Catch and Release Baitfishing

In most jurisdictions the second thing fish and game does to limit the take is ban bait. They usually cut limits first. The former on the rather lame theory that bait fishing always kills more fish than lures or flies. Such need not be the case with reasonable care. Skilled bait fishermen with sophisticated gear can set barbless and conventional hooks just as fast as anyone else, and a bait hook need not be any larger, or do more damage, than a fly hook. Barbless bait hooks work very well too. You don't, except for a few specialized pike rigs, need treble hooks either, as is the case on most bass lures. Okay, some fish will, if you're inattentive or unlucky, swallow a hook. That's not fatal. Clip off the leader and leave the hook in place. Steel hooks will rust out fast, and you're out only the modest cost. This isn't, as some fly fishermen assert, mere theory. In England, where fish like mirror carp, trench, zander(a sort of walleye) and other species are so prized that catch and release is the rule, only "specimen fish" are kept,. Everything else goes back after, in the case of tournaments, a short stay in a massive live net enclosure. So extensive literature supports decent survival rates on a release with hook in place. It's also worth noting that the British use special woven landing nets to minimize scale damage due to the usual knots. Incidentally, in many waters, they ban lead weights on the same theory we ban lead shot for waterfowl.

However, it's absolutely critical to realize that there is a mortality factor with all catch and release. Most experts agree this runs 5 to 10 percent overall. A skilled release with minimum handling keeps the fish in the water and improves survival. If needed, some piscatorial "artificial respiration" by moving the fish so water movement on gills oxygenates its blood all helps. It's also clear that playing a fish on appropriate tackle so it's not overly stressed and immediately releasing it seems less likely to damage it than toting it around in a live tank until the "ego releases" at the dock or boat ramp. Even allowing for the NIMBY factor -- "not in my back yard" -- that suggests others bear the burden for the pressure on today's fisheries, consider stricter options than catch and release. The easiest is a move to a species, or situation, where your catch, and in some cases, keep can help the fishery. All fisheries experts agree that catching, and keeping, stunted bluegills, yellow perch or brook trout can help in most waters. So can a shot at non-game fish like carp, or even suckers. Carp, were they not such unlovely looking fish, could be considered "freshwater bonefish." On appropriate tackle their long runs can challenge any fishermen. Suckers eat game fish -- in Washington they now pay $3 for suckers over 12 inches in length to help salmon and steelhead smolts make it back to salt water. Dead suckers buried deep under plants mean prize winning tomatoes; shallow burial means nocturnal cat caterwauling.

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