In the military, we all look forward to R & R, rest and relaxation, after long deployments. Looking into the fly fishing world, R & R is the latest take on catch and release, meaning release and respect.
Whichever way you want to slice it, both phrases are virtually synonymous. So whether you are following game and fish guidelines for mandatory release of landed fish or you have a personal ethic, which directs you to return the warrior home after battle, thus catch and release, the release allows the finny quarry to recover and fight another day.
Fly fishers may say they hunt or stalk the fish, but if directed, they must release the fish unharmed. How did fly people grow this conscience? For eons of time, fish have been targeted for subsistence and table fare with no consideration for release. So if the fly fishermen and women are mostly returning fish to the water, what is spurning them? When do you release and respect?
This whole concept of catch and release or release and respect has only been adopted over the last 80 years or so with its origins in the U.S. fly fishing community. Renowned Lee Wulff was the original promoter and promulgator of this conservation ethic. In public and in print.
“Gamefish are too valuable to be caught only once,” Wulff said in 1936. All of these early efforts to preserve fish were originally called “no-kill”. How has this release philosophy grown over the years and what are its salient points?
One of the reasons releasing fish is normative is that Trout Unlimited and Fly Fishers International have always embraced the conservation principal and have promoted release for fifty years. Guides, whose livelihoods depend on catching, have endorsed releasing wholeheartedly. All of our local fly fishing groups and clubs are big promoters of this approach.
Let’s examine how to properly release a fish. Step 1: play a fish quickly, especially with warm weather or higher water temps. 2. Use a rubberized net and keep the fish in the water if possible 3. Try barbless hooks or use a hemostat to remove the fly 4. For photos, leave the fish in the net in the water until the phone or camera is ready. 5. Lift the fish quickly after wetting your hands for a quick photo in 10 seconds or less. 6. Revive the fish if necessary; use a hand underneath the fish to support it with the other hand above the tail to push the fish back and forth.
All fly fishers are stewards of this precious, invaluable resource, and it is our duty and responsibility to release all wild fish, which are the genetic pool insuring that the natural order over immeasurable time is preserved.
Does releasing fish actually work? Over 300 scientific studies show that 80% will survive proper netting and handling. Don’t just mug with the trout out of water too long, remember 10 seconds or less. Air is kryptonite.
Counter to this preservation philosophy of R & R is grip and grin. You’ve seen it before or done it yourself. I have because my personal photos show me proudly lifting and displaying my trout. What harm done? Maybe squeezing the fish too tightly or having it catapult to the rocks below when it was slimy slick.
Our dry hands remove this vital protective layer, which protects the fish from outside contaminants. Let’s get over it and respect our finny friends and kept them wet. Also, be careful if you beach a fish or lift it into a boat without a net. A struggling and flopping one will beat itself to pieces trying to escape, much like the desperate attempts of a wing-shot mallard fleeing a retriever. Best to use a net and avoid the pandemonium.
Don’t forget that we are stewards of the resource, our valuable and vulnerable fish population. If we disrespect it, it will disrespect us. We lament that, “Fishing isn’t as good as it used to be”, but our fish handling and releasing skills are a partial answer as well as part of the solution. If you aspire to be a fish conservationist, work on your release and respect skills.
At the lake last summer, an out-of-breath young girl ran up to me exclaiming, “Why are you throwing all those fish back in the water?” I was actually removing the barbless hook with the trout still submerged. I answered, “I just want to let them go so you can catch them next.”
Take care on how you release your fish your next time on the water, you’ll be showing it respect. Did I say 10 seconds? Bear
