Catch and Release technique…

[Nontypical]

I’m curious as to how other fishermen feel about releasing fish. It doesn’t matter what type of fish. But if you’re fishing from a boat, is a gentle lob acceptable? Or is care taken to revive the fish and make sure it swims off on its own? 
 

Another question. This would be directed at striped bass, but could apply to any fish as well. Does anyone here thinks it’s acceptable to use jigs that have a high rate of injury to a fish when circle hooks are required when using bait to help ensure that fish is not injured. Add in the fact that with the possibility of catching a fish up to 50”, you can only keep one fish between 28”-31”. So realistically several fish may be caught and released until the slot is filled. Or would it more practical to use other means of fishing instead like using circle hooks with bait to help ensure a safe release?
 

Just curious as to what some others here think on the subject. Thanks and Happy 4th of July!

Edited July 1, 2023 by Nontypical

[Wolc123]

I am of the opinion that catch and release is mostly just the senseless waste of a fine food source .  I love eating freshwater bass.

That being said, I am far from perfect and do plenty of it, twice already this morning in fact.  I often bend over the barbs on my hooks to minimize the suffering during the release.  

 

[Wolc123]

This is where I’d rather put them:

 

As long as the fillets are still twitching when they are removed, I don’t know of a better tasting fish than a freshwater bass.

Edited July 1, 2023 by Wolc123

[Nontypical]

I have no problem eating legally caught fish and kudos to you for crimping your hooks. If you had to release a good fish, would you release it boat side and make sure it swims off, or do you do the flip it right from your chair and send him off? Just curious. 
Btw, nice fish. 👍

Edited July 1, 2023 by Nontypical

[mowin]

I love fish, but 95% of what I catch, goes back, except ice fishing for perch.  I'll keep my limit if I'm lucky enough to hit em.  

Open water, I always put them back easily, and give them a few seconds to recover.  Hard water, I just toss them back in the hole as soon as possible. 

 

A few guys I've talked to, hates the circle hook rule for stripers.  They claim they miss more strikes then they actually hook.  Which makes me think the rule is effective, and helping the fish. 

[Nontypical]

I’ve been fishing circles for more than 25 years side by side with other sharpies using J hooks. I can assure you that they are more effective when fished correctly. 

[Ncountry]

4 hours ago, Nontypical said:

I’m curious as to how other fishermen feel about releasing fish. It doesn’t matter what type of fish. But if you’re fishing from a boat, is a gentle lob acceptable? Or is care taken to revive the fish and make sure it swims off on its own? 
 

Another question. This would be directed at striped bass, but could apply to any fish as well. Does anyone here thinks it’s acceptable to use jigs that have a high rate of injury to a fish when circle hooks are required when using bait to help ensure that fish is not injured. Add in the fact that with the possibility of catching a fish up to 50”, you can only keep one fish between 28”-31”. So realistically several fish may be caught and released until the slot is filled. Or would it more practical to use other means of fishing instead like using circle hooks with bait to help ensure a safe release?
 

Just curious as to what some others here think on the subject. Thanks and Happy 4th of July!

About all I fish for anymore is crappie and lm bass. I very rarely go out to catch and release.

If I only have 2 or three bass or 1/2 dozen crappie, I will release them because I don't feel like cleaning that few. Unless I mortaly wound one by cutting the gills etc. , then I will keep it no matter the size(large or small)

I also release any crappie 13" or larger and any bass over 15" most times. I always joke that those are my boat rules , but I never enforce them for guests..lol

[Wolc123]

52 minutes ago, Ncountry said:

About all I fish for anymore is crappie and lm bass. I very rarely go out to catch and release.

If I only have 2 or three bass or 1/2 dozen crappie, I will release them because I don't feel like cleaning that few. Unless I mortaly wound one by cutting the gills etc. , then I will keep it no matter the size(large or small)

I also release any crappie 13" or larger and any bass over 15" most times. I always joke that those are my boat rules , but I never enforce them for guests..lol

I’m feeling kind of bad now, about releasing a few bass on my last couple times out.  They earned the trip to “fish heaven” (mankind’s food supply).  I disrespected them, by dragging them around for a while and then tossing them back.  
 

On my next times out, I am going to tie the fish cage to the dock and motor back to it, every time I get one between 12 and 17” (good eating size).   The bigger ones ain’t all that good eating, and will still go back into the lake to make more.  

I got my father in law’s Johnson outboard running real good now, so maybe he’ll cut me a little slack, if I make a bloody mess down by his dock while cleaning them.

Edited July 1, 2023 by Wolc123

[Hillbilly]

If you are missing fish with a circle hook try just reeling when fish bite. If you try to set the hook you will not get them in the corner of the mouth. Just a suggestion. 

[crappyice]

I try to be as gentle as possible. I'm all about keeping fish within limits and returning those illegal fish. HOWEVER,  when a fish is clearly gut hooked and you know it won't survive it bothers me to just dump it back in. I realize it presents a ton of grey areas for people to keep too short or long fish, just sucks when it happens and feels pointless to let that fish die when it could be enjoy on the table. 

[Wolc123]

Just one ticket to paradise issued so far this afternoon.  12-1/8” is close enough to perfect eating size for me.  

[Nontypical]

I made this post this morning as I was heading out across the bay and thinking about the striped bass report the other day using diamond jigs.

