I was recently at an AMC fly fishing clinic, and I was surprised to hear the instructor recommend against the use of a net on trout. The concern was that the net could scrape a substantial amount of protective slime from the fish.

On the other hand, when I did catch fish that weekend, I had a hard time getting the hook out of the fish's mouth without it, and it seemed to me that I was doing more harm than good by not using the net.

Conservation is important to me, and I always try to release the fish to fight another day. How do you feel about this? Nets or not?