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The evolution of Catch and Release

Forum for discussing fisheries conservation and other environmental issues related to fish, wildlife, watersheds, and aquatic ecosystems.

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Paul Arden
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The evolution of Catch and Release

#1

Post by Paul Arden »

Hi guys,

I think it would be interesting to hear about C&R and how it evolved where you are (if it has yet).

When I grew up it was virtually unheard of for gamefish. I remember seeing a zero kill sticker in around ‘96 from the US. There was huge resistance at that time to the idea of releasing salmon in the UK, in that it somehow made fishing “cruel” despite Coarse Anglers releasing fish for as long as I can remember - and then some!

All this changed over a period of about ten years. It took a long time for the Reservoirs to adopt C&R.

I’m hoping that Malaysia is somewhere on this 10 year path. There is most certainly C&R practised by “sports fishermen” but it’s not as widespread as it undoubtedly needs to be. Hopefully a success story in Sungai Tiang will help further the idea that if you want to catch lots of fish, then you need to release most of them!

Cheers, Paul
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Carol
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Re: The evolution of Catch and Release

#2

Post by Carol »

I've only been fly fishing 15 years, but in Colorado, it wasn't much of a thing when I started. It was out there, but there weren't any guidelines about the best way to do it, and not as many people doing it. Now C&R is more prevalent, which is fortunate because Colorado has seen a huge increase in the number of fly anglers and highly pressured waters in the last 6-7 years. The unfortunate thing is that not many practice it properly: People still putting trout on the ground to take a picture, or keeping fish out of water too long, or causing a trout to spills it's eggs during handling, :sick: or walking on redds, or guides (whose livelihood depends on a healthy fishery and who serve as a model to newbs) using barbed hooks and mishandling fish or ... or ... or .... It's getting better, but maybe it's time to require that a person take a video class on C&R before getting a license, and maybe shops should demand it of their guides, especially if fishing pressured waters.

We've learned so much about the science of C&R from the Danylchuks (https://www.keepemwet.org), and there still is much to be learned. How would you, as instructors, incorporate teaching C&R techniques into fly casting lessons? Or as guides include is as a requirement of customers?
Carol
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steelehead
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Re: The evolution of Catch and Release

#3

Post by steelehead »

Hi guys,
in Germany C&R is prohibited by law, so angling equals catching fish for eating it and not for the sheer fun of it. However I see many anglers apply C&R because a) they do care about fish populations, which are not really on the rise and b) they do like the angling but not the fish eating... first world problems.
Trout and grayling populations are in decline on most rivers, due to waterpower, hot summers, cormorants and reckless anglers - so I guess C&R is pretty much a statement towards re-establishing fish populations whilst still being able to fish. The odd trick is so loose all fish ("damn, they're so slippy") not to conflict with law, which actually no one is controlling.
What many people do not understand, though, is that by practicing C&R there are some other factors to consider in order to keep them healthy: water and air temperatures, barbless hooks, short playing and bigger fish often need special treatment when being released. I once raised the unpopular idea to stop trout fishing in July and August in our club waters, because the river has really ugly temperatures for trout around that time... almost needed UN troops to cover my ass on the way to the parking lot (literally... :laugh: ).
As Carol mentioned guides should point these things out and act as role models, there are still some misconceptions about handling fish.

Cheers, Christian
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Paul Arden
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Re: The evolution of Catch and Release

#4

Post by Paul Arden »

Well firstly barbless hooks are mandatory. I won’t allow any of my clients to fish with barbs, I say that these are the lake rules when in fact they are my lake rules. I haven’t fished a barbed hook in over 25 years.

I’m a big believer in a big net that becomes a cage...
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This net has seen better days and needs replacing :D But the size is perfect and it’s knotless mesh.

For a photo I lift the fish out the net with clean wet hands for no more than 1-2 seconds. If on my own I run a video camera on the bank and take a still. Usually this is all part of the release sequence.
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Normally (99.99%!) I would unhook the fly in the net but the friend I was with really wanted a picture with the fly in the fish’s mouth. :)

Here in Malaysia with Snakehead I have an unusual situation in that the fish is a lungfish and can survive out of the water for three days. But even with these fish we always handle them carefully and return as quickly as possible. I always make sure that the client washes his hands first. Here I have an even bigger net - the idea is that once “landed” I can keep the net bag in the water, where it acts as a cage while we get sorted.

For small fish the net is far less important and most fish can be released without any contact.

Because I know that not everyone is fully versed in minimal handling techniques I will be training the Orang Asli guides to teach any clients we may have here in Malaysia to handle the fish properly (which means minimally, with quick release shots). Any resistance to this and we will have them off the river :D The protection and health of the fish population must come first.

I keep thinking that we have won this battle but then realise that time and again we haven’t, only made some headway. Seeing it done poorly amongst anglers who should know and demonstrate better is the worst part of it, because people learn from watching those on video.

Proper fish handling techniques should be part of any first lesson in flyfishing - it should be part of instructor and guide entrance exams. Arguably it should be part of any fishing licence requirement.

Cheers, Paul
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Harps
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Re: The evolution of Catch and Release

#5

Post by Harps »

Paul, those are great practices, and I wish more people followed them here.

When I started only a few snobby anglers caught and released, but because of the size limits many fish were thrown back as they were too small (but we rarely followed the regulations, though).
Even if we had more fish than we could eat, the fish were put in a freezer for later or eventually buried in the garden for fertilizer. Our family was still in the mentality that came from scarcity before WWII - the land provides and don't pass up opportunities to take from it. It's odd because on the other-hand, my grandfather was very conscious about conservation and land management and ran our ranch in as much co-existence with nature as possible. I learned my love for ecosystems and conservation there, while poaching the creeks for bull trout.

