How do you treat your catch

[dorsetsteve]

Couldn't agree more, unfortunately there is a very large Numpty contingency in Sea Angling, much more so in my opinion than other branches of the sport.
Poor catch handling, taking far too many fish, leaving fish to be kept flapping about in the Sun, leaving tackle and litter all over the place......the list could go on.

Draw what conclusions you will of this observation but it’s my observation that the cheaper or low the bar to entry into an activity the bigger the percentage of less than desirable participants. Sea fishing doesn’t even require a license…

 

[no-one in particular]

bbb

Draw what conclusions you will of this observation but it’s my observation that the cheaper or low the bar to entry into an activity the bigger the percentage of less than desirable participants. Sea fishing doesn’t even require a license…

That is the problem but I don't think it applies to full time sea anglers who I think are pretty responsible and knowledgeable, they/me were numpties once as well but we learn. You get a lot first timers, casual holiday sea anglers etc. who do not have much of a clue and no knowledge. There are no rules, license as you say, no club control worth talking about much. So you get a bit of a free for all and all the accompanying poor angling and poor equipment etc.. However, do I want to see it licensed and peered at with bureaucratic overkill like coarse fishing, not really.

 

[sam vimes]

I'm not convinced that money has much to do with prevailing attitudes to fish care. The reality is that attitudes tend to depend hugely on the type of fishing in question. Attitudes are distinctly different between coarse, game and sea anglers. Even within each discipline, there are sub disciplines where things can be markedly different.

Carpers have certainly forged ahead in putting one species on a pedestal and being more than a little anal about how fish are treated. However, barbel and pike angling aren't far behind. Game angling is better than it once was, but catch and release isn't yet a universal ideal. Plenty will take for the pot without a second thought. Despite it being perfectly legal (subject to size and number limits), most modern coarse anglers struggle to deal with that. I'd go as far as to say that most coarse anglers have got it into their heads that the taking of any freshwater fish is illegal. However, this is not the case, not even for just coarse species.

Sea angling has always struck me as the least caring discipline. Nobody seems to bat an eyelid about taking pretty much anything vaguely edible. I've known lads go sea fishing and bring sack fulls of fish home (admittedly 30 years back). They'd cheerfully admit to not eating fish at home and that the bulk would end up being fed to cats, ferrets etc (better than wasting it, I suppose). It's been eight or so years since I last had a boat trip. Apart from a relative lack of fish, not much seemed to have changed. Anything legal was retained, whether the angler liked it or not and whether they wanted the fish or not. I've never yet seen a priest being wielded on a boat, pier, dock or beach. Even by a brutal coarse anglers standards, recreational sea fishing is pretty dismal. However, it's a totally different world and even the general public seems largely indifferent when they see it up close.

 

[waldi]

I generally Net all fish.
If while unhooking them in the net a recipe comes to mind it will be despatched in the correct manner and cleaned.

If not it goes back as soon as possible.

I have only ever photographed 3 fish. 1 bass my first barbel and the biggest roach I have ever seen (which turned out to be a hybrid ?)

 

[103841]

Anyone who can be bothered to read my posts on the HDYGO thread will know that my search for bass along the Whitstable shoreline is normally a fruitless exercise, maybe it's my lack of skill and knowledge but no, even seasoned sea anglers struggle to catch the silver bars along the same coastline.

So when an angler caught a 7lb specimen last year, a fish in its prime for breeding I was saddened that he took it for the pot, his choice and within the regs. When we bumped into each other a week or so later I asked if he had enjoyed his bass "no it tasted horrible" was his reply. I don't think I'd eat anything that comes out of that part of the North Sea with all the dirty water that comes out the Thames estuary and more recently tons of raw sewage pumped into the sea by Southern Water. He's one of so many sea anglers that haul their fish up the beach over rocks and shingle, he can't understand why I use a net and a mat an I can't understand why he does what he does.

 

[Philip]

Surprised no one has mentioned Zander when it comes to fragility. Not a fish to mess around with plus they also have an unfortunate habit of of being susceptible to heart attacks.

