I do my best to handle fish as carefully as possible. I and those I fish with are getting better at it.

There are times that we bring fish to the net. I am very interested in "Catch and Release" Nets or the knotless nets being mentioned.

What specific make or type of net would you think to be the best?

Sad but true that the same morons who trash fish when they take them out of the water will screw it up even if they leave them in the water. I have no problem with anyone who wants to take a quick picture of a fish if he knows how to treat it. I have handled hundreds of them over the years and can say that I took good care of each one. I have also seen lots of abuse from all manner of bubba's, but never - ever in my boat. I love them way to much to hurt them

You would be doing a lot more for the future of the fish if you would just simply release all wild stocks- in all systems. How can you lobbie for no taking them out of the water at all when its leagle to bonk them if you want?? I know you can't bonk them on every river but you get what I am saying.

I have to admit that the most pissed off I have ever been on the river is when I see some moron with a bass master mentality "chuck" a steelhead.

why do you need to use a net at all? I have never had to use a net to land a wild steelhead even from those tricky places on the shore and when in the drift boat I will row over to shore and get out or if I'm in a spot where that won't work I simply drop anchor bring the fish to the side of the boat unpin the hook and when the fish is revived let it swim away.

The thing is people do use nets so lets try to minimize the impacts that nets have by using a good catch and release net such as a Loki. I have heard talk of how it is difficult to release fish without taking them out of the water when it is rough, But in a full summer in SE Alaska releasing upwards of 30-50 kings a day we didn't touch a single fish and that is in seas of 12-15 ft. at times. It can be done. I do think that education is a major player in saving fish. But we are at a drastic time in the survival of our wild fish and it's time to do whatever we can do to minimize our impact upon the resource. Just my .02
Joe

I'm with JoJo, a good C&R net should be mandatory in all C&R fisheries. Unfortunatly I think some idiots will continue bringing fish in the boat or on the bank. Maybe some quick tips should be given out by the WDFW on proper release of fish, put on the back of a punch card.

I'm OK with not removing them from the water, but I think the focus on not netting fish is a mistake. Properly done, you can net a fish when it is much fresher, release it more quickly, and just generally put less stress on a fish than by beaching a fish.

Bob, I just got the opportunity to read your thread about netting, handling and releasing fish. I voted no on your survey. Mike brought up many good points that first need to be addressed before proposing any such rule change.

Here's a few on my own reasons for not supporting such a new rule change at this time.

1) What study shows that a small size net mess does less harm then a larger size net mess? Is the difference because the larger net mess size may make it easer for fish to get more tangled up in? Or is it because the small net mess means less knot contact, with in turn is supposed to mean less scale loss.
2) The finer the mess size, the greater the water drag becomes; more water drags usually relates to more net contact with the fish (especially in faster moving waters). Which one then becomes the worse, net size or net contact?
3) Many rivers that support c&r (almost every river in the state) also do not have much public foot access, which in many cases, makes it very difficult for fishermen to "reach the water". In cases such as this, it would make it almost imposable for fishermen to release his fish without first taking it out of the water. A perfect example, on the Willapa River, over 90% of the fishable river has a "dropped off bank" (like 4-6 feet) which would make it almost impossible for fishermen to even reach his fish for release without first netting it. I understand that most of your guiding is done from your drift boat, and that it would not affect you as much because you can still travel to different locations to bank fish; but what about all the others who do not fish in that way?

Bob, do you really believe that as fishermen, we need more rules and regulations that cannot be enforced? What will be next for our states c&r fishery; no scents, no line size over 6 lb, no wearing of wool gloves, no hooks, no pliers, no abrasive lines (tuff line, etc, etc)? Where is all this heading? Some fish just flat a$$ die after being hooked and fought!

It's my opinion, that we, as fishermen, have a reasonability to tell our fellow fishermen when we see they are handling and releasing fish wrongly. It's been my own personal experience, that most fishermen will accept your advice when you tell them in an informative way that they are wrong. And yes, that is even true on the Cowlitz!

There's a whole lot more going on to the decline of our wild fish besides of how we handle, net or release them. In my opinion, that isn't even a dot on a flies a$$ as to why our steelhead runs are still declining!

I am going to stick my neck out on a limb again and use that saying one more time; it's just "common sense" to release a fish in the water when it is possible, when it not possible, it's just going to get the old net treatment!


Cowlitzfisherman

Bob,

I don't post here often but this is a very sore subject for me as I have seen so many blatant abuses in the last couple of years it makes me sick. I think anything we can do to protect the survival of our native salmon and steelhead makes sense. I have another idea I wanted to run by you. Of the fisherman abusing fish, I believe there are two types. There are the ones that are good fisherman but just don't care one way or the other. Then there are the others that don't know any better because they have never been taught how to handle these fish. What would you think about a test that would need to be passed in order to receive your license? Were talking about a simple 15 or 20 question test that would be geared toward unlawful techniques and proper release of our game fish. If you failed the test you don't get a license until you pass. I know some of you might think this is a rediculous idea and might be costly to administer but I think it's the only sure fire way to make sure every person that is going to fish for salmon and steelhead understands the proper way to release game fish safely. If they have to pass a test you can damn well be sure they'll study and know the answers. They might just follow through with what they learned. They have a similar program for getting your hunting license so why can't we do it for fishing too? Just my two sense.

