[JIMBOB]

I've always wondered when you see the captor holding a large trout for the photo shoot, if any of these fish are put back. Of course it's always good to have a photo of a good fish but as far as I'm concerned it's more important to respect the fish and if this means only getting a picture of it in the water, net or not, then so be it.

[Jay Scott]

I think i agree with everything being said.. personally i net fish when fishing from a boat as it makes them easier to hand and less time out of the water and struggleing about, i also use a ketchum release for instance when fishing at haddo on Monday with buzzers the fish were taking them and i was always hooking them on the top lip and was really hard to unhook the fish with as least amount of time and handling and the ketchum release seemed to do the job instantly. Bank i usually just hand unless it's a big fish. I think everyone one has their own preference whever using a toll and a net or not all thats important is that the fish goes back safely with no slime being removed fully recovered and as little stress as possible.

Cheers, Jay

[monsterfish]

Personally I prefer to use a net for anything over 4lbs.  This allows me to release the fish without even touching it.  I often see anglers ,who have nets, trying to "beach" their fish because they are going to release it.  They do not play the fish long enough and it ends up thrashing around on stones or shingle.  Other anglers wade into the water, grabbing at the fish and end up squeezing it.  From a boat it is much easier to break the nylon when trying to release a fish without a net.

When taking photos, I would never lift the fish higher than a couple of inches out of the water incase it struggles and gets dropped.

The ketchum hook remover is very effective for small fish but I don't like it for releasing larger specimens, that tend to struggle more.

I do think that catch and release has been carried out by the majority of anglers very well.  There is a minority of anglers who don't but are quickly reminded of how to do it properly.

[Rob Brownfield]

Mike,
Have you seen the rubber mesh nets available for coarse anglers. they are based on the nets used in the salmon farming industry in Norway, but smaller micro or Minnow mesh. They have taken the Bream fishing market by storm as they remove next to no slime and shake dry afterwards, which would be great for you storing nets at the fishery. Well worth a look for the sake of your fish and of the smell in the summer 

[Duncan McRae]

Loads of good suggestions in this thread.I think we all know good catch + release techniques inside out.The problem which i have is actually putting them into practice.
Most of my fishing is for salmon and sea trout on several Don and Ythan beats and i must say that on most occasions netting is the only way to land a fish.There always seems to be an obstacle in the way e.g high banks,dense vegetation or deep mud at the bankside.I can never find a quiet shallow bay when i need it!
In such places, returning the fish can be as difficult as landing it.There is nothing worse than seeing a tired fish floating away belly up because it has been released in an unsuitable spot before it has recovered.
I have seen myself covering several hundred yards of bank to find a spot where i can hold the fish until it has enough strength to swim off.This is not ideal catch + release but i feel it is preferable to simply dumping the fish in the river and hoping that it recovers.

[gunner100]

Hi Duncan,

Recognise the problem. When I started Salmon fishing, before C & R, my mentor advised that before  I started casting, I work out where I was going to land the fish. It made sense. If you can bring the fish in to the net relatively easily it is more than likely that in the current C & R ethos you will also be able to release it in the same spot without too much difficulty.

Lyall

[Mike Barrio]

Mike,
Have you seen the rubber mesh nets available for coarse anglers. they are based on the nets used in the salmon farming industry in Norway, but smaller micro or Minnow mesh. They have taken the Bream fishing market by storm as they remove next to no slime and shake dry afterwards, which would be great for you storing nets at the fishery. Well worth a look for the sake of your fish and of the smell in the summer 

Hi Rob

Rubber Fish Nets ................... No, I don't think I'll try those

Best wishes
Mike

[Rob Brownfield]

LOL..cheeky sod! Very good bit of kit though.

Duncan,
I have held fish in the net from a high bank in the past. I let them recover before inverting the net and letting them swim away. Its not ideal, but its better than falling in yourself or having to carry the fish up the bank with all the risks that involves.

[Duncan McRae]

Lyall

A very good point.I'm usually so eager to start fishing that i don't consider the potential landing problems until i've hooked the fish!


Rob

After all my years of fishing i'm surprised that i hadn't considered this technique.
You would need a very robust net for this and it must be difficult to keep the fish upright while it recovers.


Duncan

[Rob Brownfield]

Duncan,
its not perfect, but its better than nowt. With Pike and Barbel I use a triangular net with a fairly large mesh so water flows through easy. Having a "flat" edge means you can hold the fish, head upstream, along the "flat" by holding some of the mesh, if that makes sense?