I recon Barbel are hardier than we are led to believe while Carp are bullet proof….isnt there a famous story of a Redmire Carp (the Bishop?) being carted off on a motor bike footplate in a wet sack to be weighed in a shop and then driven back again…

Talking of fish care I was in a tackle shop today and I couldn’t believe how naff some of the unhooking mats where…so thin that they offered literally no protection at all. I sometimes hide sections of exercise mats in the undergrowth to use as an unhooking mat in swims I plan to fish a lot. You can cut them to any size and they offer good protection….100x better than some of the excuses for mats I saw today and at a fraction of the cost.

 

[no-one in particular]

Anyone who can be bothered to read my posts on the HDYGO thread will know that my search for bass along the Whitstable shoreline is normally a fruitless exercise, maybe it's my lack of skill and knowledge but no, even seasoned sea anglers struggle to catch the silver bars along the same coastline.

So when an angler caught a 7lb specimen last year, a fish in its prime for breeding I was saddened that he took it for the pot, his choice and within the regs. When we bumped into each other a week or so later I asked if he had enjoyed his bass "no it tasted horrible" was his reply. I don't think I'd eat anything that comes out of that part of the North Sea with all the dirty water that comes out the Thames estuary and more recently tons of raw sewage pumped into the sea by Southern Water. He's one of so many sea anglers that haul their fish up the beach over rocks and shingle, he can't understand why I use a net and a mat an I can't understand why he does what he does.

That's how most sea anglers treat their fish, seen it all my lifetime and new comers just follow the same pattern usually because they don't know any better and do not see any better but, who is going to tell them to do it differently! Because it is all free and no controlling body they just turn up with a rod and line and treat the fish how they want, usually with disdain and any sort of respect for the fish.
The sea angling culture needs to change but I don't know how that could be done without legislation, my worry once that starts is where will it end and will it eventually spoil the sport; the last "free" bastion of fishing.
This is the wonderful thing to me about sea fishing, no clubs, license, close seasons, lots of rules, can't do this can't do that, can't fish there etc. etc. are needed but, it could do with some legislation regarding fish care. Maybe this will come out with this animal sentience thing the Gov are bringing in, there is nothing about fish in the drafts I have seen but maybe it will come one day. I personally wouldn't be sorry if it made sea anglers buck their ideas up a bit.

 

[103841]

This video sums up what I have been saying about an element of sea anglers. I can only dream of ever catching a fish of this beauty and size, it looked for a moment that it wasn't going to recover from its contact with the rocks and an unnecessary amount of time out the water, watch 8 minutes into the video.

 

[Andydj]

How do you care for the fish you catch.

Do you treat all your fish as if they are carp, i.e. place them on a mat, apply antiseptic cream to any cuts and hook holes. Pat and kiss them goodbye or do you just return them straight to the water without even looking at them.

Some of these big bags in matches, 100’s of pounds must cause damage to the fish when placed into keep nets. I know that most have weight limits per keep net but 60lbs is still a lot of fish in one net.

I’ve never seen anyone treat any other fish in the same way big carp anglers appear to do to the fish they catch.
So why don’t we treat all fish as if they were carp?

Personally I haven't used a keepnet for well over 30 years but I guess you have to respect those that do and their reasons for doing so.
I seem to be getting more and more uneasy about reference to 'bagging up' and trying to build a big weight in a match but that is only my view and I can't very well criticise because we are all anglers essentially catching fish for our pleasure at the end of the day.
I do tend to use a mat for all my large fish unless I have soft grass available.
For me it is all about trying to treat every fish wish respect and value so I aim to treat them all the same.
Not sure about fish antiseptic. I am very careful how I remove hooks and will chop up an awkward hook if necessary.
When I see the damaged mouths of some fish I do wonder how some remove hooks! No amount of antiseptic is going to put that amount of damage right.
Resting the fish in the net then releasing as quickly as possible is my aim.

 

[no-one in particular]

This video sums up what I have been saying about an element of sea anglers. I can only dream of ever catching a fish of this beauty and size, it looked for a moment that it wasn't going to recover from its contact with the rocks and an unnecessary amount of time out the water, watch 8 minutes into the video.

That was just about typical of sea angling unfortunately. Its made worse by him videoing it, I think the video becomes more important to these blokes than the fish. which makes it worse. Everyone wants to be a media star these days.

 

[103841]

You're right Mark. I do enjoy watching these videos but it is clear they are going to ever greater lengths to get an audience and increase their hit rate with often plenty of risk involved. Another favourite of mine is Slippy Limpets, watch the first few minutes of this video and see the perilous journey he makes to a mark,the guy has only got to make one slip and we won't be seeing any more videos for a while.

