May 14 2008
When You Get Hit
After all the casting and hard work finally pays off, and you have that beautiful trophy trout on your line, there are many things that take place both in your mind and physically on the water. The most common thoughts that come to mind are those regarding size, whether to keep it or not, and furthermore, how to keep it from pre-releasing itself.
When the trill finally catching a nice trout sets in, it is important that one remembers certain steps to safely releasing the fish to the river. Firstly, as I have stated in the past, a fisherman should never touch a fish before wetting his hand in the water. A dry hand will damage the fish’s protective mucus layer surrounding its body, could lead to severe harm. Secondly, it is never a good idea to leave a hook in the throat of a fish. If the hook is not in a position to be removed, then keep the fish. If there is, for some reason, a hook that is stuck toward the lips, or outside of the mouth, then you can leave the hook inside the mouth, after cutting back all the line from that hook. The hook will eventually fall out of the lip of the fish within 24 hours, allowing the fish to continue as normal.
Companies have developed an important tool in the area of catch and release fishing. While most fishing nets are knotted nets, meaning that the strings that construct the nets are knotted together, these nets have a tendency to scratch the body of the fish, again damaging the mucus layer that envelopes its body. To combat this problem, newer nets that have been made in which the body of the net consists of no knots, and is one continued piece of material. These nets are just as effective, and in most cases the same price. So do something good for the environment, and invest in a safe-net. Furthermore, when fishing, never let an injured fish go; it all falls under fishermen ethics: to leave the stream in better shape then it was when you arrived. Fly fishing is a wonderful hobby, so let it remain that way for years to come.
