Releasing salmon

[fishinfreak]

I didn't bring my cooler today because I decided I was going to start releasing salmon. Caught a beautiful mature king on the dipsy . He was out of the water for Less Than 3 minutes. I held him beside the boat for a good 5 minutes and set him free. I watched him float on the top I could not get the boat turned around fast enough to go get him. Same thing happened with a steelhead. Do you guys have any luck releasing these fish I'm just going to bring my cooler from now on because that was sickening

 

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[Cpshelb17]

3 minutes out of the water seems to be the problem. When I’m releasing, I take the fish into the boat right away, take out the hook, and then either drag the fish with fish grips or in the net until cameras are ready. Total time out of the water is prob about 1 minute.

[Never Ends]

Try to release them in the water with pliers, this has worked very well for me (Sk8man explained how he does it in a previous post and then i followed suit). I think out of the last 15 fish we have killed one. We real them in slow... I gave up on trying to get pictures, unless I have a slamhog to take home.

[rolmops]

We also release without ever taking the fish out of the water. Taking a fish out of the water for 3 minutes is similar to sticking your head under water for 3 minutes. Besides, how many pictures of fish do you need and will you still look at them three weeks from now? It seems to me that killing beautiful creatures for bragging rights is not right. Eating them is a different story.

Edited July 18, 2020 by rolmops

[Bosun Cowboy]

We also release without ever taking the fish out of the water. Taking a fish out of the water for 3 minutes is similar to sticking your head under water for 3 minutes. Besides, how many pictures of fish do you need and will you still look at them three weeks from now? It seems to me that killing beautiful creatures for bragging rights is not right. Eating them is a different story.

X2 ! A 20lb salmon is a 20lb Salmon. We shake most of um off in the prop wash with pliers and they go back just fine. No need for a bunch of pics.


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[Cpshelb17]

I respect your dedication but I don’t believe that a few pictures will hurt in the long run, properly (quickly) executed of course. I enjoy taking people out that don’t salmon fish a lot if ever, and they always want something to remember the trip by and to show to friends/family/coworkers.

[Adk1]

Interesting posts. I was told that mature salmon coming out of cold water and fighting so hard basically will not make it if trying to release them

Edited July 19, 2020 by Adk1

[jimski2]

Try unhooking the fish with a pole with a hook screwed into the end. Catch the lure hook with the pole and the hook easily releases. Safer than getting your self hooked by a thrashing fish.


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[rolmops]

2 hours ago, jimski2 said:

Try unhooking the fish with a pole with a hook screwed into the end. Catch the lure hook with the pole and the hook easily releases. Safer than getting your self hooked by a thrashing fish.


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I've seen that technique being used on the Atlantic with cod and haddock on all the undersized fish and for soft mouthed fish it works great. The problem is that it is impossible to see how much damage to the fish mouth it causes because the fish never is close enough to see what really happens. Another much bigger problem for using that "hook and pole" is that it is commonly known as a gaff hook, which is strictly illegal on Lake Ontario. I would be interested as to where "hook and pole" ends and "gaff hook" starts

[Frogger]

Here’s what I ended up doing, if it’s small needle nose hook out let it go. Never touching it or falling to the floor. Bigger fish get it in the net, fish jaw grab it with a fish gripper, pop hook out, through it in the water with the fish grabber still connected. Let fish swim with boat as mentioned on this site. Works very well other than making sure it doesn’t swim in my kicker on the opposite side. Once it’s swimming real ease it. If hooks are in the gill plates bleeding badly it’s done.


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[steelfire]

On 7/19/2020 at 1:06 PM, Frogger said:

Here’s what I ended up doing, if it’s small needle nose hook out let it go. Never touching it or falling to the floor. Bigger fish get it in the net, fish jaw grab it with a fish gripper, pop hook out, through it in the water with the fish grabber still connected. Let fish swim with boat as mentioned on this site. Works very well other than making sure it doesn’t swim in my kicker on the opposite side. Once it’s swimming real ease it. If hooks are in the gill plates bleeding badly it’s done.


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Ditto for me to except I use a small Boggs grip attached to the fish tied off to the boat. I let them swim behind the boat for a few minutes until they are shaking their head. Then I let them go. Very rarely does a fish not swim off in good shape. No floaters. 

[garrymny]

Yes, every time I release a fish (almost) it floats away......so I don't Release them anymore unless they're caught off a rigger. I need one of those fish grabbers I guess.

 

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[Sealegs]

I snap this on their jaw, then clip to the downrigger and send them back down to where the temp and pressure give them their best chance.  Can’t prove it works as you’ll never see a floater but makes sense to me...

 

https://seaqualizer.com

[andycrash77]

Hi All,

 

I was wondering about this very thing then I found this thread.  I am just a trib fisherman and some I eat, most I let go.  Like you I don't take them from the water and a hook in the gills is bad news.

 

My question is this: When we pull a Perch from over 20' feet through the ice, it's swim bladder expands making a good release impossible.  Does this same thing happen to trout and salmon?

 

I know that in the So. Pacific expensive deepwater aquarium fish (some worth 10G's and headed to billionaires around the world) have their air bladders drained with a hypodermic and survive.  Hee, hee, anyone for sicking a hypodermic in a 30# thrashing salmon?  Just Kiddin'.

 

Thanks in advance,

Andy

Edited August 19, 2020 by andycrash77
typo

[rolmops]

Hi All,

 

I was wondering about this very thing then I found this thread.  I am just a trib fisherman and some I eat, most I let go.  Like you I don't take them from the water and a hook in the gills is bad news.

 

My question is this: When we pull a Perch from over 20' feet through the ice, it's swim bladder expands making a good release impossible.  Does this same thing happen to trout and salmon?