 

[mikench]

We have a local lake and up to 15 years ago fishing was allowed for kids below twelve. It's about an acre and a half in size and held roach, perch ,Rudd and bream. It's a SSSI and the local council in their infinite wisdom decided fishing was to be abolished in the interests of the fish and the potential danger to those feeding the ducks . Feeding the ducks then was banned because of blue green algae growth. Most if not all of the fish died. The number of ducks, grebes and coots dropped and the lake is merely now a picturesque expanse of water. There is no sign of life, few water birds, no water voles and few frogs. One of the wardens is a nice guy and I used to chat to him a lot when my dog was alive. His views of the council were unprintable. They reflect mine.

 

[no-one in particular]

You're right Mark. I do enjoy watching these videos but it is clear they are going to ever greater lengths to get an audience and increase their hit rate with often plenty of risk involved. Another favourite of mine is Slippy Limpets, watch the first few minutes of this video and see the perilous journey he makes to a mark,the guy has only got to make one slip and we won't be seeing any more videos for a while.

Strewth, see what you mean, that's just lunacy and that will encourage others to do the same but is there any control on any of it! They can just put anything they want online, bad fishing and bad practices and just make it look normal!. People come a cropper every year around the coast, they either under estimate the danger or over estimate their own ability.

 

[nottskev]

Sorry about this post. I was trying to add a link on the theme of carp being bullet proof to an article on their early introduction. It somehow entwined with a draft of a different post. The article has some interesting things to say about UK carp history.

Carp are bullet proof….isnt there a famous story of a Redmire Carp (the Bishop?) being carted off on a motor bike footplate in a wet sack to be weighed in a shop and then driven back again…

Carp: tough, transportable and fast-growing. I looked to check if, as seems likely, they were introduced and widely grown here for eating some 500 years or so ago for much the same reasons they are now grown in massive numbers for fishing. I came across this interesting historical angle

https://www.bahs.org.uk/AGHR/ARTICLES/39n2a1.pdf

 

[108831]

Im afraid barbel are easily lost,people who let barbel go at the first sign of being fit,will lose a percentage,lets be honest one in twenty fish caught being killed could lead to a disaster in a few years,I have caught a few fish over the years that have gone belly up and luckily ive been able to net them some distance downstream,some fish have needed nursing for 45 minutes,barbel are very powerful fish,but do tend to be prone to stress after capture,along with gas build up similar to pike...

 

[Keith M]

I recon Barbel are hardier than we are led to believe

As Whitty indicated Barbel not as hardy as you may believe Phil.

They fight until they are exhausted and need resting properly before releasing them, else chances are they will just swim off and then turn belly up.

Like Whitty I have had this happen a couple of times after thinking that they had been rested enough over the years but thankfully I was able to net them and hold them in the current a bit longer so that oxygenated water flowed through their mouths and out through their gills. But in very warm water like today they would need an even longer rest period before they had recovered enough to release.

I usually rest my Barbel for 10 to 15 minutes after catching them although they sometimes need a longer rest especially during warm weather conditions; NB: warm water holds far less oxygen than cold water does.

I’ve also witnessed Barbel drifting downstream bottom up from further upstream gasping for oxygen where somebody upstream had released them without resting them properly, and when I went upstream one day to the Angler fishing there he had had no idea that his Barbel had turned upside down after it had initially swam off looking fine.

Keith

 

[Philip]

I have caught a fair few Barbel myself Keith ...probably running into the thousands. Best in a day was 30 in 5 hours and I have had them in 4 diffrent countries...Uk, France, Spain and Italy (& Barbus Barbus in 3 cases...the 4th may have been med variety ...I cant rememeber well enough...)

In France they are alot less worried about fish welfare and do things frowned upon in the Uk. This means I have witnessed some things you probably wont see in the UK very often, at least not recently, for example large nets of Barbel all dumped back in one go and as you can imagine some went belly up in classic fashion as you describe. However even some I was convinced were already dead in the nets righted themselves eventually.

How many Barbel have you actually witnessed die after capture Keith ? ...I dont mean belly up I mean actually witnessed die ? ...I literally cant think of even 1 that I can categorically say died as a direct result of capture.

