Catch and release tactics?

[salmonboy41]

just like spoonfed siad the best way to release steelhead or any trout or salmon is to not bring them into the boat. on my boat i have swiming platforms that you can step on to get close to the water which helps to release them alive and well.

[spoonfed-1]

For the record, started LO trolling in 1978 & spent a good part of my life out there. Your welcome Ray for the guys like me who paved the way through trial & error so that you new guys can build on our hard work . Kind of like I want things better for my kids than I had.

Bottom line Hasbeen you got to adjust your techniques somewhat to suit the conditions. Kinda like adjusting you techniques when the bite shuts down and you want to get them going again. I know beyond your comprehension.

How could you spend all that time on the water and still be ignorant? Not sure I'd be flaunting that 1978 fact to much. After all that time on the water you should know how to release a fish and be able to help the new guy that asked the question instead of trying and I repeat trying to pick apart a post of somebody who is helping.

Another great example of the caliber of person you are.

As I mentioned earlier, Your a piece of work all right.

Glen

[bloodshot]

The release at boat side with no net works for me, on smaller fish. The bigger fish we drag for a bit and let go. You are not going to save them all. When we do have a large fish on and we know he is going to be released we pull the riggers up and take the lines out of water and stop the boat, fight the fish and land him at boat side. Not moving makes a huge difference. I think that draging them while fighting them takes a lot out of them. I only run two riggers and have a 18 footer so its easy for me but try slowing way down during the fight and if you know your going to release him just take extra time out and stop all together and land him. It really ups the survival percentage.

[Has Been]

Ah 1978 . 17 wood boat ,2 manual riggers ,Flasher & a new paper graph. 7 ' Glass spining rods & reels. Flatlining Cleos & Rapalas in spring. Suttons, Reekers, & the long awaited Evil eye summers. J plugs on the pierheads in fall. No speed , No temp, No line counter reels.Lost a ton of stuff but managed to still catch fish. Imagine that. You remember those days Spoony? After many years learned the seasonal patterns & what to do & when, which hasn't changed a whole lot. Look at the equip & electrnics availlable today that has. . Don't be caught without them. I'm proud to say I was there.

Spoony I know you . Your the Bully on the block. Anyone who says somthing you don't like or is a distraction you insult & belitle so the others get in line . Won't work with me. I ask questions , you don't like that, You insult me . Surely you are smart enough to figure that out. I pointed out things you fail to mention .I was mad at first but I feel sorry for you actually . Be patient , the gizmo is coming & maybe more rods also but it won't make a difference. What did Therau say?

Whenever I hook a good fish I like to slow down & clear lines if I can. Enjoy the fight without the boat drag. Get them in quicker & get the hooks out & get them back. Leave them in the water for less stress. And yes , Some are not going to make it.

Question again, do all dead fish float?

[kremer01]

LOU Brother Spoonfed answered a question posted by someone ELSE on a board that is supposed to be helpful. Then you got all up in his face when he tried to be helpful. The reaction you got was exactly what you deserved, and I think also what you wanted.

Glen is probably one of the nicest guys on this board. He has a very good reputation and many, many people respect his demeanor and skill. I have fished with him many times now and had my kid along too. Never been skunked. Once again you have totally missed the mark in your judgement.

You do seem to care about the fish's well being, so I commend you for that. ....But if you are not sure of all of those things which might or might not harm a fish, how do you release a fish at the back of a boat, do they all float when they die, etc., etc., etc. and it bothers you SO much, then just quit fishing!!

I apologize to the guy who started this thread. We should have done better by you.

[spoonfed-1]

LOL Got to admit it Hasbeen thats the largest pile of dung I've read in a long long time.

Thanks for sharing all this knowlege with the people.

Glen

[FLO1919]

Thank you guys for a bunch of good ideas! Some ideas are new to me and a few I have already been doing. I only harvest what I can eat or give away. I don't care if it is a mature King with months to live, or a skip, I want to give them the best chance for them to live if I don't intend on keeping them. Maybe, I can catch them in the stream later in the fall when the lake slows down.

Is anyone aware of any DEC or other studies on mortality of released fish?

