Video on Releasing Kings

[Finders Keepers]

We have had a lot people asking how we release kings especially when they come up from the depths into the warm water. So here is a video we made off the Salmon River a couple weeks ago that shows the two ways in which we release the kings. Trout species cannot be released by holding the tail (they will slip through your hands), however holding them by the gill (also shown) does work, although we have had much better success with the kings. Enjoy...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A97Xd7Q0fog

 

 

[momay4000]

Well done - great video

 

Thanks for sharing,

 

Chris

[Finders Keepers]

Thanks Chris! Hopefully this will help everyone get those unwanted kings back in the water and swimming again so they can be caught again!

[Nemesis]

We use our Boga Grip to hold the fish in the water to revive them.We feel this is the best way do do it since they are heading into the current in a natural position. The water is flowing into their mouth and there are no fingers near the gills to possibly harm them. The boga grip also allows a few more inches of length for us hanging over the high sided boat we fish out of.

[Sk8man]

Thanks for the video exploring this topic. Along the lines of what Nemesis said over the years I've talked with a number of DEC people and  biologists and folks who are very experienced fish "handlers" and the one thing that all have said is never place your fingers or hands in or near the gill area as it can be easily damaged (yet perhaps unseen at the time) leading to later mortality of the fish. The example here is concerning what appears to be a mature Chinook (King) salmon which will die shortly anyway but with other species such as trout (or Atlantics for example) this factor becomes much more important. Additionally, any time a fish is physically handled the protective slime on the outer surface of their skin may be removed or compromised potentially leading to fungal or bacterial infections later on. For fish other than mature kings it seems best to release them in ways that minimize or eliminate actual physical handling (or netting) such as the Boga Grip type technique mentioned.

Edited September 15, 2013 by Sk8man

[NickR]

We drag the boga also. Keeps my fat ass from hangin' over the side.

[UNREEL]

Bought a Boga this past summer and we feel it was a great investment. Not only does it help to revive fish easier, removing hooks is a cinch. Small fish are released without netting and the netted ones are under control. Found the 30lb model on E-Bay for the best price. $105.00 with free shipping. Put one on your Christmas list.

[Tim Bromund]

I'm cheap and didn't want to spend the money on a boga, so I bought one of the Berkley Big Fish Lip Grips from FishUSA this year for 18 bucks and attached a length of rope to it for reviving fish this way as my boat has really high gunwales and a lot of freeboard and I can barely touch the water, so we attached the gripper to the lower lip and let it out on the rope off the side of the boat.  It worked great.  We pulled em through the water while resetting the line and by the time the line was back out there were ready to go.

[kylew]

Nice video! This method works awesome! Apple Boy