As Homer would say, Doh!

why did you bring up the c/m word again.
I agree there is some real dimwits out there that dont have a clue when it come to fish handling, though I am against more regulations. Even the state says regulations dont work education does at least that what I have been told by state patrol before I get a warning.

There are to many variables in this state to make another blanket regulation. High banks, high boat sides, fishing piers, fast water etc.....


education does work and it doesnt take alot of effort. Take for instance bass, now heres a fish that not to long ago was regarded as a trash fish there was no catch and release regulations on it and everybody kept them or through them on the bank. Now its a popular gamefish that people spend big bucks on, and catch and release is the in thing. Its actually more popular to let them go then it is to keep them. The word Meathead is just one of the educational tools used to encourage catch and release. The same can happen for salmon and steelhead.

Next time you see someone bonk a native laugh and ask are you really going to keep that fish. Comments "like what joke" or "look another newbie" Make them feel unpopular for being a meathead. For alot of people fishing is more about recognition than the actuall act of fishing
The more times they are looked down upon for bonking fish and praised for releasing fish the more likely they will become an avid catch and release fishermen!

as far as a test... I dont think that would work because you can bs your way through that test and say what you want but it is not a matter of knowing what you are doing. It is a character issue, and not one that a simple test is going to change.

Here is my experience. Through the years I have seen just about every type of bs treatment of the fish before release that is possible. From people netting them, keeping them in the boat for a couple minutes and then chucking them over the side, to people beaching fish and getting sand all over them and then releasing them.
The people that care about the fish will make an effort to not harm a fish that they are going to release. It is not hard to see what kind of fish you have by just looking into the water, color, size and shape can tell you everything you need to know.
I dont think a law or any type of regulation would help because the people that do treat the fish like this do not care for them, and proabably wouldn;t care about a law. It may protect a few fish but is it really worth it?
we dont have anough game wardens making citations for serious stuff let alone people taking the fish out of the water. I follow the principles already and like the ideas but it is up to each person to decide how to treat the fish they are going to release. I just dont think it can be enforced. the best we can hope for it that each person takes it upon themselves to do what is best for the fish.
david

#1. Regulate that they must be left in the water?

No. First, I think it would be too hard to enforce, but more importantly, I don't think that it's a good idea. Fish, gear, river, boat, and fisherman include 100's of variables, and sometimes they line up that netting a fish is far better than anything else.

#2. Type of net?

Absolutely. This is an easy one...use a knotless mesh, of a small size. Small size spreads the impact of the net on the fish out, like the difference between being stepped on by a size 15 shoe or a size 7 high heel, with the spike end. Additionally, cnr basket nets are pretty easy to use, and really effective.

Fish on...

Todd.

Just for clarification, and as it is enforced in AK ... you CAN net fish, you simply cannot lift the bag out of the water. That was my intent with this idea, sorry for any confusion

Personally I don't understand why in the heck we have catch and release regulations when most stores don't even carrry knotless nets. The regulation book even says to use a cotton net, but it that is really the case, then everyone with their knotted nets is not in compliance. The only place I have EVER seen a knotless cotton net was at the Hoodsport Hatchery. I'm aware that Frabil manufactures a "knotless" net, but it's really just a plain net coated with vinyl or rubber(pardon me for not researching the material used before making this statement). I would be quite very curious to know of a local retail store where one could purchase a knotless cotton net with small mesh size. Perhaps it is also time that people start contacting net manufacturers and demanding catch and release nets. Salmonids are jewels to be treasured and treated in a royal manner befitting of a king.

Although I'm a relatively amateur fisherman, I have seen lots of atrocious fish handling. When I used to fish the Edmonds pier during salmon season I'd be shocked by the way that many shakers get handled. Trout-sized shakers would get grabbed mid-section and squeezed so that the angler can get the treble hook out of the fish's mouth. It's worse with the smolts which are grabbed such that scale loss occurs do to complete body contact with someone's hand.
However, there is a positive side to this situation. I learned from this very fishing spot from a veteran angler the right way to unhook all undersized salmon. Basically it entailed grabbing the jig and then grabbing the hook and backing it out of the fish's mouth. With this method, little or no contact is made with the fish. The only drawback to this procedure is that the poor smolts get unceremoniously plopped back into the water at least 10-20 feet below.
Drawing on an experience while crabbing at Kayak Point, there it is required that all crabs be released by placing them in a bucket and lowering the bucket to the water's surface. People there can be cited for chucking the sublegal sized crabs over the side of the railing. I figured that the same procedure would work very well for releasing smolts.
Last fall while hitting PNP, I felt pangs of disappointment whenever someone hooked a smolt and mishandled the fish by grabbing it. The pain was even greater when the guy just dropped the fish at his feet and resumed fishing just assuming that the waves would carry the fish back to the sound. It was here that I felt obliged to educate the anglers who did such things, how to properly release baby salmon. At the same time I didn't have enough guts to go up to people and tell them just that.

As stated above im all for no removal from water because all too ofen i see people treating humpies like they arent even fish despite the fact that they are still salmon. Same goes for native stealies and anglers taking them out of the water to check them for clipped fins.

some people just need the extra insentive to handle the fish correctly.

~MATT

If cotton nets and nets without knots are so good for not hurting or decaling fish, and allowing the safe release of wild fish; why doesn't WDFW and ODFW require all gill nets to be made of knotless cotton line?

One would wonder if this equation has even been considered in the NMFS incidental take limits!

Cowlitzfisherman