[Charlie]

most of our trout are al caught and set free by careing anglers and its the larger girls that seem to need the care our young ones just bolt, however big barramundi 40lbs + seem to need so long to revive them and so the dept are working on them to see what can be learned that might apply to all species, Ive hung over the edgefor 10 minutes trying to push weater trhu her gills and eventually a tail flip and a bite down on your finger/thumb tells you she's ready, we always use knotless nets and dont remove them from it to weigh or if a photo is needed then its minimal time and be sure to support the tummy, I cry when I see fish hung from the bottom jaw, its good to see our juniors actying responsibly, maybe they are more mature than we give them credit for

[Charlie]

Most recent results over 4 species held in on board live wells of 70liters capaciy (mine is over 90L) or larger, or nets/cages 2 cu mtr, set in the lake, is that over 90% and up to 98% were fine and once set free bolted off, even a few were recaught and fought just as well as the first time, all were caught as part of a week long tournament and by good anglers, wet hands, the towel over the eyes and held upside down, barbless hooks and larger fish soted in the net not on board, all fish if handled were held in at least 2 places not hung up by the bottom lip, I see your anglers and I'm proud of their handling, clearly its a weekend casual angler or an ill informed angler who is doing the most damage, so maybe its up to us to educate others, a fish is too valuable to catch it only once, I think the ball is back in our court, teach by example

[Barry Robertson]

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.

I think a sign of this info should be posted around fisheries to let people know what is required of them. I can understand new anglers handling fish poorly until they are told or shown the correct method. It is still sad to see experienced anglers netting fish, pulling them out the water and literally throwing the fish back into the water. Its amazing the amount of fish that are swimming around covered in paw prints due to poor handling!

[lenap]

while i agree with a lot of c/r views, the major reason for carefull  fish return is the lactic acid that the fish muscles produce in its attempt to survive. its the lactic acid overload that has put the fish in its " drugged " or lethargic state. i always land a fish on the left side of my pontoon boat, having kept my net in the water also reduces the fishes reaction to something else to contend with. keeping the fish in the water, i use kelly clamp or hemostats to remove my lightly barbed hook. next with wetted hands i will work the fish if nessessery to work water thru its guills. i will stay with this fish untill it swims away with no effort. i must also add that i will not over play a fish ,to help ensure its survival. its great to have fish splash water at you as they depart for home.