Burtbords149
A 6 wt. is never too much.
How often do you net a trout?
That's supposed to be "Only if I'm having trouble hand landing it"
That's supposed to be "Only if I'm having trouble hand landing it"
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How often do you net a trout?
- Thread starter Burtbords149
- Start date
Bamboozle
Smoking & drinking at a creek near you!
I fish a lot of tiny flies and light tippets (7X-8X) in summer. During those times I sometimes carry a net just in case I catch a larger fish so I don't overplay it. I won't go for it unless the fight seems to be taking longer than an adolescent on his first hot date.
I also always carry a net on the Letort but only use it when the fight is taking too long.
I also always carry a net on the Letort but only use it when the fight is taking too long.
Corndog
Ephemerella Subvaria
Burt-e-boy,
You don't have the option I would choose and all of them was the closest, so I choose that.
I net most of them. If it's a small trout and I can see my fly in the tip of it's mouth and can quickly release him, then I don't need the net. Many times just by pinching the fly the trout will shake himself free almost instantly.
I agree with Bamboozle, I don't want to over stress the fish as he flip flops in front of me while I'm trying to get ahold of him with a hand.
I've heard many times from pros that it's alot less stressful on a trout to bring him to the net as quickly as possible, keep the net and the fish in the water, then release him quickly. This is especially true with large trout like steelhead. Many times I've watched guys fight a steelhead to exaustion, then drag it out onto the bank, take about 3-5 minutes to get the hook out and get a pic, then wonder why the fish is hard to revive.
In the winter I net every trout.
Cdog
You don't have the option I would choose and all of them was the closest, so I choose that.
I net most of them. If it's a small trout and I can see my fly in the tip of it's mouth and can quickly release him, then I don't need the net. Many times just by pinching the fly the trout will shake himself free almost instantly.
I agree with Bamboozle, I don't want to over stress the fish as he flip flops in front of me while I'm trying to get ahold of him with a hand.
I've heard many times from pros that it's alot less stressful on a trout to bring him to the net as quickly as possible, keep the net and the fish in the water, then release him quickly. This is especially true with large trout like steelhead. Many times I've watched guys fight a steelhead to exaustion, then drag it out onto the bank, take about 3-5 minutes to get the hook out and get a pic, then wonder why the fish is hard to revive.
In the winter I net every trout.
Cdog
Hardly ever.
I try to release the fish without taking it out of the water.
There have been many times I wish I had a net dangling behind me for that one fish that fights all the way in.
With barbless hooks, I just slide my hand down the line, get a hold of the hook and a slight down and out motion I have my hook back. Just have to remember, before you do it while you still have a hold of the hook, dip your rod tip to give you some slack in the line. Otherwise, it would be your first and only attempt at releasing using this method.
Bamboozle
Smoking & drinking at a creek near you!
A fisheries biologist is the person to confirm this with, but I have heard that flipping a trout upside down while out of the water also flips its internal organs into a position they are not accustomed to. That flipping MAY lead to internal damage to the fish's guts.
Again, I can't tell you if this is true, it's just what I heard.
Burtbords149
A 6 wt. is never too much.
interesting....seems plausible....that may be why the trout become so subdued
Corndog
Ephemerella Subvaria
Bam,
I've heard that as well. But like politicians, if you search long enough you can find a biologist that will agree with you on anything. lol
I've also heard that lifting them out of the water by the mouth and squeezing them to tight when holding them can also be harmful.
Cdog
Bamboozle
Smoking & drinking at a creek near you!
Actually, I've heard it is perfectly OK to flip a politician over, lift it out of the water by the mouth and squeeze it too tight. As a matter of fact that is the PREFERRED way to handle them!
And NO reviving!!!
Corndog
Ephemerella Subvaria
Actually, I've heard it is perfectly OK to flip a politician over, lift it out of the water by the mouth and squeeze it too tight. As a matter of fact that is the PREFERRED way to handle them!
And NO reviving!!!
:worthy:
Cdog
Corndog
Ephemerella Subvaria
Great thread and poll Burt.
