Quote:
Originally Posted by densa44
I have been doing this for more than 60 years. I haven't carried a net in at least that long either.
I read that we shouldn't do this if we don't want to eat the fish. I started doing this because I thought that the fish was too small and I put them back so that they could grow bigger.
I put the large ones back so they can be breeders.
I have used barbless hooks for a very long time, I don't touch the fish, when I get the hooked fish close to me and I slack off on the line the fish usually self relases.
I have never thought for a moment that I was hurting the fishery. Is this incorrect?
|
You point is not really clear
If you are debating using a net or not that is more complicated than yes or no
If you are catching fish of a size where you can land/pop the hook in a timely manner without a net it does save handling. But if you are catching larger fish that cause you to over play them to accomplish this without a net it’s not the best option
A net with appropriate mesh can speed up landing time and hook removal so it has advantages as well
Personally I carry a net but I only use it with larger fish to speed things up landing/release wise. If the fish is more of a manageable size I pop the hook in the water or land with my hand
I own an aquaculture outfit where I raised rainbows for 10 years and lots of fish handling was involved. Keep it quick, remove minimal slim, and don’t use techniques that end in deeply hooked fish and you are going to have good survival rate