Handling Of Fish

[rehsifylf]

I think everyone just has to accept that if you fish for sport, some fish will die. Even the most careful catch and release fisherman will release fish that will die.

 

Let me ask you this. Say I'm a guy that flyfishes maybe 8 days a year and on a good day, I catch 4 fish, handle them poorly and 3 of the 4 die. In total - I've been responsible for the mortality of 24 fish in a year.

 

Now lets say that fishing is my life, I fish 50+days per year, and I'm so good that I catch 10 fish per day. I'm so careful that only 1 of each ten fish die. So in a year, I'm responsible for the mortality of 50 fish.

 

Is either guy hurting thr river? If so, who is hurting it more?

 

I ask because I've seen lots of criticism on this board about people handling fish improperly, but have never seen anyone say boo about anyone fishing a river too often.

 

Not taking a position either way, and I'm glad I've learned to handle fish more carefully than I did in the past, but I like to look at situations differently than most.

[darrinhurst]

Well, Fisherman A needs to hang out with Fisherman B, so that Fisherman B can teach Fisherman A how to handle the fish properly to lower his individual impact on the fishery.

 

It all boils down to doing our best to reduce our individual impact on any fishery. Be it you fish it often or rarely.

[Flyfisher]

rehsifyIf: In it's conception C&R was a conservation management tool (Michigan, sometime in the 50's?) and has since become a widely used one. It's benefits were and are obvious. Today, I'd go as far to say that for some, C&R is almost akin to religion. One has only to look at all the passionate debate around it. All that said it does have negative impacts on fish as you have pointed out with mortality rates. Besides impacting fish, anglers are impacted to. In heavily pressured fisheries fish become scarred, educated, wary and low in energy as a result of repeated capture. When fishing I try and moderate my capture rate (of course there are days one doesn't need to!) so the next angler behind me can enjoy a quality angling experience to. Perhaps high use C&R anglers ought to be paying more in license fees?

[DonAndersen]

rehsifylf,

 

Like you, I've pondered my effect on fish due to the numbers of trout I catch. A typical year [from personal angling records for 40 years] shows I landed approx. 1000 fish in the 110>130 days I spend angling. Using a 3% C&R mortality, I killed 30 trout.

 

From the DFO Recreational Angling survey site below, I found the following quote:

 

 

http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/stats/rec/can/2005/section4-eng.htm

 

 

In 2005, anglers caught 215 million fish of all species and retained nearly 72 million (Annex A.7). Resident anglers in all provinces and territories caught 157 million of this total harvest. Foreign anglers caught 54 million (25%) while Canadian non-resident anglers caught a relatively small proportion of the total fish harvest (4 million) during the year (Figure 4.5 and Annex A.8).

 

Resident anglers kept 39% of the fish they caught compared with 22% and 18% share of fish kept by Canadian non-resident and foreign anglers. On average, each resident angler kept 24 fish in 2005. Every Canadian non-resident angler kept an average of 7 fish, while foreign anglers retained an average of 16 fish of various species.

 

Residents caught 157,000,000

Kept 39% = 61.230,000

C&R - 95,770,000

C&R mortailty = 3% * 95,770,000 = 2,873,100

Total killed by residents = 61,230,000 + 2,873,100 = 64,103,100

Total Residents = 2,456,876

Residents killed 26.09 fish

 

 

I must therefore conclude that although I fish a lot, my effect on the fish population is nearly the same as the Average Kill & Keep angler. It must be admitted though that through my C&R practices, the Average Kill & Keep Angler will not catch/kill nearly as many fish.

 

You be the judge whether or not this is a good thing.

 

 

catch ya'

 

 

Don

[Guest 420FLYFISHIN]

this seems like that thread about 100 fish days...a bunch of mud chuckin and not that much info. But id like to think that i have some good fish grabbing letting go skills.

[robert]

I personally think alot of these stats are skewed to what an individual believes to be honest.

