Catch and Release for game and sea species

There has developed in the past few years a cult amongst both game and saltwater fishers that all fish caught must be released. It's reached the point now where the ardent C&R protagonists look down with utter scorn on those who knock the fish on the head and eat them.

My own opinion is simple. I practice both C&R and eating my game or saltwater fish. I have nothing personally against people who do both.

However I do at times get very annoyed with people who come up to me on a trout water as I am clonking a trout on the head as say: "Oh I could never kill a wonderful creature like that." Then they go home to fish and chips or steak and ale without another thought.

Then you get the guys on trout waters who take out a catch and release ticket. They are competent anglers and there you see them, landing trout after trout. The fish are bounced around in a net, often being laid on the gravel bank and the hook dragged out. Worse still, the trout is held up by the gills for a photo and then released. I have seen it guys, make no mistake.

Then all you see are dead trout in the margins a few hours later. What a horrible bloody waste. Those fish would have been far better knocked on the head and taken home.

What made me most annoyed some years ago was when one of our top coarse angling writers suggested that trout anglers carry weigh slings and unhooking mats!!!!!

What utter bolloxs.

Trout are not like coarse fish for crying in a bucket! Even grayling squirm like mad in your hands. They are like eels they are and will not tolerate being handled.

Rainbow trout are in fact the piscatorial equivalents of pheasants. They were introduced to this country as a food fish and that means on most waters they are released to be caught and killed. The turn-over of fish is what keeps a good fishery viable.

But I, of course, practice C&R quite a bit. On some "easy" waters, it's possible for a decent fly fisher to catch his limit in a very short period of time. That means he has a short day out and unless he or she buys another ticket, it's over.

Personally I do not reside in opposite camps. I do kill a few fish on most of my visits, and I eat them too. I have also a few friends who appreciate the odd fresh trout. I also release lots of fish, but they taken off the hook whilst still in the water. I do not lift them out in the net. Trout are not like tench.

As regards sea fish, I cannot ever remember releasing any, except perhaps mullet or very small specimens. Sea species brought up from deep water will not survive at all. Best eat them. Most saltwater fish are lovely grub anyway.

Always good eating something you've killed! Feels a lot more rewarding and you can gaurantee it is fresh!

I like shooting for rabbits, pheasants and pigeons. Great sport and even better dinner!

I broadly agree though I still tend to catch and release game fish caught whilst coarse fishing .

When coarse fishing it's always catch & release but when I'm sea fishing I'll always knock a couple of decent sized fish on the head for the pot if I'm lucky enough to catch them that is. The North Norfolk coast isn't the best fishing in the world these days. In fact it's probably the worst.
When I'm fishing the Keys then a nice grouper, mutton snapper, small nurse shark or triple tail is always welcome on the BBQ.

hi Ron,
not sure on the game fish as i have never done it but, surely , if one pays for a days fishing with an allowance of fish he can knock on the head then so be it, they've been paid for, AND been budgeted for, by the fishery owner.If you dont like eating them, let 'em go ,its your choice. As for sea fish, i think C&R has its place i.e. in matches. Even then there is. in my expiereance, a high mortality rate especially with small round fish .There are also minimum size limits for a lot of our common fish,anything under these sizes must ,by law be returned, My stance on C&R is : if your going to eat it then give it a whack, if your not then put it back , its as simple as that.Are these other people who frown when you whack a fish, anglers themselves? if so , do they frown because they are genuinly concerned for the fish's welfare? if this is the case ,you could take it one step further. Dont stick the hook in the fish in the first place!!!!! Ever heard the saying 'opening up a can of worms'??

As someone who really doesn't like the taste of Trout (or all the bones) I also release all the fish I catch whilst still in the river.

From time to time I will take one or two for friends who enjoy eating Trout, but these are quite rare ocassions.

There's room for both of course and there are rules to be adhered to such as fish size and species etc. In the florida Keys it is nearly all catch and release, in fact Tagging is proving invaluable in being able to moniter the movements and growth of fish. It has surprised a lot of people just how often Tarpon are re-caught. As for eating spotties, Rainbows are there just for that......the wild Brownies are debatable i suppose, i've never been able to catch one though.

Either is acceptable - but if you intend to put them back it is your duty to ensure they go back fit and well (and don't try to claim any high moral ground over those that keep what they catch).

Quick story that puts catch and release of sea fish into perspective.