Dont get me wrong I am sure it happens & I am not advocating bad treatment by any means. I have read the stories of big nets of Barbel caught on places like the Severn back in the 70s or whenever it was & it sounded like carnage but I can only go on what I see with my own eyes. I think they are hardier than people realize and I certainly do not put them in the same bracket as Pike which I see as a much more fragile species.

Anyway I know people dont want to hear it and I will be shot for even suggesting it by the Barbel police so I'll leave it there I think.

 

[no-one in particular]

Just going back to sea fishing for a minute, I know there are not many sea anglers here but it is a thought I think about sometimes, I have seen many fish badly hooked with barbed hooks, all sea fishing hooks are usually barbed, I suppose it is assumed they are all going to be killed anyway so harming them does not matter but many are put back, too small, inedible; they usually just get ripped out by frustrated anglers without much experience, few have a proper disgorger or any kind of technique because they have not learned one. I see many fish die like this, they get thrown back, often just belly up and a sea gull usually has them quite quickly, they can spot one a mile away. Anyway, food for thought, I personally wouldn't mind trying barbless hooks sea fishing. I have been using them for years coarse fishing and I don't think I lose many fish and I doubt I would in the sea.
I think a lot of advances have been made in coarse angling around fish welfare and just the whole idea of it as a change in culture, read previous post how fish were treated in the 60's and 70's etc., mainly pushed by carp anglers and it is maybe time sea anglers caught up a bit.
I propose at least anyone sea angling kill fish humanely and put them back quickly with a bit more care and thought, that wouldn't be hard to do.

 

[108831]

No,not the barbel police Philip,in the days on the barbel boom on the Severn,I saw hundreds of barbel over the years dead,floating down in the flow,this is over several years,but you must remember,I live 140 miles away and only fished maybe 14 days a year on the river,when you fish rivers like the Gt.Ouse,Ivel,Thames,D.Stour,H.Avon and many others with smaller populations one fish dying occasionally through mistreatment has an effect on the species biomass.To be honest I could not give a flying f### what the French do,our rivers are under far more angling pressure than theirs.

Just to add,the chances if a barbel reviving whilst floating off,gasping is virtually nil,now,I don't know how Maj barbel are in the Severn these days,but there is definitely less,if a mile long stretch loses ten fish per annum for any reason there is an effect,if we add to that by the bad returning of fish it could well lead to disastrous consequences for the species..

 

[John Aston]

The fishing photograph is a source of endless amusement , and the pose adopted can tell you a great deal about the angler , and the impression he is trying to create for his adoring public.

- Type 1 is my favourite. Bloke holding (often inexpertly )the huge fish he obviously never expected to catch , and grinning from ear to ear into camera . Genuine , and delightful

- Type 2 - serious angler reverently holding big fish . Holds fish at angle and adopts unsmiling , humble bragging pose to show just how serious he is , and how much 'hard work ' he has put in at his 'rock hard' and unnamed water . Angler feels duty bound to show his latest success to lesser beings

- Type 3 is a variation of 2 . Humility now off the scale as angler holds fish at waist height and inclines his head so much to his carp/barbel/pike/other trendy fish that the viewer can only see his bald spot

- Type 4 - we're good at aping the Americans and more fly and lure anglers now adopt this pose, first seen in stuff like US flyfishing catalogues . Outrageously good looking angler , twenty or thirty something , always wearing expensive shades, standing mid river , showing off his or her expensive dentistry by clamping designer fly/lure rod between said gnashers and grinning like a half wit. Large fish - trout/perch usually - being held up to camera, with water artistically still dripping off the catch. As a fly and lure angler myself I do struggle to carry off this hipster chic look , on account of being a sixty something fat ba**rd with uneven teeth and a bad back

Our narcissism seems to know no bounds in these days of Go Pros and Drones . Images are all for most - but I'd rather read 500 well crafted words about a catch than enduring the usual blizzard of images . I'm in a minority I guess, as many of us seem to have developed the attention span of ants in this brave new world . TLDR ....

I very rarely take pictures of fish any more . I can't see the point - I recall the thrill of capture, write it up in my diary if it's special and that is enough . I might take a picture of a nice perch or a pretty brownie if they are especially photogenic . But I haven't taken a picture of our prettiest fish of all , grayling, for years as every second counts in getting them returned quickly.