Fish Preservation: How to Safely Release Your Catch by Christie Thomas

With the daily increase of fishing pressure on our local waters more and more emphasis is being placed on promoting the practice of ‘catch and release’ by our anglers. The reason for this being that to safely release the majority of your catch you are instrumental in ensuring the preservation of the species you are targeting and ensuring the future of this wonderful sport called fishing that we love so much. However, many of our anglers do not always know how to safely handle their fish and assume that by simply unhooking them and tossing them back the fish are guaranteed to live to be caught another day. Unfortunately the way you play your fish, the way you grasp your fish to dislodge the hook and the way you place it back in the water all play a major role in deciding whether the fish will survive its release or not. Fortunately most of our fish are pretty tough and even with the roughest handling stand a better chance at survival than a fish destined for the table, the cat or the compound.

Throughout this article I will generally be referring to bass but, perhaps excluding the largest of the marine species, I am convinced this information will be relevant to all the species of sport fish we regularly target., fresh water and salt.

Playing the Fish
This may sound weird but it is actually very simple; the quicker you land your fish the better its chance of survival!

I know many anglers do not consider it sporting to fish with line that exceeds the fish’s weight, for example fishing with 20-pound line when you are only targeting 5- to 10-pound fish. The fact is that when you play a 10-pound fish on 6-pound line, or less, you have to be patient and allow the fish to play itself out until it is extremely tired and able to be brought close to hand without any more struggles. The problem here being the fact that upon release a tired fish will be more susceptible to harm than a fish with a few more minutes of fight left in him.

Most sport fish are targeted for the fact that they are all fairly vigorous fighters but in general they do not need to be played for extended periods of time unless you are fighting an exceptionally large specimen or fighting the fish with light tackle. Most fish have a better survival rate if they are played forcefully, but not man-handled nor babied, and brought to the boat, or the bank, quickly and released without delay.

Landing the Fish
In South Africa the use of landing nets is very common; we even use them during our highest level tournaments when top anglers fish against each other during the nationals. The use of a net increases the chance of successfully landing your catch but could be detrimental to the health of the fish. All fish are covered with a mucous-like coating all over their bodies which protects them from bacterial infections. When a section of this coating is removed the fish’s resistance to disease is lowered and could potentially endanger the fish’s life. Most nets, especially those with prominent knots, can remove the slime, and even some scales, as the fish thrashes around trying to escape. NEVER drop the netted fish into the boat. Always keep the net up; reach in and remove the fish by the mouth so that you can safely remove the hooks. If at all possible avoid the use of a net, reserving it only to land a trophy fish and/or during important tournaments. When purchasing a net always look for a model without knots.

Alternatively you could land your fish by hand. This is not always easy and takes plenty of practice but is by far the safest to the fish. In most instances and especially with bass you can grasp the fish by the lower lip, also referred to as ‘lip landing’. We see this method displayed most often when bass anglers pose with their catch. All you do is insert your thumb over the lower lip with your other fingers on the outside and underneath the fish’s jaw. This method immobilizes the fish and allows the angler to safely remove the hooks.

Firstly; avoid lip-landing toothy fish such as tiger, barracuda, etc. unless you’re into body piercing. When faced with such fiercely armed predators one should make use of a ‘Boga-grip’ (obtainable from most leading tackle stores). These tools are really great for landing fish and aid in avoiding unnecessary contact with fish. Some of them even have built-in scales to weigh your catch; this helps to minimize excessive handling of the fish and allows you to release the fish within seconds.

Secondly; avoid lip-landing trophy fish, especially bass, without support! So many times I have seen photos of anglers posingwith their prize catch hanging by the lip; some so heavy that the angler has to use two hands to support his catch! By doing this you have most likely already dislocated the fish’s jaw, resulting in a disabled fish not capable to feed and eventually death by starvation. When holding a heavy fish by the lip always use your other hand to support it between the belly and the tail. You will be releasing a much happier fish.

Removing the Hook
One of the major factors that will affect the fish’s chance of survival after release is the way you set the hook and the time you take before setting the hook. The longer you wait to set the hook the deeper the fish will swallow the bait and this could result in a gut- or gill-hooked fish. The problem with a deeply hooked fish is the possibility of the hook penetrating some of the vital organs, either during the fight or whilst the angler tries to extricate the hook. In this case, especially with a gill-hooked fish, the fish is likely to bleed to death.

Most often it is either an in-experienced angler or a very subtle bite which results in the angler not detecting the bite and waiting too long before setting the hook. I always like to flatten the barbs on my worm hooks when I am fishing socially and my advice to novice anglers would be the same. A flattened barb enables you to easily remove a deeply-lodged hook without excessive damage to the fish and without struggling too long in the process. The easiest way to flatten the barbs on a hook is to either crimp the barb with a set of pliers or to file the barb away completely.

