Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Fishing: Catch and Release.


I love fishing. It's so relaxing, it brings me closer to nature and brings out the primitive in me. Not only that but it's the only thing I've really done as a hobby with both, mom and dad lol I'm from southern California but I have a lot of family in Canada, and my family visits a lake in Canada for a few weeks every summer, so we fish quite a lot there.. 99% of the time we practiced catch and release. No one in my family really likes fish (my dad will eat it maybe 2 times a year), so there is no reason to keep them. But if a fish got injured in the process, we'd keep it and my dad would clean it and give it to a friend/relative to eat, so at least it didn't go to waste.


The million dollar question: Is catch and release really okay?Does the fish really die from it? Doesn't it cause them unnecessary pain?

I've seen fish take a lot of damage. Once I was out fishing with my parents on the lake in Canada, and my mom managed to hook some stray fishing line. We always pull in all the line/lures we can find because we like to keep the area beautiful, so my dad started dragging it in. On the other end was a 1 1/2lb-2lb small mouth with large Rapala hooked in it's mouth and all down it's side. It was so sad, there was no fight left in the poor thing and we didn't know there was a fish attached to the line until it got right near the boat. My dad got out his pliers and unhooked the Rapala from the fish's mouth and side, and then slowly started reintroducing it to the water. It took like 5 minutes, but eventually the fish seemed to recover. My dad held onto it in the water for a few more minutes until it shook free and dove. At the end of that summer I caught the same Rapala, messed up gill in the same spot! This time the fished looked refreshed and lively! That's the only fish I seriously injured that summer and I caught a lot of fish. It's stressful I'm sure and you have to handle them with care, but it's very rare to watch a fish go belly up after releasing it.
As far as it causing pain, from my observation I would say the pain involved is fairly minor, if there is pain at all. Either that or fish are really bad ass and tough as hell. Catch and release is perfectly fine. Pain depends on where the fish got hooked. The real issue is when it swallows the hook or it goes to far into their mouths and you have to cause more damage to remove it. If I ever get a fish that is going to get something torn on the inside I put the fish down because it won't survive. Keep in mind one of the most important things with catch and release is to release the fish as quickly as possible. Life expectancy and recovery decreases DRAMATICALLY after about 30 seconds out of the water. more than 2 minutes out of water is pretty much a death sentence. I honestly think the pain is minimal, most game fish eat things that can fight back with sharp pointy bits. The bigger concern is being stressed and exhausted by prolonged toying with them while they are being reeled in. Hope this helps and have a great weekend!

28 comments:

  1. I'd like to know about this too,I'd like to fish,but both I and my wife are animal lovers and wouldn't actually eat or kill any of the fish we caught.

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  2. heh catch and realease untill dinner time =p
    i heard there was actually a legit study on this tho

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  3. setup a fish tank and catch pokemon ;)

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  4. I think catch and release is okay, to be honest. It doesn't really affect the over-all fish population and you don't feel bad about eating directly out of nature's natural cycle. You can go buy farm-grown fish for eating. ;)

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  5. I love fishing. I never knew it hurt the fish.

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  6. "I got a srong urge to.. fish"

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  7. Catch and release should be called "How to scar a fish for life".

    Imagine if you were kidnapped then released to go back home without any explanation.... I'd feel mindraped personally.

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  8. wow, great info.

    it's good to know that the fish survive after releasing.

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  9. i like fish. sauce and spice it up mmmm mmm good. and healthy!

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  10. i found it boring the one time i did it :x didnt catch anything though

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  11. I wanna try fishing, I wanna eat fresh fish.

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  12. I'm sure they recover, but I can't imagine a hook in the mouth not hurting like hell; but I could be wrong, I don't know much about fish nerves. I've always thought catch and release was kind of strange. Kind of like going deer hunting w/ a tranquilizer gun, lol. To each his own.

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  13. We gotta eat too. And would say catch and release is the least offensive to sport "hunting" you can't really catch and release a deer too well.

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  14. I really like fishing. Like they say, the worst day fishing is better than the best day at work! Haha.

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  15. The fish dont feel anything after you smack em on the side of the boat. They taste delicious!

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  16. Hello, look in my blog
    http://wild-and-raw.blogspot.com

    its about fishing.

    My opinion about c&l? Its bullshit! Should be illegal everythere. Poor fish.

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  17. I so wanna try fishing. But that maybe after getting a job lol!

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  18. I feel better about myself... keep the updates coming +following

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  19. before this i would be wondering if fisheries can be maintained as well as the problem with poisoning them with dumped pharmaceuticals and other pollutions (

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  20. Fishing is so awesome, people say its boring but the whole point is to relax in the sun... then when a fish pulls its liek WOW A FISH then u catch it and release, open another beer.. and start again

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  21. I love fishing, wasn't having time for it lately though

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  22. Yeah I've always wondered how much pain the fish feel as well. Honestly, I think if you catch a fish you should eat it, but size/maturity/age comes into play as well I suppose.

    Guess it's all debatable.

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  23. I think C&R is fine, it works in populace scarce areas and will continue to. Nice article :)

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  24. I love fishing too. I always release the fish, and take the hook out very gently. I always cut the line and take the hook out backwards so the barbs don't catch the fish on the way out.

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  25. if your gonna fish, you better eat what you catch! don't throw it back in so it can die in the water!

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  26. I'm all for catch and release, but sometimes I want to eat a fish I caught.

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