C&R Technique & Etiquette

[Tailspin]

Well, I am guessing there will be some more of this than usual in and around Sooke this June... What are some oppinions on the best way to release a big hog so it swims off belly down? I am a bit rusty on tailing and can barley reach the water over the gunnel of my Osprey without two feet in the air. I not talking about taking a leak either

I do have a Catch and release bag on one net, but the hooks love to tangle up in it making it a ***** to deal with. The big ones are tough to get at with the gaff to pull the hooks out...And tailing is not an option unless I am on the swimgrid. I know I will be right ***** if i send one off belly up so I am going to switch to single hooks and just hope not many get gill hooked and leak out. The other concern is the mayham destin to be created stopping in traffic, or mid tack to deal with a proper release.

Any thoughts?

www.tailspincharters.com

 

[Charter Tofino]

Big singles are ushually pretty easy to pop out with a gaff. Might take a try or two and you may break a few off here or there.I have the knotless C&R net aswell but it really doesnt do a great job.Takes slime/scales off and still splits fins. The only suitable net for C&R i think would be the rubber ones.Even then i wouldnt want to haul them on deck. Long gaff with a thin hook is the best ticket for most cases in my opinion.

 

[chris73]

Without reviving the big ones I would say you will see a good portion swimming away belly up and most likely becomming seal food. I found that even if the spring was only mouth-hooked by a single hook most of them are totally exhausted after the fight and it will take up to 10 min pushing the fish by the tail back and forth to force oxygen into their gills. If that is impossible from your high gunnel then I don't know how you can ensure a high survival rate, Justin. Maybe put heavier line on and horse them in instead of playing them out but what's the fun in doing that - especially if you can't keep the fish anyway and the fight is the whole enjoyment...

 

[chevyshaulass]

c&r net, leave the fish in the water while getting the camerea/measuring tape/pliers/etc. ready for a quick shot. Pull the fish in the boat gently, be quick with the tape and gentle with the fish (dont let it slide around and lose slime), make sure your camera man knows what hes doing (very important for quickness and good photos). Fish back in the water for a revival and then a nice release from the swimgrid. All of this can be accomplished with the fish out of the water for 60 seconds or less.

When the fish is in the net idle out of the tack to get out of everyones way for the release.

I wouldnt recommend tailing a large fish because the fish has to be played out a lot longer to the point of complete exhaustion in some cases to allow for tailing.

 

[likwit]

the gaff is definitely the best way to go.

i've heard from a marine biologist about studies saying that once the fish comes out of the water the chances of survival decrease drastically.

for gaffing, grab the mainline and position the hook of the gaff at the base of the fishhook where the curve meets the shank. pull the mainline down a bit and "pop" the gaff up and out... provided its not gill hooked the fish is usually unharmed and swims away quickly.

if by the time you net the fish its floating belly up then, yeah, the 10 minute revival is likely required... and yes, i'm guessing it's chances aren't so good.

playing the fish til its more or less dead kind of takes the thrill out of it a bit for me, but that's just my opinion. i'd rather net it/release it as soon as reasonably possible.

 

[chevyshaulass]

My reply was aimed at getting photos of the fish while still giving it a chance. If youre not worried about geting some nice pics then the gaff is obviously the way to go.

 

[jandj2]

When you use the gaff method to release, often the fish will go into shock and float sideways, just touch them on the side near the lateral line or near the tail with the back of the gaff and they quickly come back to life and are gone. If you net the fish you can corral the net at the side of the boat and often remove the hook with the fish while still in the net. If this is not possible you can lift the fish out of the net by holding it near the tail and supporting it under the belly, have your partner ready with pliers, then torpedo at a 45 degree angle back into water. Forget about measuring or taking pictures as this just adds more stress to fish. You can estimate the weight.

 

[halibutsteve]

I've done a lot of work with release mortality on halibut, which is a decidedly different fish. However, a couple of things come to mind.
Do NOT lift the fish out of the water....this is a large mortality factor.

I use a dehooking stick. A piece of broomstick, with convenient measurements marked on it (67cm?) with a 1" half circle pegboard hook made into the end of the stick. Even when the fish is quite active, you can engage the leader with the pegboard hook, slide that hook down the leader until it engages the fishing hook, and then keeping tension on the leader lift the pegboard hook up while holding the leader as low as possible. You can then shake or twist the dehooking stick to roll the hook out. It works pretty well.

Recently, a group in Oregon called OCEAN gave away hook removal sticks. These were a bit awkward at first, but once learned, are quite neat for sliding down a leader, and being able to give the hook a twist to back it out. Especially with barbless hooks, this should work well.

and of course going to a single hook makes a huge difference in getting a hooking combination that can be easily removed.

You lose your trophy photo by not picking the fish out of the water, but it does help the fish a lot. Here is a link to a washington web site where they talk about a dehooking stick. Mine is real easy to make and works about like this one
http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/selective/techniques/releasing_salmon.htm

 

[Tailspin]

Some great points

We used to get those blue coho measure stics that were plastic rulers with a hook, we had one around for years, may have been over 20 years ago now, but they stopped handing them out.

I know the fish we handle for stream work are in a C&R bag, however they are less prone to the exhaustion, slime removal and infection factor in the river, and do just fine. If you hold the net frame off the deck they seem to keep calm, however once you lay em down they go ape ****!

The gaff is a great tool for spoons and plugs, however with bait setups the common hooks are deep making access with the gaff tough on a 25lb plus Spring.

I just know guys are going to be harping at each other out there over releasing techniques, and there is destin to be more fish handed over to seals or going belly up from exhaustion or gill bleeds than you can shake a stick at, kinda defeats the purpose of the silly slot deal a tad. It woud be better off at keeping it at one over a day rather than weeding through mature migratory fish to get one under 67cm. Most guys fishing June in Sooke, get there one fish and go home anyhow, or 1 per license on a hot day.

www.tailspincharters.com

 

[bananas]

Better watch what you say Justin lol, soon we'll have a bait ban so we don't gut hook fish.