Catch and release trout handling.

[Maurice]

I know this comes up when pics are taken...on rocks, ice, snow, concrete, etc. Then there is the protective slime, dry hands wet hands, you know the drill. Or maybe you don't?

I don't get too shook up about the laying trout in grass or on a dry rock, but it makes me cringe when I see the anglers fingers in the trouts gill plate. I mean I know its a nice handle but come on this is what the trout uses to breathe.

So if I were to make a list of handling do's and don'ts on "honey" shots it would look something like this.

Don't stick yer fingers in their gill plate.
Don't hang them from your line like a horse thief.

Do get your camera ready when they are near your feet and wet your hand, cradle the trout upside down to disorient it, get the camera in position and right the trout for a quick pic or two. Dislodge the fly and release the trout.

For bigger fish you need to net,

Net the fish, take out the fly, put the fish back in the water while still in the net, get the camera, lay the net in a little water near the bank, lay down the rod for scale and snap the pic. Pick up the net and take it to the deeper water and let him revive in the net and let him go.

It is my feeling that Trout are not like panfish; sunnies, bass, or hearty like carp and larger game fish. That won't stop me from taking a pic or two but I try to be courteous to the fish at the same time. If I don't havemy act together or the fish seems stressed, I let it go without the pic.

Sometimes we will see fish pic after fish pic of the same fish.

Well, you know what I mean.....carry on.

 

[jayL]

I know I'm guilty of puttin one or two on a surface where they shouldn't have been. I was careful to find a flat few rocks for that big brown I caught, and I don't think that would've hurt him... hopefully. I think that might be the only non chromer trout I photographed this year.

I do see a large percentage of the pictures of fish being squeezed a bit. I think that should be added to Mo's list. I think squeezing them might be one of the worst ways to handle them.

 

[JackM]

Implicit also in Maurice's exegesis and worthy of additional emphasis is that we should minimize time out of the water.

 

[MattBoyer]

I'm starting to agree with the net, but slowly. I've always been able to find a decent spot to beach them, but sometimes it can be tough. Last year I caught a beautiful wild brown, got him in, went to take a picture, slid on the bank and slopped mud all over his side. I have never posted his picture because I feel it is a bad example of how to photograph a fish. I still cringe when I look at the picture.

Boyer

 

[tabasco_joe]

JackM wrote:
Implicit also in Maurice's exegesis and worthy of additional emphasis is that we should minimize time out of the water.

And in the winter period avoid taking the fish out of the water at all in below freezing temps.

 

[Fishidiot]

I love to photograph fish and have tried to be especially careful about doing it. As a smallmouth bass fan, I am very careful with them too and don't agree with the oft held view that bass are somehow tougher than trout. An 18 inch river smallie here in PA is a wild fish and likely about 12 years old. Since most are caught during the summer in very warm water temps when oxygen levels are low, then can really take a beating. I cringe when I watch tournament guys carrying fish in baskets and holding fish up for the cameras at weigh-ins. I realize these fish are kept in sedated live wells and there are similar precautions but I still feel the fish are simply out of the water too long.
As for photographing trout, I have put forth my view in recent posts that a deep bag landing net is invaluable for this. I would add to the list of don'ts: dropping the fish. I have seen many FFers trying to get the glory photo holding up the fish with one hand under its belly and the fish (predictably) flips out out and drops 3 feet and hits the rocks. It's best to keep the fish underwater in the net and then hold up the fish with both hands.

 

[jayL]

This debate is always a good one.

Yeah, it's a blood sport. Yes, expecting to kill no fish is impractical. I still don't see how one can argue that it's not at least worth making mention of proper handling procedures on a web forum for fly fishermen. It's definitely the least invasive way to convey the message. I take no issues with Mo's post.

 

[tomgamber]

Squeezing the hell out of a fish is the one I see more than anything. The guy wets his hands, slides it carefully under the belly, removes the hook with his free hand...than squeezes the crap out of it when it wiggles. Not so much on purpose but just reaction.

One way to avoid this is to try to turn the fish unto its back when it lays in your palm. It not only often gives you easier access to the fly, but the fish seem to calm down a bit. I had one militant C&R guy tell me that its no better than squeezing them but I asked an Idaho F&G officer (that was actually a fisheries biologist, imagine that..) And he claimed the fish just becomes disoriented and it causes no harm whatsoever.

My hands are usually already wet, I usually just slide my fingers down the leader and turn the fly until it pops out without touching the fish but there are times you can't avoid it. I've all but given up on taking pics as I usually lose the damn fish while groping for the camera. Then I don't even get to see it the first time, let alone over and over in a snapshot.

