As the word is spreading about the benefits of C & R, it has become the “in” thing to do. You can see increasing number of posts on social media showing happy fly fishermen releasing their hard earned trophy catch. However, anyone stop to think what happens to the fish after the photo is taken and the video is shot? Does the fish swim away, living happily ever after in the waters of far far away?
What are the chances of survival for the released fish? It can be very high or very low depending on many factors, but one thing is for sure, we can definitely increase the survival rate if we do C & R properly.
C & R doesn’t mean throwing the fish back into the water after unhooking it. Let’s look at the 3 phases of C & R.
Catching and Playing the fish
A good C & R starts with the catching the fish. Use proper equipment for the job. It may look cool and might earn you more bragging rights if you catch a huge fish on flimsy line. The prolonged fight might cause the fish to tire beyond recovery. Fish caught and fought to exhaustion will not live to fight another day.
Use also barbless hooks, barbless hooks may be hard to come by in this part of the world, but we can all make do. Just use a strong pair of pliers and crimped the barb. This makes unhooking the fish easier and most of the time, the fish doesn’t need to leave the water. Barbless hooks also make cause less damage to the fish’s delicate mouth and won’t tear the mouth when it is removed.
Use heavier tippet. Fish may have good eyesight and some fish are line shy, but if you use fluorocarbon lines, it is practically invisible in the water. Using heavier tippet will give you the confidence to land the fish quicker. A tired fish may take longer to recover and while it is resting, it may be attacked by other predators.
Landing the fish
Landing the fish is the most harmful part of the process for the fish. It is quite common to see the fish being pulled onto the grass, rock and even the sandy bank. This will rub off the slime coating on the fish. This slime protects the fish from infections and diseases. Also, wet your hands before you hold the fish. A dry hand is more likely to remove this layer of slime.
Put the fish on a wet towel or a mat.
Use a landing net if the fish is still very green or is too large to be handled by hand. Use a large rubber net as the string nets have knots which can hurt the fish. As much as possible keep the net in the water and remove the hook.
If you need to lift the fish out of the water, use on hand to hold its tail and the other to support its belly. Have a firm grip to ensure that the fish doesn’t fall when it struggles. A fall to the rocks can be fatal to the fish.
Remember a fish can’t breathe out of the water. Imagine holding your breath the entire duration you have the fish out of the water.
Releasing the fish
When holding the fish, do not squeeze it. The fish depends on water buoyancy to support its weight. When it is out of the water, the internal organ will be compressed by its own weight. It makes sense to keep the fish in the water.
Remove the hook quickly by reversing the direction of the hook entry. If the fish is hooked deep in the throat, cut the line as close to the hook as possible. The hook will fall out on its own.
If your fish is too exhausted, revive the fish by allowing the water to gently flow over over its gill. Position the head of the fish in the direction of the flowing water. When the fish tries to swim away, just release your grip and let it swim on its own. This might take a few seconds to a few minutes.
Photographing your catch
It is understandable that you will want to photograph your prize catch. Choose the fish that you want to photograph. If will be silly to photograph every single fish that you catch.
The best way to photograph your fish is to leave your fish in the net and get your camera ready. Set the timer and lift the fish out of the water only when you are ready to shot. Tis makes for a more dramatic photo that one of a fish drying out in the sun. Have a shot of you releasing a fish. This will make it more meaningful