In Oklahoma most of the trout fishing is below reservoirs in tailwaters. The waters are consistantly cold, so we can play the fish until they are resonably calm withi out indangering the fish. My fishing buddies and i fish for trout in cooler weather from late September through March primarly to miss the crowds.
In freezing weather I am not real thrilled about getting my hands or fingerless gloves wet so I use 5 inch forceps to release fish. I need the forceps to get flies out of my box and to hold the fly while tieing it on anyway. There are two minor drawbacks to the forceps
first sometimes the fish isn’t as whipped as I have judged it to be and the forceps slip up onto the flies body which shortens the fly’s life, and second most of the trout splash water on take off which to this point and the forceps are just long enough to miss the bulk of it.
We fish barbless flies for safety and ease of release
What do you use? Is it woth it to carry an extra tool?
Short answer is yes. That’s my opinion only though.
Ok,
I agree with Nighthawk. I carry a “Ketchum-release” tool. It’s easy to use, small, and helps ease the release so the fish isn’t harmed. Best Regards…
Normally, I’m not one for gadgets, but I really like my Ketchum-release.
Very often there’s no need to even touch the fish and they don’t destroy flies like forceps .
I believe Dr Slick makes similar tool in a forceps combo
Yup
Like this
Tried the Dr. Slick tool and it is not as useful as the Ketchum tool, in my experience. The larger slot in the loop makes it much more difficult to handle. YMMV.
I want to get a Ketchum Release. Right now I am using my hemostats, multi-tool and or disgorger.
Thanks for the advice guys. I recently talked to Ohiotuber and he liked the Ketchum as well. He recommended it too.
I didn’t like the Ketchum Release…Don’t work worth a hoot on the small fish I catch…I ended up holding the poor little fish up with the thing and trying to shake it loose…not pretty.
I finally went to a Boga style fish grabber thingy…it ‘locks’ onto the fish’s lower lip…I can lift the fish easily, use forceps to get the fly out, and submerge it fully to release it, all without having to either get my hands wet or touch that slimy icky fish! It works on the little ones AND the few over 10 inches I manage to hook…
Better for the fish, too…faster, surer fish handling, and did I mention no fish slime on your hands?
Buddy
Folks I know swear by the Ketchum.
As far as I have been able to figure out, you need three hands to use it. One for the line, one for the tool and one for the fish (or the rod)…oh, that’s four hands. It absolutely won’t work on poppers (or maybe I haven’t figure that out either) and it’s no good on flies larger than about a 10 (at least the model I have).
I would really like to see someone successfully using the tool.
I have a very special “release tool”, too much slack in the line when I am playing the fish. Works like a charm.
Ed
Some of the things mentioned in JC’s article are right on…one thing not mentioned is having a fish at hand and ready to release and the rod in the wrong position when that suppossedly tired fish deceides to make one more run …just for the hell of it… What is heard then is “Snap”…it happened to me with a bigger fish last year,so be aware.
I am so glad to read that other people can’t get the Ketchum tool to work. I thought I was just totally uncoordinated. I usually use forceps and ruin my fly about a 1/4 of the time. I bought the Ketchum to save my flies.
Can anyone put into words how to effectively use a Ketchum tool?
Thank you!
I don’t use any kind of tool to remove hooks regardless of the size of the fish or the size of the fly. I did use forceps for a while, but they were more a bother than a help. Fingers do the job removing the hook, and aren’t likely going to damage the fly. If the fish is not hooked right around the edges of the mouth, i.e. if it is hooked in the tongue or deeper, it is easy enough cut the tippet to release it.
I’m generally using the heaviest tippet I can get away with and horsing the fish in to release them as quickly as possible, with due consideration to reviving a fish if it takes much time at all to land it. Might not catch a few fish because of the heavier tippet, but it is seldom that I come home thinking I didn’t catch enough fishies to have fun.
Long distances releases don’t bother me at all, UNLESS I have had a big fish on for some time, enough to stress it notably. In that case, not landing it probably increases the chance of mortality since the fish will have no chance to recover in a “protected” setting.
John
Hello Andrew, when I used mine I had trouble at
first then I figured out that I was trying to slide
the tool down too much tippet…started
applying the slot barely above the fly then
deftly and quickly (though gently) ‘jabbing’
the fly so to speak. Pops out most of the time
on the first try…barbless or pinched barb hooks
help a whole lot too.
Nowadays I use my fingers and though more
complicated than the Ketchum Release tool, I
do fine letting the fish go, seldom touching them.