I fished at night for many years from the crashing surf under the lighthouse in Montauk. It was always common knowledge not to fish certain parts of the rock reventment where you couldn’t safely land or release a fish. You just didn’t do it out of respect for the fish as there would probably be a good chance of releasing it. This was in the 90’s when it was a 36” limit, but it always remained the case after the regulations changed.

Here on LI, there are a few bridges that can be productive, but frowned upon by most because in order to land a fish, a line gaff is usually involved from that height. Releasing from those heights is a problem too, as the angler is usually unwilling to walk several hundred feet to get off the bridge and down to the water level. 
 

Back when I used to fish on a party boat for striped bass, it usually involved live eels. If we used diamond jigs, it was at the beginning of the trip before dark. Releasing fish  from a height above the rail several feet above the water was always an issue. But we would only have to release smaller fish less than 28.” They would be pretty feisty and wouldn’t have a problem getting dropped in  from that height. Those bigger fish in the thirty pound+ range would never survive a release without holding their mouth in the current for a minute or two, until she clamped down on your thumb and told you it was time to go. With one swoop of that giant tail, she would descend to the depths to be caught another day. But they could never be released like that from a party boat, but only  done on smaller private boats where you can get to water level. If a larger fish was caught by an angler who already had their limit, that fish would go into someone else’s cooler, not back in the water. Once a boat limit was reached, we’d call it a night. There were never any large fish that had to be released.

Now that we have a slot size of 28-31”, many of those larger fish are getting released and tossed back from several feet above the water when fished from a party boat. If you factor in the use of diamond jigs that have an increased likelihood of injury of the fish due to a deep hook in the gills, it really puts them at a disadvantage for survival.

When Mowin commented on how he thought that the fishery was recovering since there was a good report, it got me thinking. It’s really not in good shape at all and I wanted to make a post to help make some people aware of the situation. It’s not necessarily one group or action that is affecting the fishery, but several things. If we all don’t do our part, this fishery is doomed. I now refuse to fish with diamond jigs now because of the high likelihood of injury to the fish due to a deep hook to the gills. I’ll continue to fish at night for them with live eels and circle hooks from my own boat, but those days of catching 10-20 fish per man all summer long are long gone. The last few years it’s been a struggle to put a few fish in the boat. 
 

 

Edited July 1, 2023 by Nontypical

[mowin]

29 minutes ago, Nontypical said:

I made this post this morning as I was heading out across the bay and thinking about the striped bass report the other day using diamond jigs.

I fished at night for many years from the crashing surf under the lighthouse in Montauk. It was always common knowledge not to fish certain parts of the rock reventment where you couldn’t safely land or release a fish. You just didn’t do it out of respect for the fish as there would probably be a good chance of releasing it. This was in the 90’s when it was a 36” limit, but it always remained the case after the regulations changed.

Here on LI, there are a few bridges that can be productive, but frowned upon by most because in order to land a fish, a line gaff is usually involved from that height. Releasing from those heights is a problem too, as the angler is usually unwilling to walk several hundred feet to get off the bridge and down to the water level. 
 

Back when I used to fish on a party boat for striped bass, it usually involved live eels. If we used diamond jigs, it was at the beginning of the trip before dark. Releasing fish  from a height above the rail several feet above the water was always an issue. But we would only have to release smaller fish less than 28.” They would be pretty feisty and wouldn’t have a problem getting dropped in  from that height. Those bigger fish in the thirty pound+ range would never survive a release without holding their mouth in the current for a minute or two, until she clamped down on your thumb and told you it was time to go. With one swoop of that giant tail, she would descend to the depths to be caught another day. But they could never be released like that from a party boat, but only  done on smaller private boats where you can get to water level. If a larger fish was caught by an angler who already had their limit, that fish would go into someone else’s cooler, not back in the water. Once a boat limit was reached, we’d call it a night. There were never any large fish that had to be released.

Now that we have a slot size of 28-31”, many of those larger fish are getting released and tossed back from several feet above the water when fished from a party boat. If you factor in the use of diamond jigs that have an increased likelihood of injury of the fish due to a deep hook in the gills, it really puts them at a disadvantage for survival.

When Mowin commented on how he thought that the fishery was recovering since there was a good report, it got me thinking. It’s really not in good shape at all and I wanted to make a post to help make some people aware of the situation. It’s not necessarily one group or action that is affecting the fishery, but several things. If we all don’t do our part, this fishery is doomed. I now refuse to fish with diamond jigs now because of the high likelihood of injury to the fish due to a deep hook to the gills. I’ll continue to fish at night for them with live eels and circle hooks from my own boat, but those days of catching 10-20 fish per man all summer long are long gone. The last few years it’s been a struggle to put a few fish in the boat. 
 

 

Thanks for your knowledge about the subject, as I admitted I don't know much about the striper fishery.  I know you want the fishery to continue to improve, as do many.  My point is the regulations that are in place are better than none. 

[Nontypical]

1 minute ago, mowin said:

Thanks for your knowledge about the subject, as I admitted I don't know much about the striper fishery.  I know you want the fishery to continue to improve, as do many.  My point is the regulations that are in place are better than none. 

I agree, but I believe more is needed. A complete moratorium saved it once before and hopefully it can recover again. 

[Nontypical]

I just noticed that my post got cut off. The point that I was trying to make was maybe there are some fishing techniques need to be reconsidered if a moratorium isn’t agreed upon. I just don’t like to see those bigger fish just getting tossed over and floating up down tide. 

Edited July 2, 2023 by Nontypical