 

In the spring through fall, I can usually catch fair numbers of fish (winter? forget it) - moreso pike and walleye - and all catch/release. I love fishing and i'm sure there's a few fish that didn't survive. I do try to do as much as I can to avoid kills - all trebles are removed and only one single barbless per lure. That's my way of doing things - my personal choice. Fish on is a fish caught. Heck, there's times i'll pull out the ol woodchopper, remove all the hooks and laugh my ass off while pike are hammering it over and over. Just watching this thing fly through the air a dozen times during one cast is awesome.

 

There are fish that I didn't think would make it - get them back in the water and get some water flowing through the gills and the damn thing turns around and grabs my hand. I don't believe that my mortality rates are that bad. yeah, there's been a few trout that went belly up tho I tried to revive - bleeding mainly and yeah, i do feel bad.

 

i've seen many c&r fishermen handle fish in terrible manners then crow about being catch and release only - it's all in what you learn and all based on your own personal ethic. We've all seen it.

[trailhead]

I'm always a bit leery of stats saying that the average C&R angler kills X amount of fish. I think there is more to it than straight numbers. Factors like how long do you play the fish, water temperature, angling pressure and of course handling techniques. Don may have exemplary handling techniques and his true mortality numbers would then be much below the accepted levels. I think that as a group the people on this board are generally conscientiuous enough that we do our utmost to limit the mortality numbers. It is the unenlightened majority that probably only fishes a few times a year but keeps everything they catch or culls fish that is the real problem.

[DonAndersen]

Trailhead,

 

Like you, I'm leery of stats. Still, we need something to go on. I found the below site that seems to give a decent clue. I used 3% for resident anglers. Maybe it's low - maybe high.

 

Don

 

 

 

 

Mortalities in Trout Caused by Gear Type and Angler-Induced Stress

 

http://afsjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1577/154...BG%3E2.0.CO%3B2

 

THURSTON DOTSON

 

Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, Yellowstone River Trout Hatchery, Big Timber, Montana 59011

 

Abstract

 

Mortalities of hooked and released trout were measured at four Montana state hatcheries in 1978. At Yellowstone River Trout Hatchery, cutthroat trout (Salmo clarki) caught by single-barbless, single-barbed, and barbed treble hooks and landed rapidly showed no significant mortalities. At Washoe Park Trout Hatchery, Big Springs Trout Hatchery, and Bluewater Springs Trout Hatchery, rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) caught and returned to water of five different temperatures (47-61 F) showed mortalities that increased from 0 to 8.6% with increasing water temperatures. All fish in temperature-related tests were played to exhaustion before release.

 

[robert]

caught by single-barbless, single-barbed, and barbed treble hooks and landed rapidly showed no significant mortalities.

 

That part is confusing - hatchery trout aren't big by any means unless they are feeding them to a couple of pounds - the chances that any trout caught on a barbed treble is going to take at least 2 barbs in the mouth - wouldn't you think?

 

One barbless hook at times can be difficult to remove from a trout - a couple of barbs is going to do damage - and I don't care who catches the damn thing.

 

Again, it all boils down to who's fishing and how hard they are dealing with the fish. i've seen many idiots grab the hook and flick the trout back in the water without touching the fish.

[fish4trout]

i've seen many idiots grab the hook and flick the trout back in the water without touching the fish.

 

I guess you can call me an idiot for unhooking a fish without touching it, I always thought I was doing the fish a favour by not removing its slime coating but I guess I'll have to rethink....

 

[robert]

not talking while it's in the water. i've done that too as long as it's easy on the fish... i've seen people pick up the fish with the hook and try to flick it off without touching it...

 

and if that little emoticon is for me, I don't use bait whatsoever.

[canadensis]

Bottom line is you are trying to get a fish to eat a hook and sometimes they swallow it and will die if hooked in the gut or gill 100%. Part of the passtime. If you are not OK killing the odd fish then sit on the couch with gramma doing needlepoint.

 

This being said dont take the fish out of the water once you get it in; unhook and release. some of you on here light it up on people for bad photo's yet do the grip and grin when you catch a big one, this will increase the mortality rate moreso with bigger fish. We all know what an 18" Bow river rainbow looks like, so skip the pic. But if you insist a photo of a fish in the water looks better anyways. I don't need to see your ugly mug in a photo so keep'em in the water.

