Catch and Release Best Practices

forksfishing

forksfishing

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Jan 19, 2012
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Hello All,

I've been a newbie for a few years now due to limited opportunities to get out however, I know have some more time on my hands and I have had some recent success with fly fishing.

My goal is to catch/release all of the time even on the stocked "kill" sections that I fly fish. I recently had some problems releasing the trout that I hooked rather deep and I'm looking for additional "best practices" to follow.

First I'm bending my barbs down flat against the hook and I have forceps to help in releasing the fish. I have a net that I picked up from LL Bean I think (black net) that was supposed to be easier on the fish but now I'm starting to ones that look more like a rubber compound should I be using this?

On a dry fly when the fish takes the fly do you pause for a second or two before setting the hook or should I set it immediately to hopefully prevent the hook from going too deep?

I try to touch the trout as little as possible and always make sure my hands are wet however, last week I had two trout that were hooked rather deep. I had trouble removing the hook even with the forceps and the trout were bleeding. I was unable to revive them so I'm looking to try and minimize this as much as possible.

I'm trying to not play them too much and I will make note of future water temps but is there more I should be doing?

Thanks in advance for any best practices, tools, techniques that you use!

 
Hmmm! Every once in a while I deep-hook trout on dry flies, but is kind of rare. I can't see there is anything you can do to prevent. If they inhale it that deep, then it is what it is. Barbless helps, so keep that up. Otherwise, you can try to work on your reaction time, but my experience is that if you really do delay too long, you are more likely to miss the fish than to deep-hook it.

Forgive yourself is my best advice.
 
If the fish is hooked deeply it may be best to clip the mono as close to the fly as possible and release the fish. Enzymes in the fish's mouth will dissolve the hook over time.
 
I concur that the above mentioned core competencies should help you leverage a "best practice" experience at every customer (Trout) touchpoint.
 
The paradigm has shifted. Time to think out of the box.
 
Deep hooking is rare for me, especially on dries. My dad, however, who does not fly fish much at all, manages to do it very often when he carries a fly rod (and lip hooks them when using bait).

IMO, the deep hooking could be related to dumb fish and poor reaction times on your part. Reaction times are kind of a "not too much, not too little" kind of thing. You want the fish to turn down with it before setting, but not any more than that. Most people strike too soon and actually need to wait a bit longer. You, however, may be a bit too slow on the take.

Anyway, maybe more important than reaction time is line control. I'm guessing you have too much line on the water, maybe in a big C shape? Even if your reaction time is appropriate, picking up that line takes time. Getting rid of it will also improve your presentation and lead to drastically more takes. It's a practice thing.

Anyway, yeah, hopefully your % that take it deep will improve with practice, but it'll always happen on occasion. A few rules to help the fish survival.

1. Don't squeeze the fish. When it's deep a lot of people do squeeze in order to get a better angle. That's a no-no.
2. Do whatever you're going to do as quickly as possible.
3. If the fly is easily visible, and not as deep as the gills, I often do make an attempt to remove it. Often you have to push the hook deeper to pull it out of the flesh, then remove, rather than rip straight out.
4. If it's too deep, or if my initial attempt at #3 fails, cut the line as close as you can and move on with your life. The fly will rust away in a matter of days. If already incurred injuries are not too severe, the fish will likely survive, or at least have a better chance of it than if you took forever while squeezing the heck out of it while ripping a hook through deep flesh.
 
Thanks to all for the replies it seems like I'm on the right track.

I spent the last couple nights learning to tie my fly on and tippet to leader using forceps. Wow that made it easier for my not so steady hands. Now if I just find an easier way to thread the fly especially those little buggers!

Looking forward to more days on the water.
 
I know that it's common to think the hooks will rust away in a short time, but don't they need oxygen to rust? Cut the line and move on is the best option, or harvest the fish, it's not illegal.
 
Harvest the fish. Most likely they won't live through winter anyway. Don't feel bad unless it's a small native.
 
I concur if its a stockie throw it on the grill...if its wild try not to hate yourself
 
'easier way to thread the fly especially those little buggers'
bifocals-been there,done that-
 
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