I'm suprised the WB boys haven't chimed in. I'm curious how they handle those big wild brownies.
Curiousdog
lonehunter
Enjoy the journey not the end
C and R .........Why take the trout out of the water or take off the protective mucous from body with the net. Release while still in water. I would think turning upside down would damage the fish organs and increase the stress levels....... Watching the experts on tv and seeing them handle the fish out of the water and then release them makes me cringe. Studies have shown trout handled this way have a poor chance of survival.
Any fish biologists on this forum?
Any fish biologists on this forum?
Corndog
Ephemerella Subvaria
From the poll results so far I see that most of you do not use a net on a regular basis. I'm not questioning your ethics here so don't take offense, but how do you handle a large trout...say 16" or larger?
Do you always fish with heavy tippet so you don't fight the fish to exhaustion? Or do you not worry about how much you wear down the fish?
I think most of us have caught enough big trout to know that during the fight you can net him as he passes by way before he's worn out enough to bring to hand. If you don't carry a net, what would you do in this situation?
I hear "Protective Slime" used all the time. Does anyone have evidence that a C&R net takes more of the protective slime off a trout than the hand does? How about evidence that removal of some of the protective slime will kill a trout?
I would love to hear from those in the know about such things. We could all learn from this information.
It's obvious that fly fishermen are very opinionated and our opinions differ. Without getting into a pissing contest, I would like to know why so many of you don't use a net.
Curiousdog
Do you always fish with heavy tippet so you don't fight the fish to exhaustion? Or do you not worry about how much you wear down the fish?
I think most of us have caught enough big trout to know that during the fight you can net him as he passes by way before he's worn out enough to bring to hand. If you don't carry a net, what would you do in this situation?
I hear "Protective Slime" used all the time. Does anyone have evidence that a C&R net takes more of the protective slime off a trout than the hand does? How about evidence that removal of some of the protective slime will kill a trout?
I would love to hear from those in the know about such things. We could all learn from this information.
It's obvious that fly fishermen are very opinionated and our opinions differ. Without getting into a pissing contest, I would like to know why so many of you don't use a net.
Curiousdog
bkill
Quest for the Two Headed Trout
Funny net story...
A few years back, a buddy and I were walking down a long path to the river when this guy trots by in an obvious attempt to beat us to the pool...His net gets caught on some briars and the elastic cord is stretching out...I yell to him " your net is caught" and just as he turns around the net comes loose and hits him directly in the face...Knocking him on the ground and busting open his lip...So there he laid with a bloody lip and bruised ego....We ended up having the pool to ourselves
A few years back, a buddy and I were walking down a long path to the river when this guy trots by in an obvious attempt to beat us to the pool...His net gets caught on some briars and the elastic cord is stretching out...I yell to him " your net is caught" and just as he turns around the net comes loose and hits him directly in the face...Knocking him on the ground and busting open his lip...So there he laid with a bloody lip and bruised ego....We ended up having the pool to ourselves
Corndog
Ephemerella Subvaria
Funny net story...
A few years back, a buddy and I were walking down a long path to the river when this guy trots by in an obvious attempt to beat us to the pool...His net gets caught on some briars and the elastic cord is stretching out...I yell to him " your net is caught" and just as he turns around the net comes loose and hits him directly in the face...Knocking him on the ground and busting open his lip...So there he laid with a bloody lip and bruised ego....We ended up having the pool to ourselves
:rofl: Been there myself, except I got it in the back of the head.
Cdog
kindanewbie77
the sad old dog with no friends
That is one of the main reasons I stopped carrying one....and you need to catch fish to have use for a net!
The streams I generally like to fish do not have trout that large in the 16 plus inch range. There maybe one or two, but I have never or seen anyone else hook into one that large.
For the 8-10 inch (the absolute best fishing, LoveBrookies) up to 12-14 inches ... is at the high end (stockies).
If you fish the bigger pools on the WB, etc and you're out near the middle with a big
brown or rainbow on, you definitely need a net. That's if you don't play them to exhaustion,
but then the tippet may break or the hook pull out also, NG for the fish. I hate watching guys overplay fish.
