C & R

Carol Northcut | Wednesday, 12 January 2022

Pet Peeves. C’mon, admit it. You have them. Maybe it’s about anglers who invade where you’re fishing. Or perhaps it’s people who monopolize the launch ramp because they don’t know what they’re doing and create a boat jam. Or maybe it’s that rude raft of rafters who blare music and “harsh on your mellow.” My pet peeves often have to do with anglers handling fish poorly. Why? Because it negatively impacts the fisheries we love.

The sad thing is that often the anglers don’t know what good fish handling means. But let’s cut them a break. After all, catch and release (C&R) science is relatively young, and many anglers don’t know much about it.

Let me preface the following section by saying that I am not a fisheries biologist. I merely pay particular attention to scientists whose studies are focused on the physiological stressors experienced by fish during recreational angling. Why do I do this? Because I care about the fisheries and all the other species that are dependent upon them. Also, it’s because I love angling but hate the fact that it’s a blood sport that I do for my ownemotional sustenance. So, I’m trying to subdue the dissonance by minimizing my own impact.

Here’s a list of some of the most important C&R practices. It’s a refresher for those of you who already know them and a primer for those who do not.

1. Minimize air exposure. It has been shown that air exposure is the single most harmful factor in recreational angling. As the fish tries to breath out of the water, (a) they are not getting any oxygen and (b) the very fragile tissues within the gills can dry out. This is especially true if the air is dry. A fish’s chance of survival diminishes exponentially the longer it’s out of the water. If the fish is released after longer exposure and is lucky enough to survive, it could have, essentially, permanent “lung” damage thereby decreasing its overall fitness to escape predators or reproduce. With that in mind, Do not keep a fish out of water longer than 10 seconds. Some species can be out of water a tad longer, but for trout, it’s actually less than 10 seconds.

2. If you must take pictures of fish out of the water, keep the number of seconds in mind, have everything ready before removing the fish from the water, and take the picture quickly. It’s best to see water dripping from the fish.

3. Avoid placing the fish on rough or dry surfaces or snow. For rough or dry surfaces (including hands), it removes the protective slime layer. For snow, the cold temperature freezes fish skin quickly. Remember, they are wet. Try it yourself: Stick your wet tongue on a frozen flagpole. I double-dog dare you, Ralphie.

4. Do not walk on redds. It can crush or dislodge eggs.

5. Use tackle that is heavy enough to enable quick play and netting of the fish. Reducing fight time reduces stress on the fish.

6. DO practice self-control. After you’ve caught a few fish, declare it time for a brew. Minimizing the number of fish handled in a day actually does help. Scientific studies have shown that it can take two to three days for a fish’s stress hormones to drop after being caught. If it’s caught more than twice in a week, it doesn’t get a chance to fully recover. If it happens again the next week and the next, the fish will have been stressed over a long period and lose reproductive fitness. It may not be able to spawn, and it doesn’t have little blue pills.

Last summer was a pretty hard on the rivers in Colorado. Water levels were at record lows, forcing trout into narrow channels, further stressing them as they competed for food and space, and making them more susceptible to predation and angling pressures. On top of that, temperatures were unusually high which, as you know, is especially hard on trout. The Colorado River had “Hoot Owl” closures for the first time. If this is what we can expect with climate change, it’s even more important that we do everything we can to protect our fisheries, giving the fish a fighting chance. We each can do our part by employing good C&R practices.