 

I know that in the So. Pacific expensive deepwater aquarium fish (some worth 10G's and headed to billionaires around the world) have their air bladders drained with a hypodermic and survive.  Hee, hee, anyone for sicking a hypodermic in a 30# thrashing salmon?  Just Kiddin'.

 

Thanks in advance,

Andy

You don’t have to worry about 20 feet. The air pressure difference is only about 9 psi which is well within their tolerance range. Salmon do not really suffer from pressure differences, their problem is exhaustion and having been out of the water which is like strangling to them in addition to being weightless in the water and all of a sudden weighing 30 pounds out of the water.

 

 

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[andycrash77]

Thanks rolmops,

 

I didn't know about the tolerance of trout and salmon to changes in pressure.  And yes, they absolutely hate being out of the water, probably more than any other fish.

 

The exhaustion issue is magnified by warm water with it's low oxygen levels.  It is really impossible to land a fish in warm water without killing it.  They just can't recover.  I don't fish warm water any more for that reason.  It only took one or two fish to learn that hard lesson.

 

Thank you so much for your response.  It is good to see that the lake community is doing a good job on releasing unwanted fish.  I always wondered what happened on days that the fish were cooperating and a limit was reached in relatively short order.  The clients spend good money and often drive long distances.  They should be able to fish a full day if wanted.

 

Thank You So Much,

Andy

[scobar]

Anyone ever try putting your wash down hose in there mouth, should help but everything is going to get wet


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[andycrash77]

Hi Scobar,

 

This would probably speed up the process.  You see them doing it with sharks on the discovery channel.

 

However, IMHO, I think trout and salmon are so sensitive to oxygen deprivation/depletion that reviving totally spent fish is just plain hard.  Sometimes they just won't come around.  So for me it is better to avoid early season warm water when conditions are such on the tribs.  So, trib fishermen, please keep up your end of the deal.   

 

Also 95% of trout and salmon will quickly calm down if netted and handled gently in 6-8" of water. A little careful work with some hemostats (grab the hook at the bend and jiggle) and off he/she goes.  Several times I have caught the same fish less than an hour later. 

 

Good Luck out there and health to All

Andy

[andycrash77]

FYI: I found this on the NYDEC site.

 

Catching and Releasing Trout

Today's anglers can take simple steps to improve the quality of future fishing. Some anglers practice catch-and-release fishing all or much of the time, while others release only sub-legal (undersize) trout. The guidelines below are intended to help anglers reduce mortality of trout that are released. How many of the measures are you using?

• handle fish as little as possible and release them quickly - do not fight fish to exhaustion
• minimize or eliminate the time fish are out of the water - as little as 30 seconds of air exposure causes delayed mortality of released trout
• consider using only artificial lures - their use is mandatory on some waters
• use barbless hooks if you plan to release most of the fish you catch
• when a fish is deeply hooked, do not try to remove the hook - clip the leader instead
• during the warm summer months when stream temperatures are elevated, do not fish for trout if you plan to release them - these fish are already stressed and additional handling may kill them (For additional guidance, check out Help Trout & Salmon Beat the Summer Heat)
• likewise, do not fish for trout in spring holes when water temperatures are in the mid 70s or higher (especially if you plan to release them)

Special Rules for Taking Trout and Salmon in Deep Water

A moderate steady retrieve will give the fish time to adjust to changes in water pressure. Trout and salmon caught in many cold water lakes are caught in very deep water. Bringing them to the surface is particularly stressful because the fish experiences a substantial reduction in water pressure. At 100 feet deep the pressure per inch is four times greater than at the surface. In this situation it is important not to "horse in" the fish but to bring it to the surface slowly but steadily.

Fish brought up from deep water may need "burping." Burping is a method of expelling excess air from the fish's swim bladder. The drop in pressure causes the swim bladder to expand, increasing the fish's buoyancy and causing it to float belly up. Left in this condition, many fish die as a result of the surface water's warm temperatures or attacks by predators. But in trout and salmon, the swim bladder is connected to the esophagus, making it possible to squeeze excess air out. To do so, hold the fish gently on its side and gently, but firmly, squeeze the belly from the vent toward the head. You will be able to hear the burp as air is expelled from the bladder. Do not squeeze the head and gill area, as that could damage vital organs.

Stimulate the fish to dive deeply. Once burped, the fish should be able to dive down to the deep cold water. But it may require further assistance. Two methods have proved useful in stimulating fish to dive. One is to vigorously thrust the fish, head first, into the water. The slap of the water, and the plunge downward usually stimulates the fish to swim down. Another technique is the "release when recovered" method. Hold the fish gently at the middle of its body with its head pointed downward at a 45 degree angle. In that position a gentle side-to-side motion (or slow speed of the boat if trolling) can be used to move water into the mouth and over the gills. As the fish recovers, it will begin to kick, and slide out of your hand. When its tail passes through your hand, give the tail a quick squeeze. This seems to stimulate the fish's swimming action, causing to dive with more vigor. Remember, the idea is not to catch the tail, but to compress it as it slides through your hand.

When is burping and additional handling needed? Let the fish tell you that. Start by handling the fish as little as possible, i.e., flip it off the hook with needle-nosed pliers. If it is able to recover and returns to the depths, you have avoid a lot of handling. If it is unable to dive, the head first plunge may be enough or burping and the "release when recovered" technique may be required.

Based on fisherman observations landlocked salmon taken from 30 feet deep can be flipped off the hook will do fine. Salmon from 60 feet deep may need some help to recover. Lake trout seem to be more sensitive than salmon. A lake trout brought up from 60 feet will probably need to be burped and given some help to dive back to deep water.