With round nets its better to hold the fish close to the edge out the main current. again, with a bit of practice you can get the fish to sit pretty much upright. I have managed to return large grayling like this from very high banks on the Isla.

[benbryant]

A study carried out by Schill et al. 1997. In to the effects of barbed and barbless hooks on fish mortlity in catch and release trout, found there was no significance between the two, "Managers proposing new special regulations to the angling public should consider the social costs of implementing barbed hook restrictions that produce no demonstrable biological gain". The paper poses many questions, i have never been a fan of barbed hooks, i believe however it maybe down to the way a hook is removed from the mouth of a fish by the angler that may do the damage, not the hook it's self.

Ben.

[Iain Goolager]

Ben,
It's hard to believe that, although there may not be any significance from a mortality standpoint between using barbed and barbless hooks, that there is no difference in the physical damage & subsequent trauma caused when the hooks are being removed - note that this is generalising as sometimes the hook falls out no problem. I'm speaking from seeing fish have their scissors torn from people trying to remove large (typically lures) barbed hooks. 
 That said I had a trip not so long ago that when I had a bugger of a job removing a size 14 barbless (not debarbed) hook - the fish had the point firmly inserted in the hard boney nib of the snout.
I think that although there have been various catch and release methods stated in the posts the general opinion seems to be that fish preservation is having the correct attitude rather than being a definiative art.

Question: - how well is the policy of fishing barbless once ones bag limit is reached adhered to or even policed? This would be a positive step in people realising that a barbless hook does not instantly mean a lost fish.

Question: - how many people use barbless hooks when fly fishing for Broonies on a river? I ask because how often do you get a day when parr and the like commit hari kari on your fly & these hooks appear even more menacing when in a wee mouth.

I'd like to think that I treat every fish respectfully - after all I spend a wad of cash & most of my free time (well did until having a wee boy) on my prefered sport so why damage the thing that makes it all worthwhile!?

Unfortunately I do have moments where fish snap off (don't try to hand release a large trout from a boat - sorry Mike!) but fortunately these are very few and far between and I'm constantly learning.


Thanks for listening!

Iain

[Rob Brownfield]

Ben and Iain,
Many fisheries down south are now banning BARBLESS hooks. It has been found that on many fish, but mainly Carp, Tench, Bream, Chub and Barbel that barbless hooks can tear through the flesh on a hard fight. The barbed hook holds in one position far better and resists tearing during the twists of a fight.

Trout are interesting as there mouths are a little different in that they have a hard outer but relatively soft inner. Certainly, for Pike, I use Barbless due to the boney nature of the jaw and little risk of tearing.

Where barbless do come into there own is if a fish is deeply hooked, for very obvious reasons. I have used both barbed, barbless and de-barbed hooks for trout and I have found no difference at all to tell the truth...but then I only use very small hooks for trout. A large, rank barb on a size 2 long shank lure hook is always going to be more of a problem.

One thing that has always concerned me was the use of barbes doubles and trebles on Salmon rivers when Parr have been a problem. Salmon hooks tend to have a rather large barb and times that by two or three and you potentially have an item that could seriously damage a Parr even if the angler was careful. Certain times of the year I would like to see single, barbless hooks for salmon on the rivers to protect the Parr.

[Mike Barrio]

Hi folks

I'm a great believer in barbless or de-barbed hooks, hence Haddo is barbless or de-barbed flies at all times. IMHO anglers hook more fish ( less misses ) and I do not think that they lose more fish. They certainly help when it comes to releasing fish in the net.

The biggest bonus of fishing barbless or de-barbed flies is that they are so much easier to take out of your own face, fingers, neck etc etc ........... Before starting at the fishery, I would never have imagined that so many folk hook themselves

Best wishes
Mike

[ANDREW BEBBINGTON]

Agree with Mike on the flies being debarbed / barbless, since changing to barbless or debarbed hooks in spring there has been no noticable diferance in catches at pitfour. I personally prefer barbless as debarbing can still snag in to a fish.

As for policeing this it is not the easiest, all you can do as a fishery manager is remind people of the policy, you can not really insist that someone debarbs all there flies before you let them on your water, you have to have some trust in your customers.

When it comes to small fish i would of said barbless hooks are much easier to remove for a smaller mouth,

as rob says barbless hooks are easier to remove when fish are deeped hooks, and as mike says they are far more easier to remove from youself than a barbed hook saw a fly in a eyebrow a couple of weeks ago (which was not debarbed) and the guy ended up headed for a+e were a barbless hook would of just sliped out easy.

Why is it that barbless flies are so much harder to get hold off than barbed ones 

andrew