Do you consider Catch & Release more of a resource ‘Management Tool’ or more of a ‘Conservation/Environmental Tool’?
Allan
Dear Tyeflies,
I think they way most C&R streams here in the East are managed it’s a combination of both.
Obviously, the C&R regulations if properly used will allow for greater angler usage in a given body of water. If proper care is taken with the catching and releasing part the fish last longer.
I do think it has a conservation/component at times because as people who don’t commonly practice catch and release get more accustomed to it they see how it can sometimes benefit a fishery.
I just wish that people had a better understanding of how catch and release actually functions in a fishery. A trout stream doesn’t behave the same way as a bass/panfish lake.
Sometimes I wish that some of the catch and
release trout fishermen who venture to bass/panfish lakes would keep a couple of fish for the frying pan if they are so inclined to eat fish.
Occasional harvest actually improves some fisheries by allowing the cream of the crop fish to stop fighting for their very survival and rise to the top of the food chain. Without keeping some fish the dinks eventually take over.
Best Wishes,
Avalon
I would say it is not a Resource Management Tool…the concept of C&R doesn’t really fluctuate based on population dynamics and isn’t meant to control anything. It’s purpose is solely conservation of a species or population of said species. Therefore my vote goes for “Conservation/Environmental Tool”
I think of it as a conservation method. Though I know all fo the fish I release don’t live to be caught again, I think most of them do.
While it gives me pleasure to return a healthy trout to the stream for somebody else to enjoy later, I’ll also confess that I don’t like cleaning or eating them all that much either. good thing they dodn’t have catch and release hamburgers. 
It is definitely for both.
For rainbows and other stocked fish it is more for resource management.
For Cutthroat trout in many places it is more of a conservation issue.
For me it is both. More so as a resource management so that we all can go back to the river many times and have fun catching fish.
I call it a courtesy - If I was caught by a fish I’d want him to put me back too.
No… Around here it’s a definite conservation thing. Many of our lakes suffer under the pressure of the “I gotta keep this big ol’ bass” kind of people. They won’t do anything with it, take it around and show the carcass to all their friends, but they never do anything with it.
Why?.. By the time their done braggin’ it around its not fit to eat, they can’t afford a good taxidermist and if they could, they’ve got no idea what the monster looked like before they killed it.
There’s almost nothin’ wrong with the first lie, it’s the weight of all the others holdin’ it up that gets ya’! - Tim
Allan:
In almost all of the Driftless streams I fish it is a management tool. There is no genetic resource that needs to be conserved as the fish are all derived from stockers. Without C&R the only fish that are there to catch are the ones that DNR put in last week and the few fish that are too far from the bridges for the meat fishermen to bother with. There are a very few streams where it is a conservation issue. These streams contain the remnant of the brook trout that used to populate the area for at least the last 10,000 years. You can catch them and admire them but they are just too rare to kill.
David
It’s a managemant tool on one stream I fish. There are two C&R areas. One is a mile stretch in a beautiful park setting and the other is further downstream for two miles. They are stocked about three times a year and it’s C&R only from October to the end of May. After that it reverts back to a keeper stream because the river usually gets too hot to support a healthy population through the hot summer months. Everyone benefits from it; but, it has the usual “poachers” that can’t wait for the “keeper” season to start. But, on the whole, it’s a very nice set up. The river flows through two cities, back to back, and there is multiple access for everyone. When fishing the park area sometimes I’m able to hand my rod over to any little folks available if the parents don’t object and let them reel in a fish. If able, I let them practice the C&R aspect and gently release the fish after first wetting their hands. Have had some parents ask about fly fishing etc. and hope that it sparks their interest as well as the kids. Sorry about the long reply. Get carried away with this obsession from time to time.
I never really think of C & R. I just don’t eat trout, so I do it.
Have a friend in Hawaii build me this killer C&R net.
By the way, the trout is 18" long, gives you an idea of the size of net.
Okay, I asked the question so I thought I’d give my totally unscientific response:
On waters where there is a wild trout population and there is no stocking, I think C&R is a conservation tool.
On waters where there is stocking, either to suppliment wild trout or to populate with trout, C&R is a management tool.
- Fly Goddess: Nice net. Does it fit in your purse?
Allan
Not this months purse LOL
Here in ND, it is more of a conservation tool employed by anglers. We have very limited mandatory C&R restrictions in place by the NDG&F. I think most who practice it do so volunarily based on the growing trend to preserve the opportunity to catch those fish again.
Fly Goddess, Greg is the best, ain’t he?
You got that right. I wasn’t even expecting this, but I will never forget.
Gregory Walker is the man.