 

[David]

I'll even try at times, esp. when I'm by myself, to click the picture with the fish in the water as I am getting it close to hand during the fight. Then I never have to touch him. Although it is more difficult to get the fish at the right angle, it can be a cool effect having him in the water with fly in mouth. Of course, this isn't always possible, esp. with larger fish, but is nice when it can be done.

 

[wgmiller]

Posted by Maurice
Don't stick yer fingers in their gill plate.

Unless it's a pike or muskie! :-D

I often cringe when I see some of the fishermen on TV slinging bass around by the jaw for what seems like several minutes.

 

[Crotalus]

I bought a waterproof camera (Pentax Optio W20) now i take one quick picture out of the water and the rest underwater, usually with the fly still in the mouth, then unhook and release

 

[Chaz]

Beach them? GOOD GRIEF Charley Brown.

 

[Acristickid]

MO- good advice.

 

[Chaz]

Ah, during the winter the water temperature is usually closer to air temperature than during other seasons so air temp isn't an issue unless it is really cold. I would say avoid taking fish out of the water on days the temperature is under 32.
laying fish on ice or snow doesn't hurt the fish at all, but as I said you should try to keep them in the water until taking the picture, use a net to hold the fish.

 

[MattBoyer]

Chaz wrote:
Beach them? GOOD GRIEF Charley Brown.

They're never fully out of the water Chaz, except on rare occasions. This particular time there was about a 4 foot muddy bank to the water that went right into a 10 foot deep hole on a 40 degree day. I still only had his head and front half out of the water, but had I tried to reach down a few inches further I could have been swimming with waders on. I pulled him up to the bank, snapped the picture, then released him. He was still there a week later, not that it would mean anything, but he was in good health.
This is more what I mean when I say "beach"
http://www.paflyfish.com/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=222

Boyer

 

[Heritage-Angler]

tomgamber wrote:
Squeezing the hell out of a fish is the one I see more than anything.

Uhhh, hey Tom - a lot of the guys that will look at that picture aren't old enough to remember the commercials with "Please don't squeeze the Charmin".

For us old farts, it has meaning though.

I rarely take pictures of fish, but when I do, they stay in my net in the water. If they are too big for the net - no picture. I'd rather see pictures of the streams than the fish anyways.

I also don't believe in publicly criticizing someone for how they handle fish. A PM would suffice - no need for a public flogging. People ultimately have to answer to their own conscience on how they handle fish. The C&R police won't be there for every fish, so education is the best course to take.

 

[Mariner]

I'm a repentant fish squeezer. I've put the grip way too hard on fish I've shown on this board. I'm used to fishing with a partner who was a serious photographer. We were in the habit of taking each other's photos for the quick, light, two-handed grip-n'-grin lifted out of the net for the snapshot. I've been fishing solo here and haven't come up with a proper substitute.

I remember a fisheries biologist in Alaska saying that between the poop chute and the tailfin you can basically squeeze all you need to hold a fish for measuring/ photo purposes. Just use the second hand to support its belly, being careful not to kink the spine.

I just got back from the chiropractor's and it got me thinking that the worst possible thing you can do to an animal whose spine runs the length of his body is fold him up in a net for any amount of time. I think of all the salmon I tried to pick up with my teardrop trout net.

mea culpa, too

 

[Hook_Jaw]

I do not carry a net and do not take many pics unless is huge

 

[Woolybugger]

Great points! I take a lot of pix, but I have a tiny camera that is always ready in my vest pocket.
I have to disagree a little with small fish. A trout under 12" is just fine when you lift him out of the water by the leader. I get my camera ready and never have to squeeze the fish. I lift the small fish with my left hand, flyrod in the background and take a pic in a couple seconds. I put the fish back in the water and remove the hook...... forcepts handy if needed.
Pictures are a wonderful thing. I have thousands from the last 6 years. I date every trip and can play the dvd's on my HD dvd player on my bigscreen HD TV! One of the best joys that life has to offer! LOL Sometimes even better than watching a movie!
Also, trout are a hearty fish..... just like sunfish and bass. So many times I've caught stocked trout with a snelled hook sticking out of their mouth and they still went after my fly.
When Mo said "several pix of the same fish" well!!! sometimes I do. With a modern camera, it will reset quickly and auto focus means no messing with settings. I can take a trout out of the water without touching him and take three pix in two seconds.
Every time I put a trout back in the water, I can see him swim off with no probs.
The bait boys will kill a lot of trout, because they gut hook the fish with big hooks. But the fly fishermen don't seem to hurt the trout at all IMHO!

"Momma, don't take my Kodachrome away"

 

[Heritage-Angler]

Mariner wrote:

I just got back from the chiropractor's and it got me thinking that the worst possible thing you can do to an animal whose spine runs the length of his body is fold him up in a net for any amount of time.

Agreed. This is why I'd never own a deep bag net. If I take a pic, the fish is out of the water for only a few seconds.