Playing, Landing and Releasing Fish
What a wonderful feeling when a big fish
takes your fly. In dry fly fishing, you can
see when you have a strike as a fish takes
your fly from the water surface, but in
fishing with sinking lines you may not have
any visual and little or no tactile warning.
Since trout often take the fly softly and so
far away from your rod, the first sign that
you have a strike is a strong pull on your
line as a trout either dives deep, takes off
at a run across the lake or leaps into the air
trying to throw the hook from its mouth. Since
fish occasionally hit at the end of a long cast,
you may wonder if a rising fish in the distance
is really yours. At any sign of a fish on your
line, lift the rod tip up to set the hook and
then raise it high overhead to keep pressure
off the leader. Through this action you can
avoid having your leader broken by the strain
of fighting a big fish and you are also able to
keep slack out of the line. At the same time
quickly reel in any slack line. You want to keep
a steady pressure on the fish, but not so much that
the fish breaks the leader or straightens the hook.
Don't hurry the fish, let it run when it tugs, but
keep a taut line. Let line off the reel when the fish
surges and reel line in when the fish stops or slows
down. Let the fish tire itself.
Sometimes, instead of running away from you,
a trout will speed toward your tube. In this
case, you must strip in line as fast as possible
onto the stripping apron and then take it up
with the reel as soon as possible, so that you
can continue playing the fish from the tension
that you put on the line with your reel. If you
handle the fish efficiently during the play and
through the release, there is a 95 percent chance
that it will survive when you release it. Recent
studies indicate that there is a direct ratio of
survival to the amount of time the fish is out
of water (Trout Unlimited, 1994).
When the trout is tired and you are able to reel
it right next to the tube, hold the rod up with
your dominant hand, reach for the net with your
dipping hand and by moving the rod, try to get
the fish to swim into the net. Once the fish is
in the net, you can lay your rod across the tube,
secured with velcro straps and you are ready to
remove the hook. Try to keep the fish in water
as much as possible and use wet hands if you must
touch it. This avoids damaging the mucous film
that covers the trout's body. Gently grip the
fish by the tail or jaw with one hand, being
careful not to squeeze it or touch the fragile
gills, while removing the hook with the other.
Needle nose forceps attached to the tube near
your hand, can help you more readily remove
deeply hooked flies. If the hook is too hard
to remove, cut the leader and nature will heal
what is left. After the hook is out and while
the fish is still in the net, is the time to
weigh and measure your fish using the scale
from your tube pocket and a marking measure
which is on the front of most tube aprons. If
you choose to take photographs before releasing
your fish, set up the photo before removing the
fish from the water. Again, gently support its
body just above the water, being careful to keep
your fingers away from its gills. Occasionally,
you may get a trophy fish that is appropriate for
mounting, but at the same time you feel reluctant
to kill such a marvelous trout. If you thoroughly
photograph, measure and weigh your fish, a
taxidermist can reconstruct your treasured catch.
To release the fish, hold it firmly by the tail
so that the fish's back is upright in the water
and provide gentle support under the fish just
behind the head. Move the fish back and forth to
help the gills begin pumping oxygen and to help
the fish rest and regain its strength. If the
fish turns "belly up" when you release it,
retrieve it and continue to support it until
it can swim away on its own strength. ~ PCP
Credits: Excerpt from Float Tube
Magic By Patricia C. Potheir, published
by Frank Amato Publications. We appreciate use
permission.
|