 

In some jurisdictions it is illegal to lift a fish out of the water if you intend to release it.

[ladystrange]

ok, this may be a stupid question of sorts...

 

depending on the year, i fish any where from 30 - 100 days. on a bad day i catch 1-10, on a decent day 11-20. and on the rare occation more than 20.

 

i try to keep the fish in the water, i try not to handle the body in anyway, mostly i dont like the smell of fish slime - think pike... ick. i have noticed most of my hooks are in the side of the mouth and rarely on the top, my apologize to the white fish i snagged in the tail. i have also picked up the habit of looking at where the eyes are pointing and say i've noticed anything other than down.

 

usually i can see my fish dart away. i'll fish the same area or move down the river a bit or if i'm on a lake, i dont move around a lot.

 

i have never noticed that i have 'killed' a fish. i haven't seen on float by tits up on a lake or wash up on the bank of the stream. i tend to fish small streams maybe at most 10 ft across usually less, i'd think i'd notice a lifeless fish.

 

so how can i tell if i have accidentally killed one, or should i just assume that it croked some time after i left the general area?

 

 

ok, i know my pic shows me holding a fish, it was at the request of the guide i was with... he came up, pic taken and went back. all the time i was concerned about how long he was out of the water... seconds at most. then we put him in the net, back in to the current for a min and then let him go. he also shot back out to the middle of the river

[DonAndersen]

ladystrange,

 

 

The question is not stupid or silly.

 

1] Fish can die at from minutes to hours after being hooked.

 

2] Takes 1>4 days for dead fish to bloat & float depending on water temperature

 

3] There are 2 kinds of "tired" - lactic acid is the killer. A fish that is fought for a lonng time has a build up of lactic acid that might kill it hours later. A fish that is landed and released quickly has little build up of lactic acid resulting in a much better chance of survival.

 

4] Wounded fish [ gill hook for example] may swim erratically catching the attention of fish eating birds etc.

 

5] Survival rate in warmer water drops dramatically from 0>1% in cool water to >7% in warmer water.

 

6] Some die - tis too bad but it happens.

 

regards,

 

 

Don

[flyfishfairwx]

This is a NZ production on handling fish, they have a vested interest in taking care of their fish.. we should follow suite....

 

 

[Castuserraticus]

rehsifylf,

 

Like you, I've pondered my effect on fish due to the numbers of trout I catch. A typical year [from personal angling records for 40 years] shows I landed approx. 1000 fish in the 110>130 days I spend angling. Using a 3% C&R mortality, I killed 30 trout.

 

From the DFO Recreational Angling survey site below, I found the following quote:

 

 

http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/stats/rec/can/2005/section4-eng.htm

 

 

In 2005, anglers caught 215 million fish of all species and retained nearly 72 million (Annex A.7). Resident anglers in all provinces and territories caught 157 million of this total harvest. Foreign anglers caught 54 million (25%) while Canadian non-resident anglers caught a relatively small proportion of the total fish harvest (4 million) during the year (Figure 4.5 and Annex A.8).

 

Resident anglers kept 39% of the fish they caught compared with 22% and 18% share of fish kept by Canadian non-resident and foreign anglers. On average, each resident angler kept 24 fish in 2005. Every Canadian non-resident angler kept an average of 7 fish, while foreign anglers retained an average of 16 fish of various species.

 

Residents caught 157,000,000

Kept 39% = 61.230,000

C&R - 95,770,000

C&R mortailty = 3% * 95,770,000 = 2,873,100

Total killed by residents = 61,230,000 + 2,873,100 = 64,103,100

Total Residents = 2,456,876

Residents killed 26.09 fish

 

 

I must therefore conclude that although I fish a lot, my effect on the fish population is nearly the same as the Average Kill & Keep angler. It must be admitted though that through my C&R practices, the Average Kill & Keep Angler will not catch/kill nearly as many fish.

 

You be the judge whether or not this is a good thing.

 

 

catch ya'

 

 

Don

 

Interesting and informative analysis.