with:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch_and_release

[Paul Rankine]

Hi All,

If you positively intend to release the fish, fish single barbless hooks.

If you intend to release the fish or it seems to be too small already at distance, get it in quickly to stress it as little as possible . (Some thoughts on use of 3 and 4 wts with big fish ?).

Decide as early as possible if the fish will be released.

Don't net it unless you have to.

Take them with your hands if possible but best is not to touch them at all.

In a river you might want to wade into shallow or less turbulent water to land the fish there.
 
Don't squeeze the fish. Trout are especially vulnerable, and it's very easy to accidently squeeze the air out of its swim bladder , or worse .

Keep the fish as much as possible in the water, if possible unhooking it while it's still submerged .

Loosen the hook without grabbing the fish if possible. Let your hand slide down the line, grab the hook and try to loosen it ,locking forceps can of great help .

Take pictures " instantly" and with the fish as little out of the water as possible .

If the fish has to come out of the water, support it with one or two full hands to avoid unnecessary harm .

Never lift a fish by the tail or gills if it is to be released.

Let the fish swim away by itself. Don't throw it or splash it into the water. Hold it with a full hand or two and bring it gently under the surface.

In a river hold the fish until it revives. Don't let it tumble downstream .

Don't release until you see the gills working nicely and the fish kick.

(Mostly Martin Joergensen) .

Paul.

[Sandy Nelson]

I would agree with all Pauls points except his question

I would add, always use wet hands when holding the fish, dry hands remove the fishes protective coating effectively Burning the fish

As for the question, most 3 and 4 wts will bend more than heavier rods and absorb more of the fishes power, gently, The bending allows the lunges, large fish make, helping to prevent the jaws being ripped.
Stiffer rods break off more leaders and i think many people using them, fanny about when playing fish because they are afraid the leader will break, this is what cause the fish to stress IMHO. A nice mid action rod avoids this regardless of line weight.
I would be inclined to suggest it is the rods action that allows you play a fish quicker and safer rather than line weight. Line weight is more to do with fly size than anything else. By default most 3/4 wts have a mid action and are softer, so in many cases they are probably better and quicker when it comes to landing fish


Sandy

Hamish i know what you mean

[goosander]

Reading the above advice on C. and R. i was wondering how you get fish to stay still when you have got it in as quickly as possible?
Am a great beliver that in the case of salmon that if they are that scarce that we have to release then then we should not be fishing for them in the first place. What right have we got to torture these creatures and play with what is a very good source of food.
Bows are diffrent being stocked at some time. One wonders what the point of fishing is when you go to heavly stocked waters were the fish can be easy to catch. Wheres the challange in that

[Hamish Young]

Regardless of fish it deserves respect if you intend to release it 

This thread is not about the philisophical or moral implications of C&R - more about how it should be carried out correctly 

[Sandy Nelson]

Well put.

[Mike Barrio]

Sandy is spot on with his comments regarding the 3wt/4wt question in my opinion, we researched this extensively at the fishery when developing the Barrio 3wt fly rod with fish up to the mid teens in weight.

I have also noticed that a reasonable sized trout ( say 4 to 5 lbs or more ) is better released from the net in the water rather than simply trying to unhook over the side of the boat ........ as this frequently leads to broken nylon and hooks left in the fish.

Best wishes
Mike

[Sandy Nelson]

i was wondering how you get fish to stay still when you have got it in as quickly as possible?

I've been thinking about this most of the night and the statement actually is misleading.
When we refer to landing a fish as soon as possible, i believe what is meant is tiring the fish out quickly (by bending your rod into it) so when you net it, it is on its side and already recovering, then it will placidly sit in the net while the barbless hook falls out( more often than not). Fish landed like this will quickly recover and kick off strongly.

If you drag a fish in too fast without actually tiring it then it will thrash about in the net and will damage itself, it will also be damned difficult to unhook. At the risk of repeating myself this is much easier to do with a stiffer/powerful rod hence why sometimes the misconception about playing a fish quickly leads to the fish getting hauled in, without getting tired. I suppose people are just doing what it suggested, as they are correct if we take the statement literally

So get the fish in quickly should perhaps read, play the fish firmly till its on its side then quickly net and return the fish. But i suppose peoples definition of firm will be the decisive factor, how does one quantify a personal measure so that others can understand ???

Sandy

[ArtfulDodger84]

Two things which unfortunately i see too often, is laying a fish on the ground and the fish ends up kicking onto gravel/stones and also anglers allowing fish to come into contact with their clothing.  Both of which would have a worse effect than dry hands in burning the fish.

A good thread and good responses, this is something all young anglers should be taught and i guess some older ones too.

Chris

[Dutchfly]

To keep a fish still, all you have to do is to cover its eyes with a wet cloth. Works with pike anyway...

CU

Jeroen

[Paul Rankine]

Sandy,
          "I would agree with all Pauls points except his question " .     EH   !!!

No answer was  implied . The question was asked to stimulate a response,  and make a point .
 
I generally agree with what you say about rod line weights and rod actions.

 Of far more importance than rod action though is the MANNER of playing the fish .

Too many anglers let the fish play them in my experience.

Paul.

[Sandy Nelson]

contact with their clothing.  Both of which would have a worse effect than dry hands in burning the fish.

Chris, I would agree with the contact thing but I always thought it was our body temp that affected the fishes skin once the slime was removed, the wet hands are to cool the skin as well as stop the slime being removed. Knotted nets used to do similar things.

Sandy

is a paradox a dry fly or just a couple of mallards:z6

[fishfingers]

i don,t believe a net is needed, have you tried a c&r tool its handy and easy to use,i use it without netting r touching my catch,the net may come into play where a much larger fish is caught and played for a time and may need a little more recovery time,i think the netted fish is better off than one that has been handled.

[Mike Barrio]

Hi "fishfingers"

Yes, good points, smaller fish can be released very well with a c&r tool like the "ketchum release" for example and by simply running your fingers down the tight nylon until you come to the hook and can remove it.

A larger, lively fish can be more tricky though and I frequently see these take a last minute lunge, snapping the cast or leader and swimming off with the angler's fly. In this case the net would have been a better option

On the topic of nets ....... you are not going to believe this, but I still see folk turning up with knotted landing nets I do not know of any loch or river where this is not breaking the rules!

I spent a lot of time last year researching nets for use at the fishery, many of the game fishing ones on the market have large mesh which I found tangled and damaged gills and fins. I have chosen to provide coarse fishing nets with micro mesh and I am very pleased with them.

Best wishes
Mike Barrio

[fishfingers]

yeh ok mike thanks for the reply, and your advice on micro mesh nets will take a look at these when i get some time,by