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Author Topic: What do you do? C&R or Catch & Keep?  (Read 15670 times)

Cider

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Re: What do you do? C&R or Catch & Keep?
« Reply #60 on: Mar 30, 2004, 11:38 AM »
Personally, if I intend to practice C&R (which is mostly what I do) I follow strict rules.

One, I never play a fish too long for the fun of it.  Three to five minutes for most fish.  Ten minutes tops.  If you want the enjoyment of the fight, release the fish as quickly as you can and catch another one!  Overplaying a fish will cause harmful levels of lactic acid to build up in the fish's muscles and starve the fish of oxygen.  When releasing, make sure that the fish can swim away on its own.  If it doesn't try to revive it by gently moving it back and forth in the water to get water flowing over the gills and the fish taking in oxygen again.  Handle the fish as little as possible.

Second, I never use a landing net on a fish I intend to release.  Fish do a tremendous amount of thrashing in a net and get very tangled.  Even the nets designed for C&R aren't great.  Nets are too harmful to the protective slime coat and they can get caught behind the gill plates and cause severe damage to the filamentous gills.  I bring the fish as close to my feet as possible and remove the hook without taking the fish out of the water.

Third, I don't touch the fish with my hands (wet or dry).  Fish have a protective slime coat on their skin.  When you handle them it damages that coating and they become susceptible to disease.  I reach down with hemostats and carefully grasp the fly at the shank/bend of the hook and back it out.

Don't touch the fish's gills for any reason at all!  I hate it when people grab fish by the gills on those tv shows and think that it will be okay to release them.  How would you like me to reach down your throat and grab you by the lungs?  It is the same principal!

This is important: the fish never leaves the water!!

Finally, I use barbless hooks whenever I am practicing C&R.  It is far easier to remove the hook with less damage being done.  If you are a bait fishermen, try using circle hooks instead of traditional j-hooks.  A j-hook will catch on anything.  Circle hooks have an inward pointing hook point.  If the fish should swallow your bait the chances of a circle hook getting caught on soft tissue is low.  Cirlce hooks are designed to catch on protruding hard objects in a fish's mouth such as the jawbone or tongue.  To properly use a circle hook do not try to set the hook when you feel the fish tapping at your bait.  Just start reeling in the line like a normal retrieve.  The hook will set itself.  If you try to set the hook you will just pull the bait right out of the fish's mouth.

I would highly recommend that you do not use a gaff on a fish that you intend not to keep.  In my opinion, there aren’t any non-fatal areas to gaff a fish.

From NH Fish and Game biologists:

IF YOU DON'T INTEND TO KEEP THE FISH, use a barbless hook or pinch down the hook barb with pliers.  This facilitates quicker release and less stress to the fish.

PLAY THE FISH QUICKLY.  A long fight stresses the fish and reduces the chance for survival. Avoid using nets and excessive handling.

If the fish is too exhausted to swim away, hold the fish upright in the water.  Gently move the fish forward and backward so that the water runs through the gills.  This is artificial resuscitation and may take a few minutes, especially in lakes.  When the fish revives, begins to struggle and can swim normally, then release it.

RELEASE FISH without removing them from the water.  Be gentle; keep fingers out of the gills.

TO REMOVE A HOOK, grasp the fly or lure by the shank and gently back the hook out of the fish's mouth.  A small pair of pliers or a hook disgorger should help.

NEVER remove a deeply swallowed hook from the fish's throat or stomach.  If the hook is not easily removed, cut the leader and leave the hook in the fish.  It will eventually work free or rust.  Don't use stainless steel or gold plated hooks.

Bobman

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Re: What do you do? C&R or Catch & Keep?
« Reply #61 on: Mar 30, 2004, 01:40 PM »
I agree that C&R is a valuable fisheries management tool, but keeping fish responsibly can also be very effective.  I like to eat fish so I probably keep about 25% of my yearly catch of all species I fish for, but it depends on what I am fishing for and where.  I trout fish a lot of small streams (8-10' wide max) that support natural trout reproduction and aren't stocked.  In these streams, I never keep a fish because even keeping a couple each time I went could adversly effect the fishing on a stream that small.  If I want to keep some trout for dinner, I'll stop by my local "put and take lake" on my way home from my serious fishing and hopefully catch what I need.  On the other hand, some lakes I fish are so loaded with panfish that catching a "lunker" is a rare occurance.  Mostly what you catch are the stunted "dinks" that everyone throws back.  In these places I keep as many as I can and I think if others did as well the amount of big fish would greatly increase.

As for properly releasing fish, nothing gets my hackles up like watching a fishing show where the host is yakking on about C&R while swinging a lipped bass aroung like he's waving to his momma, or jamming his fist under the gill plate of a salmon and passing it around to everyone on the boat >:( >:(!!  If you are going to release the fish, try not to take it from the water and handle it as little as possible.  If you need to revive it, do it carefully and quickly.  I read recently that moving a fish back and forth through the water can actually damage the gills.  The gills are designed to have water flow from the mouth over the gills, when you pull the fish backwards in the water you are forcing the water to flow through the gills the wrong way and if done to hard can cause damage.  If possible you should try to revive the fish by moving it in a figure 8 pattern so that the fish is always moving forward and water is flowing over the gills properly.  This is easiest to do with a lipped bass by dragging it slowly through the water.  Also, you should try not to release a revived fish into the current.  Try to find some nearby slack water to release them, this will give them a chance to recover some before they have to fight the current.

