# Catch and release



## kikid (Dec 8, 2008)

A prickly subject I know but I am up to the eyeballs with all the fishing shows on tv that catch great fish and let them go. It is not the release that bothers me as much as the warrior attitude - we have fought the good fight and even though I have exhausted and beaten you I will release you to fight another day. Why traumatize a creature unless you intend to eat it? Why can't you catch a feed and leave the rest in peace - for that matter if you aren't planning on eating the catch why terrorize the creature at all? I caught some great tuna off KI last season but I told the skipper of the boat (a friend) that I don't catch and release and once I caught my quota I would not hook and land anymore - on our best trip we caught 18 tuna and only six were kept - I fail to see this as sport or necessary- this season I have seen guys catch 20 or 30 salmon on the south coast and keep none because they don't like salmon - are they sportsmen!!!My take on fishing shows is that they show how to catch fish using the latest and greatest rods/reels lures/baits and techniques but the fish are the only one who haven't moved on - these poor suckers just hang out where they have been for centuries doing what comes naturally- it seems all about the fisherman and dare i say the commerce and little about the fish


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## bjfisherman (May 21, 2013)

Prickly as a puffer fish.

I know where you are coming from. The tv shows are all about entertainment not necessarily about ethical treatment of fish. A lot of people enjoy the thrill of the chase and are not necessarily hunting for food. There is the stroking of the ego of course.

I have caught and released salmon many a time for fun. Only time I felt guilty is when they are foul hooked, and injured.

Where I will agree ,to some degree , with you is the hippocricy of catch and release fisherman who look down on catch and eat fisherman.

We all try to act in an ethical way within our own belief system, however I don't know how far you will get by pointing fingers.


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## yellowprowler (Aug 27, 2014)

My opinion is firstly in some cases, bag limits are too high. I like to eat fish but choose what i take. My local is Berowra Waters. I have fished it for over 15 years and i am proficient at catching my target species, flathead and bream. Over 10 years ago i use to kill and eat the big bream i would get from there. I then discovered that most of these fish were over 30 years old. How many thousands on years of bream must i have killed over the years? I now catch the bream for fun, using methods to ensure they are lightly lipped hooked.

Have a look at the crushing plates that form a breams teeth. They crack oyster, mussels, cockles and crabs for a living. If they can do this without feeling pain, they are not going to feel a chem sharp hook through the lip. I instead when fishing for a feed, target the mid size dusky flathead in the system. I can easy catch a feed or two of 45-50cm flathead which taste great and are no where near as old as the bream. Don't get me started on the jewies, after 15 years i still can't crack the code on getting them out of Berowra. They are bastards.


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## ross4616 (Sep 29, 2014)

I mainly fish for a feed and when I have a couple of meals I stop fishing, I mainly like the flatties that are about 45 - 50 cm I used to go out on a charter from Newcastle and he will not keep flatties over 60 cm.

Ross


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## WayneD (Jul 11, 2006)

I don't eat fish but love to fish. Does that mean that I shouldn't fish?

My kids catch ants, butterflies, lady beetles and put them in one of those small animal containers and then we release them the next day after they have observed them. Is that cruel as well?

Not to me it isn't. It's like being in the lockup overnight, you get out the next day and are free again.


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## Guest (Oct 1, 2014)

That's a good subject for discussion. Hopefully, there'll be some lessons to learn even if people can't agree.

I like catch & release for sport (but do keep some for the table). Salmon fishing is my addiction. It could easily be me you saw catching and releasing large numbers of salmon but it is very obvious I am not one of the people you spoke with because I would have told you I like to eat salmon.

If you don't have whatever it is that drives people to keep fishing after catching their one dinner, I doubt anyone can explain it to you. We have slightly different beliefs and different motivators. It's as simple as that.

In defense of my preference:

- I am not impressed with the way some TV presenters handle fish either. They use ultralight line then keep the fish out of the water far too long while they chat about the catch and the fish. They also rabbit on about the latest expensive lure put out by their sponsor. Meanwhile, the fish's oxygen level depletes. In their defense, they are helping to spread the message about preserving fish stocks even if the example they set is not ideal.

- Salmon seem to exist in sustainable numbers making them a good choice for catch & release fishing. I have heard it argued that the high number of salmon that invade the rivers are impacting the numbers of other popular species (i.e numbers are out of balance as a result of years of protection).

- I am never more comfortable than when I am well away from people, enjoying the natural world. If you do your fishing according to my definition of 'the right way', you learn a lot about the habits of fish and nature in general. Your powers of observations increase. Your ability to find fish improves. Your respect for the fish you target increases. You respect of other wildlife increases. Your desire to preserve natural resources increases.

- When salmon fishing I don't use ultralight line, preferring to land fish as fast as possible.

- I rarely take photos of fish I release because this increases the fish's time out of water.

- The catch & release fishing I practice uses a lure so fish are mostly hooked in the mouth.

- My lures have trebles replaced by singles to make hook extraction easier (along with other benefits).

- Where a meat fisho takes legal sized fish and stops when they have enough, I normally avoid killing fish that are likely to recover, opting instead to retain only fish that are likely to die (e.g. gill hooked fish). This point is not intended to imply what I do is any better than someone who fishes only for the table. We both kill fish. How we select which fish to kill is different.


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## Yak4ever (Nov 19, 2010)

,


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## vladimir (Jan 2, 2013)

I know whT yre trying to say but I guess hunting comes natraul to all species on earth b it a fish or a human us humans have the power to choose what we are willing to do I choose catch and release others choose to b selfish and greedy and take all there catch home so there's nothing left for the next generation to catch


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## Guest (Oct 2, 2014)

Yak4ever said:


> Which is worse???
> Bullying or murder!


Mental abuse.


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## MrFaulty (May 15, 2008)

Kikid, you can't be serious? so you are suggesting that if you don't want to eat a fish you can't catch one? Based on this I am guessing you use bait, not lures? if this is the case I would argue that you shouldn't use bait as this is a fishes natural food and therefore by simply acting naturally the fish is signing its own death warrant.

I let 95% of my fish go and only fish with lures (pat myself ont he head!). I have a huge problem with the following:
- kill and grill fisherman who take the bag limit when it is clearly excessive
- kill and grill fisherman who don't despatch the fish immediately and quickly after catching them 
- catch and release fisherman using lip grips or other questionable practices which potentially severley impact upon the released fished survival chances.

Now, no need to thank me but I have now taken the heat off you and upset probably most people on this forum ;-)

Everyone has a different opinion, I can't help it if you are wrong and mine is always right :lol:


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## vladimir (Jan 2, 2013)

I don't use lip gripers I have a simple method


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## Gene (Jan 9, 2008)

I fish the Parramatta River - if I ate the fish I wouldn't need any lights at night!
Fishing is a personal thing, if you want to eat them then do so, if not put them back.
I have seen studies where most fish when put back survive, so I think even though the fish are a bit stressed they generally survive.


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## Guest (Oct 3, 2014)

Everyone needs to know and use the right catch & release technique, even if they only do it with under-size fish.

DPI's handbook: http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/as...tional-fishing-catch-and-release-handbook.pdf

For those who want the quick version http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/recreational/info/catch-and-release

For those who want to read specific breed studies http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/recreational/info/catch-and-release/research

DPI's poster: http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/as...lease_A-guide-to-survival_POSTER_A4_FINAL.pdf

Has anyone tried the J-hook (hook with extra wire shown on page 9 of the handbook)?


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## AdrianK (May 30, 2006)

I've caught the same flathead twice in 10 mins. How stressed could she have been?


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