[Has Been]

Kremer, Nice guy ? I ain't seeing it ,sorry. He & I don't share the same philosophy on fishing so he insults me when I point things out he does not like . Got thick skin I can take it. I care about the fishery & where it is going. 1978 description & how it is now should show you that. Nice to hear my experiences are a pile of dung, but after all that has been said I consider the source. It's not the first time.I try not to be insutling , he tries, shows his character IMO. . A lot of the questions asked by me I already know the answer to . Just seeing what the response will be. After the 4th I hope to be back on the Lake to fish some of the local derbys. Looks like the lake has transitoned well , a little earlier than normal.the less East wind the better. I'll do my best to release the fish as unharmed as possible, but catch as many as I can with my limited skills.

To the guy with the original question, use your best judgement.Keep them in the water with no net IMO.Don't drag them around a long time . Pull lines if you can & slow the boat down to shorten the fight. If they look done for keep them . Good luck.

Blue & Green label for me

[spoonfed-1]

Hasbeen you start your BS, a regular pattern of yours, and now you whine like a little girl because I'm picking on you?

Beautiful.

Glad you got some new ideas FLO. Good luck and it's great you respect the fishery enough to ask the question.

I apologize to you for the distraction BS.

Glen

[Has Been]

You reading this about your boy, Kremer? Whine? Just stating fact. I could give a rats A-- what you say Spoony. Your true colors shine thru again!!! Feeling guilty? Still working on that gizmo you want.

FLO a tip I forgot to tell you. Take a good set of long nose 6" or longer & tie a lanyard around for your wrist. Also put some sunglass froggers so you don't donate to the lake monster .Took me a few pairs of each to learn my lesson. Good luck and sorry for the "BS" .

[skipper19]

wish there was a no more BS smiley I hate BS, now ya'll go out an ketch sum fisch....hair? an don't luse no more plyers or sunnys, lord nose we don't need to feed th lake monster....specially chinese.

uuummmph

[CreditRiverAnglers]

I use spoonfed's method of release at side/stern of boat unless the fish is larger (say 15 plus). The side release is great and never had a problem.

However one key method I did not see noted here is:

Fish with barbless hooks. Yep, you read it right. I have rigged barbless for 15 years. Never had an issue and I land just as many fish as I did with barbs. As long as you don't leave you line slack for a while the hook stays put. A twist with the plyers and the fish is on its way to the depths. If you net a fish its also great. A quick unhook, pic and release. And your lure comes out of the net fast and you don't blow 5 minutes unhooking your net from the barbs!

I also swithed to smaller treble hooks like excaliber rather than large siwash hooks. I found I get better landing rates and far less mouth damage to the fish I intend to release.

Keep in mind 30 seconds is your time limit for good post release survival out of water (less in hot weather). So every second counts.

As I noted in another post, the group I run tags a couple thousand steelhead a year and we see many of the fish back that have been caught and released in the lake. The only bad news is 90% of the tagged fish reports from the lake are kept, leaving only 10% released. But more and more anglers are letting the bows go and it is very helpfull for the wild fish many of the tribs have!

Great thread!

Thanks,

John

http://www.craa.on.ca

[spoonfed-1]

John,

Where is the tag attached to the fish? Just curious because alot of us might be releaseing tagged fish without even being aware of it unless the tag was easily visable.

Thanks.

Glen

[Tim Bromund]

Glen, I caught a CRAA tagged steelie probably 6 or 7 years ago, they are easily seen, yellow tags (If I recall correctly) near the dorsal fin, tag was about 3" long.

Mine was a wild credit river male that had just completed it's second spawning (yeah, unfortunately it was boxed )

Tim

[spoonfed-1]

Thanks Tim.

Glen

[janz]

CRA what size trebles did you downsize to. I found any smaller than size 1 or 2 they get bent up or bent together and some even break. The big kings do a number on the smaller hooks. I am always fishing for kings but get a decent by catch (especially this year) of steel. I'm not sure what effect smaller trebles would have on the trolling flies or the magnum spoons. I only use Gamagot U's or owner hooks and find the extra strong work even better especially for those nasty staging kings.

[Has Been]

After thinking about the release report ratio I made this asumption. You say 90 % of reported fish were kept. If the tag is very visable I can understand why. If I were bringing a fish to the boat & I was planing on an in the water release& I saw the tag , I would most likly net the fish , bring it on board & investigate . In that time I would say the fish may expire , thus they are kept. I would say most guys who fish a lot release most or all fish except for mortaly wounded fish . Charters & Out of state guys who only fish a little keep a few more. What is the release rate of stream caught fish? Also I find that you changing hook ,treble to single & size will change action a lot. How do you handle that?