Sorry for the long post, just my 2 cents for what it's worth ;D!
A lot of money is tainted, t'ain't mine and t'ain't yours!

fishkopp

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Re: What do you do? C&R or Catch & Keep?
« Reply #62 on: Mar 30, 2004, 02:32 PM »
Excellant advise by all, I throw 'em all back. Most of the fish in New Jersey have extremely high concentrations of mercury , the bigger the fish ,the higher the levels of contamination :P



         Good fishing



                Michael KOPP

ShawnM

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Re: What do you do? C&R or Catch & Keep?
« Reply #63 on: Mar 30, 2004, 03:35 PM »
THAT"S WHAT MAKES THEM SO GOOD TO EAT ;D .
PETA = People Eating Tasty Animals   ;D

fishkopp

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Re: What do you do? C&R or Catch & Keep?
« Reply #64 on: Mar 30, 2004, 04:26 PM »
To bad our fish weren't full of iron and zinc maybe a little vitamin C ;D   No we have flavorfull PCPs and mercury in our fish , it helps fill you up quicker .  :P aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh  eat'em up yum .




                     Gotta love it



                   Mike


                                               

Otter

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Re: What do you do? C&R or Catch & Keep?
« Reply #65 on: Mar 31, 2004, 07:41 PM »
Keeping and eating everything in certain fisheries does have certain benefits.  The high levels of mercury and PCBs that people ingest make them sterile and take them out of the gene pool.  Seriously, there are multiple fish adviseries available on the internet that should be read and followed.

fishermanjake

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Re: What do you do? C&R or Catch & Keep?
« Reply #66 on: Apr 01, 2004, 01:59 AM »

Anyway, I've made my points.  The most important thing about fishing is not to stock your freezer, but to have fun.  So, go out and have fun, but think about the impact that you can have on a certain fishery.  If you've noticed one of your favorite spots declining in productivity over the years, think about the impact you can have simply by adjusting your fishing style for a while until it rebounds.  You can lead by example and others will follow.  Peer pressure can be a good thing too.  Good luck and tight lines.

I'm not trying to be contentious about your Post Kevin, but like you said it matters where and what you fish for.  In Alaska and many costal states some andromodous fish (mostly salmon) and also some saltwater fish (halibut for example) can sustain large harvests.  I've subsistance fished, commercial fished, and sportfished...all in the same year for that matter.  And in most cases in Alaska, residents fish primarily fill their freezers or make their living, having fun comes second.  Enough said, i happen to be in the minority for liking to fish as much as i do.  Its all a matter of being responsible with the resource and i have seen all sides.

Fat Boy

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Re: What do you do? C&R or Catch & Keep?
« Reply #67 on: Apr 01, 2004, 07:37 AM »
I would highly recommend that you do not use a gaff on a fish that you intend not to keep.  In my opinion, there aren’t any non-fatal areas to gaff a fish.

Cider, I agree with you on all of your points.  My recommendations were pretty much the minimum that you could get by with, your recommendations are the optimum.  However, your statement about gaffs is true for most species, but for some, a gaff done properly causes no more damage than the hook for some saltwater species.  A better solution would be a boca grip though.  I personally don't use a gaff and have yet to have a need for one.

Good post.

Jake, I agree with you.  Like I said, it depends upon the resource and for everyone to act responsibly and do the right thing (what ever that may be).

Cider

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Re: What do you do? C&R or Catch & Keep?
« Reply #68 on: Apr 01, 2004, 07:56 AM »
I would highly recommend that you do not use a gaff on a fish that you intend not to keep.  In my opinion, there aren’t any non-fatal areas to gaff a fish.

Cider, I agree with you on all of your points.  However, your statement about gaffs is true for most species, but for some, a gaff done properly causes no more damage than the hook for some saltwater species.  A better solution would be a boca grip though.  I personally don't use a gaff and have yet to have a need for one.

FB - good point.  I wasn't thinking about saltwater fisheries.  I rarely fish that environment personally.  I carry a gaff with me for fishing big lakers through the ice.  I figure if it is big enough that I will need to gaff it to get it up through the hole, then it is definitely a keeper, maybe even a trophy or prize winner at a derby.  That is about the only time I would use a gaff.

You are right, the boca grips are awesome.  Just so expensive...

Otter

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Re: What do you do? C&R or Catch & Keep?
« Reply #69 on: Apr 01, 2004, 09:27 AM »
Yep, gaffs were absolutely necessary for bluefish whether we kept or released them.  I remember catching blues with heads that looked like footballs and nasty teeth (like piranhas)!  We'd gaff them right under the lower jaw and it really didn't hurt them at all.  You mess around with a chopper blue and he'll chop your hand off!  I had a very small snapper blue put a bite radius in my thumb when I was a kid. 

Fat Boy

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Re: What do you do? C&R or Catch & Keep?
« Reply #70 on: Apr 01, 2004, 11:07 AM »
Remember folks, so that this doesn't get to the GOMB board to take everything in my posts into consideration! ;D  I'm not being judgemental at all here.  Remember that I have continually emphasized the word "responsibly" in my posts and that each body of water is different in what it can or can't handle.

Now, here is an example of a DNR encouraging people to catch and keep as a form of management:  The state of Virginia, with respect to Holliday Lake says, "The Department also encourages anglers to keep the perch that they catch to control numbers and allow sunfish species to recover somewhat from the yellow perch population explosion."


 



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