Thread: Catch Any Trout Today?

Originally Posted by viper

This evening effort, Lake Dunstan. First cast. Nice condition Rainbow. Softbait doing the business again.
Released. Also got a slabby Brown, again released. Attachment 224336

That's a fantastic looking fish.
If you were planning to release fish in future there's a couple pointers that will give your fish a far greater chance of survival.
Please don't take this as a lecture, plenty of people just don't know and think they're doing a good thing releasing trout.
Don't let you fish touch the ground. Gravel, sand, rocks etc typical around NZ waterways. This removes the mucus layer protecting your fish. Without this they will have less chance of surviving due to increased risk of infection. Same with a dry net or hands. Dragging them up the bank is also a no-no for the same reasons.
Easy fix is buy a net. Wet it before you use it and cradle this fish in the net (in the water).
Cameras kill fish. Every second out of the water reduces the survival chance. If you want a photo they look just as good in the drink in the safety of your net.

If you really have to get that photo do it quickly and support the fish. Don't do the Dundee death grip. Support the fish under the pectoral fins and wrist of the tail. Do it quick, you're pretty much waterboarding the fish while posing for your photo.

I've no problem killing fish. Just don't kid yourself that your doing a fish a favour by releasing it poorly. A poor release and you'd have been better off to kill it and feed it to the neighbours cat.
A compromised fish will swim away and "look okay" initially. It's later on when the adrenaline wears off and the lactic acid kicks in is when they die. If they survive the initial shock they can also die of infection later on, the loss of their mucus layer is effectively like a burn to us. Easy to get infected.
BAD RELEASE = 3rd degree burns while waterboarding in a vice
GOOD RELEASE = Drunk on a ferris wheel at the circus where you got a piercing you can't remember and now have mild PTSD and a bad hangover.