Now 30-40 yrs later, C&R is much more common (the majority of fly anglers, probably less than half of other anglers - with no stats to back that up), but fish handling has not improved to the point where it would be considered a very low impact practice. Granted, it's lower impact than killing your catch outright, but there are many ways that handling can be improved to give fish a better chance at survival.

I see a problem now with social media - everybody wants that good feeling from having an experience and sharing it online and making other people envious... it's validating. Here, I think largely because of that (but not only), there are too may people targeting limited waters. And at the same time, many people state that there's very little pressure when you walk away from access point, but that doesn't protect our fish that migrate to spawn and have to go through the crowded areas and get handled by the gills for a picture. Or, like Christian mentioned, they are handled in hot air/water temperatures , when the survival rate of trout is much lower.

All that aside, I do think that the individual anger has less of an impact, especially with C&R being more common. I'm not certain if that's offset by the increase of people fishing in waters that historically may have had less angling pressure.

Harps
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Carol
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Re: The evolution of Catch and Release

#6

Post by Carol »

Harps, I love your 'avatar'. Says it all. :)

Paul, the pic of that brown is gorgeous! Thank gawd the grip n' grin is dying out. Who needs it when there are such beautiful shots of fish in the water or dripping wet. Your approach of "these are the rules of the lake/river" or "these are the rules of my boat" is great. You are at the top of the guide game, so you can say whatever you like and will still be respected (except maybe by Lasse :laugh: ). But how many guides are too afraid to say that for fear they won't get a tip? (Too many newb guides is another issue.) Then there's just the average Joe/Jane like me: What do you say when you see some angler mishandling fish after fish? Do you say anything? Do you throw a rock into the run they are fishing? :pirate: "Oh, so sorry dude. Didn't see you needlessly killing fish here." :glare:

Tom Rosenbauer always reminds that fishing is a blood sport, and he's right. C&R can minimize the blood letting, but is it enough? How do we instill respect for prey? We need some good modeling of this. Paul and Harps, I appoint you to be the global models of this. :laugh:
Carol
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Paul Arden
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Re: The evolution of Catch and Release

#7

Post by Paul Arden »

That’s a very difficult situation, Carol. I’ve certainly been in it many times. Sometimes it’s while in the same boat, in Tasmania for example. Bringing the fish (trout) into the boat to unhook it, and the use of barbed hooks, were two common examples that shocked me :D It happened on quite a few occasions and subtly and perhaps not so subtly I explained the situation! Quite a few of the guys I fished with there have since written to me telling me they have changed their practises. Yay!!

Now while that was quite a difficult situation to be in, on one of Harps’ local waters I remember watching some young anglers enthusiastically catch a rather large trout. I was overlooking from a high bank at the time. (Harps will know the water, but it has no name if you know what I mean!). I watched children excitedly land the fish, walk along the bank to their father to unhook it, walk back to where they were, only to release it a few minutes later - dead. This would be about 12 years ago when I was fishing Alberta every summer.

It can be very difficult. For this Mahseer project I’ll make some C&R videos showing and explaining proper handling techniques. I’m hoping (even almost expecting now!) to get the opportunity to do a fly fishing TV show here in SE Asia this year. If I get to do this then I’ll be able to explain proper minimal handling techniques and the importance of C&R to a far wider audience than Sexyloops (which is already well-educated, regulars anyway!). It’s always better - and sometimes safer! - to lead by example rather than criticise others.

Cheers, Paul

PS great to see you again, Harps! :cool:
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Jonathan
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Re: The evolution of Catch and Release

#8

Post by Jonathan »

I would suggest that in our own interests the "virtues" of "catch and release" (which in certain quarters is perceived as a practice that simply caters to the entertainment of "recreational" fisherman) should not be loudly marketed.
I have rather resorted to "selective harvesting" (although my criteria are very exclusive).
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Harps
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Re: The evolution of Catch and Release

#9

Post by Harps »

Paul Arden wrote: Thu May 28, 2020 4:04 am PS great to see you again, Harps! :cool:
I missed this place!
I plan on coming back more often... there’s a lot to catch up on!

Jon, that is an interesting concept, and could be very well thought out.
C&R is a great fisheries management tool, one that is largely responsible for the prevalence of fisheries in western North America- in the presence of the harm cause by recreational fishing. The virtues of C&R are only in comparison to angling harvest (with the exception of teaching the public to care for the environment).

Forced harvest (for example the requirement to kill brook trout in some places in the west where they are considered invasive), is not as acceptable to anglers at this time, but it is growing in acceptance. It truly is a system of selective harvest to aid the fisheries managers by removing “undesirables”.
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Paul Arden
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Re: The evolution of Catch and Release

#10

Post by Paul Arden »

Here is SE Asia, Jon, the problem is not perceived non-angler acceptance of our sport but rather too many fishermen killing fish for the table. I would much rather change public perception that C&R is great for fish - which it is - and ethical too, if that’s a consideration - as it seems to be in Germany, rather than fish waters that are devoid of fish because of angling pressure. All the best waters to fish that I know are fished on a purely C&R basis.

I’m not saying that all waters should be no-kill despite thinking what a great world that would be :D but having rivers/lakes/parts of these that are purely C&R is at least one way to delivering what you suggest. Ie selective harvesting anywhere but these waters! And these is no question that the better fishing in my mind will be the no-kill waters. But if an angler wants to kill a fish, then there are always other waters where this can take place.

Cheers, Paul
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