Catch and releas question:keeping fish safe...

[Pauly]

I'm nearly all catch and release for now.
My question is the best way to handle fish.
I ask because I intend to photo every fish I catch. I always have my camera poised and ready to go. If I don't need the net, I just get the fish in, get e hook clear, pull out my camera and shoot a couple.
I notice that the fish really seam to need to recover after this.
Now most likely their winded from fighting me. So would it be better to keep them in the water and rest a bit befor I handle them?
The last fish I fought, just hung around my feet for a long time. He wouldn't let me touch him though.

So for conservations sake, could some one post some do's and don'ts. This way I don't make a fool of myself in the future..

 

[TroutKilla]

do's
-if they swallow the hook just cut the line it will deteriorate away and the fish will be fine
-try to take the hook out in the water or in your net
-WET your hands before handling the fish. (helps protect their slime coat to keep away bacteria ... ect) wet a hand before grabbing the fish then take the picture.
-When you put the fish back in hold on to it and run it through the stream and get some water through its gills until it is strong enough to swim away.

DONT'S
-Swing the fish on land and let it flop around (risk of taking the slime off the body)
-MOST IMPRORTANT___ The DEATH GRIP!!! DO NOT grab the fish and squeeze it so tight that it doesn't move. it can break very fragile bones and hurt the fish
-Dont squeeze it right behind the Gills it can damage the gills in turn killing the fish.

Hope all of this helped and Happy fishing!!!

 

[mutzinbaugh]

wet the hands prior to handling, also... try holding your breath for the amount of time that you are taking your pictures.

 

[Volksnurse]

I don't remember where I learned this but it seems to work: turn the fish upside down to remove the hook and they don't wiggle so much.

Been doing it for years just out of habit and it seems to work. Anyone know if there's any science behind it?

 

[RCFetter]

I use Dr Slick's extra long clamps and try not to take the fish out of water.

I once saw a guy on the Pennypack spinning for trout. When he caught a sunfish he cursed and threw the fish onto the bank. He probably killed baby animals when he was a kid.

 

[outsider]

I found out decades ago you can paralyze a trout using the same method as grabbing a bass by the lower jaw. I do this all the time. I don't lift them out of the water, putting undue stress on their jaws. Works great for rainbows, not so good for browns unless you want your thumb bloodied by their teeth. It also gives you great control to keep them upright and get them moving again. Caught a bunch of bows this weekend, including some holdovers up to 19". Each one went on their happy way. For browns, I use RCFetter's technique.

 

[caveman]

Do:
all of the above

Don't:
photo every fish

 

[barbless]

When I first got a waterproof camera, I started off wanting to photograph every fish I caught.

Since then, I've gotten to realize three things:

no pic really captures the beauty of a fish, and it's rare to even get close to doing it justice

most of them (in a given species) look alike

combining photo & release can be a real hassle

So now I do fewer fish photos, and more stream photos.

I like to take pictures of my first fish of the day (if I get one), especially brightly colored fish (when I can) and especially nice fish (if possible). Sometimes they're too lively to stick around. Other times they are cool with it, and I can even get a good composition in the frame. I still get a few fish pictures every year. The really good ones are pretty rare. Most of them are bad point and shoots.

It's best to keep fish in the water at all times when unhooking them, if possible. And I think posing them in the water at bankside alongside the rod makes for the best photos.

Action shots are cool, too, but good ones are hard to get.



It's also great to snap some wildlife photos.

One night last week on Penn's I surprised a huge porcupine climbing a fallen tree about two feet in front of me and two feet above me. Too bad I had left my camera at the coffee shop (found!)

I also could have gotten some toad porn from the toad orgy (NSFW) that day. But that would have been too much scandal.

Chaz said he saw a big brook trout lift off out of the water and take a frog off of a bank once. A good picture or vid clip of that could have won a prize. Someone with skills should try to photoshop that scene.

 

[MKern]

My first year I photoed every fish and wrote a little summary about my experience. Then I realized I could have caught twice as many fish (especially during a hatch) and started catching more fish.


.....I put the camera and note book down and only get the camera out now for more photogenic photos of scenery and fish (not always big ones either).

 

[pcray1231]

I certainly don't take a pic of every fish I catch, but I do take a lot of pics, both fish and otherwise.

Don't forget about scenery and people in the pictures. Personally, I want a string of pictures to tell a story about a fishing day. That requires only some fish pics, and a lot of scenery, stream, and if with a partner, pics of the partner. Don't forget to pull out the camera on occasion on the hike in and out, too.

Anyway, to your point. Have the camera somewhere ready, you don't want to have to fish it out of a pocket or something. Some sort of quick release on the outside of your fishing garb. If still yet to buy the camera, image quality and all that jazz is nice, but the #1 requirement is that it powers up quick, focuses quick, and saves the picture quickly.

Leave fish in water till ready to snap. And then you either just pick it up (with wet hands) and snap, or just pull it up to the surface, hold the fly, and turn the fish's side toward the camera, still half in the water. Don't lay the fish on the dry bank. Though I do sometimes use the edgewater shallows, so the fish is half in, half out of the water.

Quickness is really the key to me. You want to release that fish as soon as possible. If it just won't cooperate for you, just give up and let it go.

I probably shouldn't, but regarding the grabbing by the jaw comment, I never truly lip them but on smaller fish, I do sometimes grab the fly itself and lift.

 

[pcray1231]

My last outing:

http://s58.photobucket.com/albums/g259/pcray1231/4-7-12/?albumview=slideshow

Jam week from last year:

http://s58.photobucket.com/albums/g259/pcray1231/2011%20PAFF%20Jam/?albumview=slideshow

I have tons of these.

 

[Stagger_Lee]

Good stuff in this thread should I finally catch a fish.

I am assuming that bass have stronger chops than trout considering I have seen so many photos of people holding bass from their mouths??

 

[outsider]

One more note on holding a trout by the lower jaw: I would never hold an immature fish like this. Their mouths are not fully developed, and this could harm them. And I don't lift them out of the water, putting all their weight on one concentrated stress point. But it does paralyze them. They don't flinch an inch. I catch the same fish over and over again, and they are none the worse for wear.

 

[pcray1231]

yeah, me too, I've caught the same fish over again on many, many occasions, with pics to prove it.

 

[PennKev]

Get the fish into your net or hand as quickly as possible.

If you tie good knots, 95% of the trout you hook in PA will be no match for 5x or heavier tippet. Most won't be a serious threat to 6x either. All the worry about gentle handling, barbless hooks, and fretting about removing slime is useless if the fish is a goner before you even touch the hook.

I can't count the times I've seen guys nursing in 9" trout like they are the fish of a lifetime. Haul those fish in!!!!! A 9" fish should be in your net in the time it took to read these three sentences. Fish up to 13" or so can easily be "horsed" in most situations. Even larger fish can be landed suprisingly quickly.

Land the fish quickly and you'll have much more time to photo, kiss, whatever without doing serious damage to the fish.

Kev

 

[Pauly]

Kiss...now that's funny.
Ok I guess the photo shoots could be tamed to a few.
When I do a get a fish on, I do get excited every time!
Now I have some good pointers to develope a tried and tested system that will become second nature.

A few of the takeaways are get em in quick. Keep em in the water. Don't squeeze the **** out of em. Touch em with wet hands. Keep your eye out for other interesting nature events like toad porn.

That last paragraph almost has a T-shirt feel to it. Just needs a little rearranging.


Ok here is the T-shirt idea

Fly fishing 101:
How to treat your trout
Get it in quick
And keep it wet
wet your hands first
And don't squeeze it to hard.