Whilst removing the hook DO NOT hold the bass too tightly around the midsection as this could cause internal bleeding or damage to the organs. Ideally a fish should be held by the lip (see lip-landing) as this ensures minimal physical contact and causes the least damage. Your hands should be wet before touching the fish to help protect the mucous coating and/or scales. Try to keep the fish in the water so that it does not suffer out-of-water breathing. The more time you spend removing the hook, photographing and handling the fish the less his chances of survival become. It is even possible to release a fish without even touching it by bringing it up close to you, holding the rod tip high to lift the fish’s head, grabbing the hook with a pair of needle-nose pliers and pulling the hook in the opposite direction to the hook-up. Flattened barbs simplify this whole operation. This method is good to use in the absence of a boga-grip when faced with toothy fish.

Should the situation arise that you have a fish that is deeply hooked in the stomach, and if your barbs are not flattened, you ought to cut the line close to the hook’s eye and leave the hook in the fish’s stomach. Studies have shown that fish have a much greater chance of survival, as much as 300-persent, by doing this rather than attempting to remove the hook. The strong stomach-acids in a fish’s stomach dissolve a bronze or nickel hook over time but unfortunately stainless steel and cadmium-tin hooks do not break down in fresh water. It is best to avoid these when bass fishing.

The gill is a very delicate organ and should never be touched if you plan on releasing the fish. A fish hooked in the gill will bleed and stands a very small chance at surviving because it will very likely bleed to death in a matter of minutes. When you see that the fish you have caught is hooked in the gill and bleeding profusely rather resign yourself to the fact that it will die; keep it to take home with you. It is better to utilize the fish than allow it to float belly-up somewhere along the shoreline.

Releasing the fish
By now we know that we should not over-tire the fish whilst playing it and that we need to handle it with the utmost care to help ensure a better chance of survival. One of the remaining factors that play a significant role in the successful release of a fish is the water temperature. During late spring, summer and early autumn the water temperature is still warm and this creates a more stressful environment for the fish, especially when caught. The higher temperature generally means that the fish would be less metabolically suited to recover from the strenuous activity as it fought for its life. During the spring and autumn when the water is cooler fish have a much better chance of survival.

Should your fish keep on rolling over onto its side when you try to release it, it means that the fish is severely stressed and will need some additional resuscitation and tender loving care before it is ready to take off on its own again. This usually happens when the fish has been played too long, the fish was badly hooked, the water temperature was very high, or if the angler experienced difficulty whilst removing the hook.

Hold the fish gently in the water and lead it around by the lip to force water and oxygen through the gills and into the respiratory system. MOVE THE FISH ONLY FORWARD, never back and forth as this could damage the delicate gill rakers. If the fish is still too lethargic to swim off on its own you could put it into a well-aerated live well for a short while until it is strong enough to keep itself upright on its own. Once you have determined that the fish is comfortable you can gently place it back in the water and hold it upright in the water until it swims away of its own accord.

DO NOT toss the fish back into the water unceremoniously from a great distance, like the top of a boat deck as we see some of the pros doing on TV. The force of the impact with the water could cause internal bleeding and/or organ damage to the fish.

When to De-Gas a Bass?
When you catch a fish from water any deeper than 30-foot the swim bladder will inflate as the water pressure on the bladder decreases as you bring the fish up to the surface. Sometimes the bladder will swell up so much that it will actually protrude out of the mouth. With this added buoyancy an exhausted fish may experience great difficulty keeping itself upright and descending back to the depths. A clear indication of this will be when the body looks swollen, the fish’s eyes seem to be popping out and, upon release, you see the fish floundering upside-down on the surface.

There are a few procedures one can follow when fishing deep to help eliminate gas from the bladder so that the fish can be successfully released.

When you have released a fish that has been de-gassed keep an eye open to see that it does not float back up. If it does re-surface repeat the de-gassing procedure. If it still fails to swim down unaided it may be beyond help and destined for the dining table.

Fish caught in water deeper than 50-foot may suffer more serious damage such as ruptured blood vessels and gas bubbles in vital organs. When you see blood-spots on the body or fins and bugged-out eyes the fish will very likely die and there is no use trying to release it.

By taking proper care of our fish we can take pride in helping to maintain the future of our sport, be examples to others as to how it should be done and at the same time be held in high regard as top-notch anglers.

ADVANCED BASS FISHING
By Dick Sternberg
The Freshwater Anger (The Hunting and Fishing Library)
ISBN 0-86573-041-5