Catch,
Photograph & Release !!
Catch and Release - How to do it
Properly.
By
William D. Anderson
One of the best things you can do
to ensure that the fishing will remain
great in your favorite lake is release
the fish you catch. Unfortunately,
it's not enough to just 'toss the
fish back' after you unhook it. Many
fish that are released die later due
to a number of reasons. In this article
I'll explain some of those reasons
and tell you what you can do to avoid
unintentionally killing a fish.
Let's start with hooks. Obviously
a fish hooked in the lip is going
to be better off than a fish that
is hooked in the gullet or gills.
It's easy to remove the hook from
a fish's lip without doing major damage,
but it's not so easy when the fish
is gut hooked. For gill or gut hooked
fish, it's better to simply cut off
as much of the hook as possible and
release the fish. Never try to pull
on the line to free the hook. This
can cause severe damage to the fish
and will always do more harm than
good. I've caught catfish that have
had rusty hooks embedded in their
throats, and bass with big rusty buzz
baits in their mouths so I know first
hand that many of these fish will
live. In some cases the hooks will
dissolve and the fish will spit them
out. In other cases you can cut the
eye of the hook off and gently slide
the hook out, but this isn't advisable
if you have to pull the hook up to
get at it.
When a fish is hooked where you can
easily remove the hook without tearing
him up, use a pair of pliers. Try
to avoid wiggling the hook to work
it back out. This puts more stress
on the fish. For most of the lip hooked
fish that I catch, I can grasp the
hook with a pair of pliers, and while
holding the fish in the water, twisting
my wrist to simultaneously unhook
and release the fish. Try to avoid
holding the fish with your hands because
you will wear away his protective
coating. I'll explain more about this
in a minute.
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