This is about recreational, not commercial, netting but the topic was inspired by those BAN posts. (I particularly like Hawk's story on Louisiana's experience: those good old boys play for mortal stakes.)

The question is this: What is better for the fish? Option 1: Played to the point of exhaustion and unhooked in the water; or Option 2: Horsed in, netted, pulled out of the water (to flop around mightily in the boat or the shallows for 30 seconds till unhooked) and returned swiftly to the water with energy reserves more or less intact.
Everything written on the topic prefers Option 1. Let me try to stir up some discussion (and maybe learn how to better handle and release fish to boot) by endorsing Option 2.

The argument against taking the fish out of the water by any means (e.g. dragging them up on the bank) is that leaving them in the water lets them breath (good idea), keeps dirt/ gravel out of their gills (ditto), and prevents protective slime from being lost. (I wonder if this matters much: I've never seen a steelhead w/ a fungus infection though I fish only springers who go in-and-out. I guess a survey of the fallbacks would show quite a few scuzzy ones).

The merits of Option 1 are all well and good until you actually see 50% of the fishermen actually horse their fish onto the bank where it flops around in the mud and gravel, while another 20% baby their fish to the point where the steelhead either escapes or almost dies on the end of the line before being lead ashore.) This second point is my major objection: a steelhead needs to be fought to point of absolute exhaustion before it's willing to lay on it's side to be unhooked.

[OK, if you're a great tailer you are excused from this debate. I've tailed a few steelhead but most times it's been a case of either 3 tries or a lucky grab with a great glove. The wrist is just too thick in the bigger fish.]

Last fishing trip my partner and I got tired of having the steelhead bolt out of the shallows four or five times before laying on its side. We decided to buck tradition and took a big landing net with us the next time we floated the river. We loved it: the fish were netted fresh (even green), we handled them with care and they went back in the water a lot friskier than if we had played them another 5-10 minutes. Usually two of us worked on releasing the fish: one to hold it (gently) steady in the net, one with the pliers to work the hook free. Then right back over the side.

Our only regret is that we didn't have one of the knotless mesh nets that are even easier on the fish.(By the way, can anyone recommend a brand?)

I've just got to believe that even a partially de-slimed steelhead is going to be in better shape to swim upriver, evade predators and eventually spawn if it's not exhausted than the reverse.

I would be more worried about fungal infections if many of the fish ever survived to make a second spawning run, but from what I'm reading somewhere between 90%-98% of steelhead that spawn once never make it back a second time. With the exception of a few watersheds, these fish are on a one-way trip.

I'm now barricaded in my room waiting for the replies to be slung in, so commence firing.

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I would use method 1 for summer steelhead, and method 2 for winter steelhead. There are more bacteria and other bad stuff in the warmer water to invade the deslimed (unprotected) skin. Tuff question though.

Okay ... we've gone rounds on this one before ... but I've gotta get my two cents worth in again. In response to Corky ... it actually might be best the other way around when you take into account the matabolism of fish is based upon water temperature ... a fish played to exhaustion in warm summer waters ... especially at those times when the water temps are approaching 60 degrees or more.

While the original question may not have a perfect or exact answer ... the key is to do whatever you feel to be best for the fish. On the coast, some we play to the shallows ... others I'll put into a SPECIAL C&R net (more in a minute) ... it varies upon a multitude of factors ... from angler skill, fish's temperment, acceptable bank access for both you and the fish (sheer or very steep drops make bringing fish to hand probaby tougher on the fish than other options).

Learning which is best comes with experience of landing or helping others land lots (in my case thousands) of fish ... I feel that I'm a pretty good judge of what is best in each case ... and in many cases, especially in the areas that I fish heavily (such as the Canyon of the Hoh) ... the special net is brought out often.

I use a knotless, synthetic meshed, ver shallow bagged net from Loki ... the material is not very absorbant, but is very soft ... and is thoroughly rinsed inbetween fish to rid it of any grit or other contaminants. A note here ... this net is not used in the same manner as a standard landing net ... rather than netting and "closing the bag" by lifting the net handle ... the fish is simply slid into the "cage" the fine mesh creates while held in the water and left parallel to the water's surface ... basically placing the fish in a little tank while I can find a good place to pull over ... this fish with the pressure released from the line seems to calm down very quickly and actually become pretty docile.

While I'm on my vaction this year, I'm going to shoot some video that I'll upload of how to properly handle a fish .. and although my net is back in WA awaiting winter steelies, I'll make sure to take some video of how we use that one too ...

[This message has been edited by Bob (edited 08-06-99).]

I've been thinking of going to a cradle for netting fish in the boat. They are used for muskies all the time and are starting to be used in Canada for catch and release of salmon.

I think Bob's authoritative reply has more or less choked off debate. We'll wait till the fall for the video instructional but I've got a couple of other questions and comments to add to the stewpot.

Off line I received an email from an angler who asked me to ask Bob what model Loki net he is referring to (and some place to buy one mail order). This guy also brought up another approach I'll call 'Option 3': break 'em off. In Florida, big tarpon on fly are considered caught when the leader is on the rod. At that point the rod is pointed at the fish and it's broken off. (Actually landing a tarpon takes another 20-30 minutes and is hard on the fish and the angler.)

Option 3 is what one of the guides in Alaska does when fishing from a boat w/ drifted yarn: grabs the leader next to the fish and gives it a mighty yank, breaking off 6-12" of leader and the fly. I thought this was lazy and needlessly encumbered the fish with the mono trailing out of it's mouth (plus the hook has to end up set even more deeply than it was before), but it is another method and worth bringing up to see if anyone uses it or has a view.