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
The ‘theory’ behind the Ketchum Release’ tool is sound…but the practice has some flaws…
What you are supposed to do, is; while keeping the line taught, slide the tool onto the tippet and down over the fly so that the edge of the tool stops against thebend ofthe hook. Good so far. Now, the ‘tricky’ part…you ‘push’ against the hook bend with the tool…what is supposed to happen isthat the hook backs out…but, that assumes that the mass of the fish is enough to keep the fish ‘still’ while you do this, that the rod will flex enough to allow the fly to move, and that you are pusing in the direction the fly entered the fish…
What has happened to me numerous times is that when I push down with the tool, the fish is pushed down and the hook doesn’t move. If I push down ‘sharply’, than can work…but a couple of times I did this and actually had the hook pop free, the tool slide deeper into the fish, and the hook recatch deeper in the fish…once it went all the way into the fish’s gullet, killing it and thus retiring the tool from my use. Sometimes the fish is turning, or going in an odd diretion, and hook will lodge at an odd angle…then this thing doesn’t seem to do well UNLESS you can see the exact direction of the hook penetration…with my old eyes at arms length I’m lucky if I can see the fish, much less the direction a size 16 GRHE is pointing in the fish’s oral cavity…I wanted this tool so I didn’t have to lift the fish from the water to release it…
Tool would work great if you are ‘holding’ the fish…then you push on the hook and the fly has to move…but you need a hand to keep the rod held so that the line stays taught (doesn’t work well on a slack line)…and a hand for the tool…which leaves none for holding the fish.
I first changed to gently gripping the fish by the lower jaw and then reaching in with forcepts to remove the hook (like I’ve always done with a bass)…works but some of the larger trout have enough teeth to make this uncomfortable…can’t do this with a pike…now it’s easy…use a tool to grab the fish’s lower jaw…lift it out of the water just far enough to get the forceps to the hook, then lower the fish back into the water, turn the tool so that the fish is upright and hold it until you are certain the fish is ready…squeeze the ‘trigger’ and the fish swims off.
I’m usually in a boat, and I can often release a trout with only the head leaving the water and never having to touch it with my hands…
Buddy
I’ve never used the Ketchum tool because I thought it was ridiculously overpriced and not really suited to bigger flies like poppers. I use a disgorger very similar to this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGzNt7ShtCw
IMO, this is much better than the Ketchum but still overpriced. A popsicle stick with a notch in one end works just as well.
I’m right-handed, so I hold the fish in my left hand and the disgorger in my right, just like I would hold a pencil. Here’s the key to making it work: I take the ring finger on my right hand and twirl it around around the line (which wraps the line around my finger.) This tightens the line and gives the disgorger something solid to push against. As others have mentioned, a taut line is essential.
Yes, you do have to touch the fish this way, but it’s quick and easy – usually only takes 2-3 seconds to unhook the fish.
While fishing last fall on a guided trip in Oregon for half pound steelies, the guide used a home made release tool that seemed to work at least as good as the store bought kind. He had about a 12 - 16 inch dowel with a cup hook screwed into one end. He would side the cup hook down the leader to the fishes mouth to the bend of the hook and push out the barbless hook. We were fishing from a boat and most of the time the fish stayed in the water during the release. Fish that had stronger hook sets were lifted just above the water and the cup hook pushed down with a little more force if needed. Last resort was to handle the fish.
Another experience of catch and release relates to catching big fish in a protected pond I frequent. These fish are netted first, retained in the net in the water, and the hook removed by forceps or whatever. If this process requires the fish to be revived, it is done by moving the fish back and forth in the net or removing him by hand and doing the tail hold reviving method. It seems to work well. The net retains the fish until the hook is removed and you can choose the best method to revive and release the fish. The nets are rubber to minimize any damage to the fish.
Dr Bob
I remember seeing somewhere (and couldn’t find it here) about making a hook remover using a long plastic needle. You just clip off the end of the needle eye and round off the cut plastic. Now you have a ‘U’ that you can use as a remover. I recall the post saying the needles normally come in packs of two or more and I presume they can be found in craft stores.
I don’t use a hook remover, if I can’t remove it easily I just cut it off. I’d rather lose a few cents and be able to catch the fish another day.
Interesting thread. How I play a fish is determined by the situation. With some tailwaters I fish you are forced to 7x in order to fool the trout. Therefore it must be a slower more gentle playing of the fish. With Bass or other warm water fish they are often less picky and I can use a heavier leader and bring the fish in more quickly. In all cases I try to convince the fish to give me some cooperation. When I caught my largest Salmon last summer I certainly took my time. I did not want to loose the fish.
Once the fish is in I try to use my hands to remove the hook if possible. If the hook is small and into the mouth I do use a ketchum release to assist in removal. The Dr. Slick’s has never worked for me. Its too big and the forcepts part interferes with the hook removal part.
For salt water I use a tool that is like a screw driver with an S shape on the end. Very simple and effiicient.
jed