You’ve waged a great battle and now a great fish is alongside the boat. It may or may not be a potential world record, or a particular gamefish you’ve spent half your life trying to catch. But you’ve beaten it and it’s at the boat. Now what?
If it’s a table fish, and legal to keep, the decision is easy. Otherwise, maybe you’ve decided to take a picture of your catch, and release it in good condition.
In the 1960s when I was on the water for hire more than 330 days a year, I would never knowingly kill a fish to take a photograph for a client. But I did run my guiding businesses as a business, promoting the mounting of many species of fish, especially tarpon, bonefish and permit. These were the years before the taxidermists were doing fiberglass mounts and they had to use the actual skin, necessitating killing the fish. As the captain I received a 30 percent commission from the taxidermists and I am not proud to tell you that Pflueger Taxidermy said I provided more mounts during those years than any other three top backcountry guides combined. But even back then, we released lots of tarpon and assumed that lip gaffing (putting a release gaff through the soft membrane of the tarpon’s lower jaw in order to hold it up for a picture) did not permanently damage the fish. Now it is believed that a gaff hole may invite infection and actually inhibit the fish’s ability to feed.
As one of the founders and a member of the executive board of Bonefish Tarpon Unlimited (BTU), I attend many meetings with marine biologists from various universities and marine laboratories and I would like to pass on some general tips for proper catch and release, most notably from Dr. Aaron Adams, fisheries biologist at Mote Marine Laboratory. Please consider and adopt them.
• Proper tackle and fish-fighting techniques help land fish in a reasonable length of time.
• Whenever possible use steel or bronze hooks. They are less toxic than cadmium-coated hooks and corrode faster than stainless steel hooks.
• Pinch down the barbs on your lures and flies.
• Studies on striped bass, spotted seatrout, redfish and snook have shown that live bait was used in most cases of hook-related mortality, and that “gut hooking” was the primary cause of death. If using live or dead baits, use circle hooks to decrease the chance of that.
• Most fish are killed by excessive, improper handling. Of course the best approach is to never remove the fish from the water while removing the hook. If the fish doesn’t swim off on its own, it may need some recovery time. Gently hold it under its chin and base of the tail until it is strong enough to swim away. If there are sharks present, some recovery time in the livewell may be necessary and it is best to release the fish near complex structure so it can hide from predators while recovering.
• If you must remove the fish from the water, be sure to wet your hands first. This reduces the amount of slime (a fish’s barrier against infection) removed from the fish’s skin. Never use a towel to hold the fish, even a wet one.
• Don’t lift a large fish by the lower jaw. The weight of the fish hanging from the lower jaw can tear ligaments in the narrow stretch of flesh between the underside of its gills, making it difficult for the fish to feed. Hanging a fish may also stretch its spine or crush organs.
• Avoid placing your fingers inside the gill cover or eye sockets of a fish. A grip device, such as the Boga Grip may be used if the body of the fish is supported at all times when lifting horizontally or to release the fish.
Fish caught in deep water may require special handling to ensure survival. When fish are rapidly brought to the surface from depths of around 30 feet or more, the gases in their swim bladder may expand significantly, causing their stomach to be pushed out of its mouth. Venting the air in the swim bladder by making a small insertion with a fine hollow needle or ice pick will increase the survival rate. Dedicated venting tools are also available—specific models may soon be required in some grouper/snapper fisheries.
Photography
In this digital camera age, we are sure taking a lot more photographs of our catches. A common mistake is to take the fish out of the water, and then get the camera ready to take a photo. It’s best to keep the fish in the water until your fishing partner has the camera ready, you have your equipment where you want it and you have decided where everyone in the picture will be. Now most importantly, when holding the fish, it should be supported with wet hands under its jaw and anal fin.
Controlled studies have shown that most fish carefully released after hook-and-line capture survive. Researchers working in Boca Grande Pass tagged 27 tarpon with sonic transmitters and found that 26 survived. The only fish that died had been lifted from the water for a pre-release photograph.
The logo of the Fly Fishing Federation makes a similar statement, “Limit your kill, don’t kill your limit.” But perhaps renowned Atlantic salmon fly fisherman Lee Wulff said it best: “Gamefish are too valuable to only be caught once.”
