[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

[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.