Finally, let me ask if anyone in the Northwest uses a fish handling device called a Boga-Grip? It's a spring-loaded fish lip grasper and scale, and is popular in saltwater. I've never seen one used on salmon or steelhead and was wondering if anyone has tried it out up your way, and if so what the results were. I have a Boga and use it every week on saltwater fish. Works great. (Boga's cost $100 and can be found in Bass Pro's Offshore Angler catalog.)

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Snagly,

You're right that sometimes leaving the hook in them is the way to go, but I opt for cutting the line near the fish's mouth with a sharp pair of scissors, rather than jerking the leader, which could cause damage to the fish if the hook was nestled in an area prone to damage. That way, almost none of the line is left trailing the fish, you don't have to tire them out nearly as much as you would if you were actually trying to unhook them, and you don't need to net them at all. Of course, this requires gear sturdy enough to get them near you, but I don't know why some guys won't just get the fish in close and risk losing it, even though they know they can't keep it anyway. I guess they feel a fish that doesn't actually touch the beach hasn't been caught.
I was checking out those cradles while watching guys fish for Muskies on TV; interesting. But the way I figure it, the less you touch them with hands, nets, beach, whatever, the better off they are, so I go with the close distance release. And when you're looking for photos I try to snatch them up out of the water real quick, a couple quick ones, and then a little revival. I sure would love to know the survival rates of the particular fish I've "landed" , but who knows.

I guess the point is, take it easy on a fish you intend to release. This crap with guys dragging them four feet up the gravel and sand bar only to "wash it off" for a good picture really has to end. Same for the guys who net a fish in deep water in their boat, and then proceed to let it bash around in their boat for 10 minutes while the other dude fumbles around for the camera. If you see goons doing this crap, feel free to drop a sarcastic comment their way. They obviously need it.
Well, alright then. I don't reckon I got too much more to say about that.......

Fish on........

In some Alaskan rivers they've solved the problem of kicking Kings on shore and then releasing them by making it illegal to take the fish out of the water if it's to be released. Personally, I think that rule is going a little too far, particularly since it applies to guides too, since it means no pictures for somebody that may have paid $1000s and would like to photograph more than one fish a day. Maybe a rule more along the lines that the fish can't be on land or layed in a boat would be a good compromise. I bet the Kenai Guides Assoc. has come up with some better alternatives.??

[This message has been edited by AkBill (edited 08-11-99).]

The Kasilof is one of those streams that we can't take the fish out of the water ... I have mixed feelings on the rule ... nice to have the yeah-hoo's have something to keep them taking care of the fish, but it doesn't do much to encourage others to take a pic and let the fish go ... I feel freshwater king survival is pretty good (UW did a number of studies up here years ago on the Kenai and found excellent survival) if handled properly ... I wish we had a middle ground.

Personally, I 'd rather not leave a hook in a fish if possible, but there are times that I do for one reason or another and that would be an option ... but I agree with the yanking part ... quick jerks on a short reign (no stretch on a short leash) could do some damage ... so be careful with that one.

Boga grips in my opinion are not an option ... steelhead and salmon body weights are too great to support hanging by the mouth (stretching spinal area) and then release ... this is a really big pet peeve of mine ... a will go unnamed Hoquim-area guide come up to the upper Hoh (C&R water) a few years ago and was weighing fish with a scale by the gill plate and then putting the fish back in the river ... needless, to say, I had a little chat with him (it turned out to be not-so-friendly, he thought the practice was a-okay) ... another reason I'm a 'radical, mean guide' ... looking out for the welfare of the fish!

Proper fish handling is clearly a topic Bob takes seriously, so let me throw one more piece of meat the lion's way and then I'll shut up. I recently watched the 'In-Fisherman's' video on steelhead and watched editor Matt Straw and couple of other competent fisherman hoist steelie after steelie up with two fingers under the uppermost part of their gill plates. The fish were photoed, filmed and then released.

I think I already know Bob's answer, but being pretty thick let me ask the question anyway "Bob, is there any safe place to put your fingers in a steelhead's gill slits and lift if you want to release the fish?"

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I am dead against the gill plate maneuver. Lot's of guys do that here in the Midwest. As soon as the fish starts to squirm, they put the death clamp on the gills. Plenty of fish with bleeding gills get put back in the water. We prefer to use a net, and keep the fish in the water. Most of our river banks have boulders,rocks, so the luxury of having gravel is not always there. I have gotten to the point of where I slide the fish in to som shallow water, and cut the line as close to the hook as possible. Jerking on a short length of line to bust them off is hard on the fish. Avoid the gill move at all costs. They just die as they wash in to the lakes. The seagulls love the "gill maneuver".

Anyone who says gilling a fish won't hurt it is just plain wrong. Obviously the gills themselves can be damaged. The next time you clean a fish take a look at the " throat latch". This is the connecting point of the head on the underside. It's very small and when gilling a fish this area is supporting the total weight of the fish. Not good. This method also bends the fish's head in a unnatural position in relation to the rest of it's body.

The least damaging way to hold them (if you must) is to hold them by the caudal peduncle (the tail wrist) with one hand and the other hand under the belly. Two things to keep in mind about this method; first, the hand under the belly is exerting pressure on the internal organs. There are no ribs and very little muscle tissue to protect them in the belly area. Second, the the caudal peduncle must be kept straight. One of my pet peaves is when people bend this area downward at a sharp angle. This bruises the muscle tissue and stretches the spine.

Keep in mind these creatures are used to having their weight supported by water which exerts an even ammount of pressure everywhere on their bodies. Lifting them out of the water changes this. Best to be quick and get them back in the water. If you want pictures or measurements for a repro think about how you're going to do this AHEAD of time so it can be done quickly. Catch and release is only good if the fish survives. Despite the best of intentions, it becomes nothing more than killing fish and throwing them back in the river if you handle the fish improperly.

Off my soapbox (for now!!)
Doug