Went bass fishing on the dorset coast and arrived at high water and before first light. Set up in a bay and caught 4 bass ranging from 2lb to 4lb + on plugs, each one returned. As the tide ebbed and the sun rose I strted to pack up and noticed a gill net stretched 9/10th of the way accross the bay. From the cliffs on my way back to the car I could see the fishermen collecting the net full of quality bass (and mullet) in the 2-5lb range.

Did those fish I returned survive through to spawning, to ensure the future of the population? I'll let you make your own minds up about that!

I have no problem with killing saltwater species. The commercial fishermen take vast numbers of fish compared with what an angler takes.

The Americans I believe set aside areas in the sea purely for sport fishing with rod and line.

It would be a very good idea if this was done on this side of the Atlantic.

Agree - a trial area of significant size would give a good clue of what could be achieved.

In economic terms, fish for fish, the local economy would benefit more from an active recreational fishery than a commercial one.

Absolutely spot on Stuart. Instead of trawling the sea beds dead, the commercial fishermen could make a good living out of taken anglers out.

The fish would become far more valuable and respected.

Oh dear Peter, I must tell you how to cook trout one day.

One thing I NEVER have a problem with is the bones.

Ron, its not the cooking - I just don't like the taste of Trout.

i have no problem keeping or releasing fish, but i do get annoyed when i see the greedy sods who take everything.

take what you can eat and no more. the idea of fresh fish is for it to be fresh, so why dump it in the freezer for 6months, kind of defeats the object.

the other advantage to taking your own fish is the fact that, it is only the fish wanted taken and the rest are returned alive, unlike the nets that kill everything wanted or not.

Trout are bloody good for your heart mate. Lots of Omega 3

It's a better diet than Marlboro and black coffee.

)

I was well in with a trout fishery owner until he retired.
Some of his trout got out of his stock nets by accident. I had three days fishing with him and on one day I caught some 250 trout, another day 150 and the last 50. He himself and trout out to the 200 mark, all put back into the stock nets, some trout went to 1lb. Not one fish died.
I don't have a problem with c&r if the fish are handled accordingly. I also don't have a problem with one for the pot.

Wild brownies always go back. Rainbows knocked on the head and given to freinds. Sea fish depends on there size and species. I dont like fish that much.

well said bryan ,wild browns should always go back,as for rainbows....as i manage my own trout lakes i can comment on catch and release ,in my opinion,and the opinion of a lot of my anglers catch and release for rainbows is not neciserily a good thing,these fish are not hardy at all,and cant cope with the stress of bieng captured.evewn if they do survive the stress of bieng caught ,if they have been landed in a net,typicaly a trout net{which are not desighned for catch and release,and either have very abrassive,or large and notted mesh}then it dosent take long for fungal infection to set in and fish will die anyway.also once a trout has been caught a couple of times it very rarley makes the same mistake again,which creates the fishery owner a problem in that come the end of the season his lake is full of fish that wont take an artificial,the only way around this problem is to let bubble floaters on....which i tried last year, and it worked to a point,it removed all finickey trout,but it caused me problems cause as we no trout anglers dont like fishing besides bait anglers so my revinue suffered for a short period, even after bait fishing had stopped,trout men where reluctant to return.no i am afraid now adays i wont sell sporting tickets any more, all fishermen MUST take at least one fish away.

Thanks for your comments Billy Boy.

Many trout anglers do not know how to release trout properly. You must use a fine mesh net. I use a coarse fish spoon net on C&R waters. Barbless or debarbed hooks are necessary. Debarbed by squeezing down the barb are best because the hook does not penetrate as far as a hook with no barb at all.

Net the fish but do not lift the fish from the water. Kneel down and grip the hook with forceps or an unhooking tool and it will come out easily. Release the fish straight out of the net.

If the fish is badly hooked or shows any signs of distress, clonk it. If you have taken out a C&R ticket, inform the fishery owner and pay for it.

The best rainbow trout waters are the big reservoirs where you pay a reasonable amount for up to 8 fish, no catch and release allowed, and that includes browns in some cases. The fish are stocked at a small takeable size and grow on to very good sizes on natural food.

On the big waters, you have to know what you are doing to get a limit, or even a couple of fish on hard days. There are always lots of blanks on the big waters which is a good thing. The truth of the matter is that 10% of the anglers are catching 90% of the fish. If any angler wants to achieve that level of proficiency there is nothing stopping him.

Stocking levels in trout fisheries should never be too high. Say no more than 100 fish per acre.