Small fish, under 12" I try to just grab the barbless hook and take out without touching them.
brown or rainbow on, you definitely need a net. That's if you don't play them to exhaustion,
but then the tippet may break or the hook pull out also, NG for the fish. I hate watching guys overplay fish.
Small fish, under 12" I try to just grab the barbless hook and take out without touching them.
Drossi
If they can't take joke .....'em
I operate under the handle the trout as little as possible category. Therefore I don't use my net unless absolutely necessary. Otherwise I keep the fish in the water and release them using the method as described above by AK, sometimes I'll use the damn Ketchem release gadget instead of my hand. If you pinch down the barb, hooks are easy to get out. Often I'll give the fish some slack to see if they LDR, I'm not into "Hero Shots" so its no big deal if I don't ever touch the trout.
My net does hang nicely on my back at the ready though. Kind of a pretty wall ornament.
Now when I'm in the mood for trout supper I will use the net.
NJpatbee
Can be found on NJ/NY/PA waters!
I normally do not carry the net unless I plan to fish a very light tippet, or if the chances are reasonable that I will catch a 14+" trout. Since I also fish barbless I try to keep the fish in the water while following the line to the fly, but with 7x the tippet could easily snap, even with a smaller trout.
Hey,
I only wish I were an expert on what to do when I catch a fish. I'm pretty incompetent in handling them and am committed to catch and release. I have a soft rubber basket net and leave the fish in the water. Often they shake the fly out before I have to get involved and I don't even touch the fish. I also have a fine nylon seine that stretchs over the net so I can sample for nymphs etc and increase my knowledge of what's floating around in the river. I do my best not to let that influence my fly selection. I draw the line at stomach pumps. Toodles,Frogge.
I only wish I were an expert on what to do when I catch a fish. I'm pretty incompetent in handling them and am committed to catch and release. I have a soft rubber basket net and leave the fish in the water. Often they shake the fly out before I have to get involved and I don't even touch the fish. I also have a fine nylon seine that stretchs over the net so I can sample for nymphs etc and increase my knowledge of what's floating around in the river. I do my best not to let that influence my fly selection. I draw the line at stomach pumps. Toodles,Frogge.
Broadheadscreek
Proud Member Of The 10% Club
Not a fish biologist but have handled enough trout in my life time 100's of thousands to know they are pretty tough as long as they are not abused if you wet your hand and cradle them while removing the hook and gently return them they will survive. Most times I will not even take a fish out of the water and use my hemos to take the hook out with out having to handle them. We float stock up here and if you would see the way some of these guy's handle them you would think they were all going to die. Some places we stock the guys take buckets over to a 20' cliff and bail them out and these trout survive a 20' free fall and a belly flop not to mention the ones that don't clear the bank and flop their way down to the water. As for nets removing slime I don't buy it as long as they are wet remember these fish are loaded into a stocking truck via a conveyor belt and don't seem any worse for the wear. I most always fish 5x tippet and can manage a fight pretty well with it and if it's a big one and it breaks off because I horsed it thats fine he will be there again.
jlajoie
Can I commute to Missoula from here?
Agreed. I have seen some really, really rough handling of fish before, and they *usually* go on with no problem. BHC and I were talking about what you see during stocking, and watching trout dumped from a tank to a river that has close to a 20 to 40' difference in temperature would impact them in a big way, but after a bit of time, they adjust and are fine. It does shock them, but they make it. Removing a bit of the mucus coating isn't going to kill them, and as long as you don't squeeze them to death, handling them with a wet hand isn't going to cause a problem.
lonehunter
Enjoy the journey not the end
Less is best.........I only try to use my Hemos and remove the fly. Try never to net or touch the trout..........
redietz
Bob Dietz
That's pretty much my thoughts about the subject as well. On a small fish, just grabbing the leader near the fly may be enough. On anything over about 8 inches, it's into the net ASAP; I have no desire to play a fish to death. My net is fine meshed enough that I can handle the fish without actually touching it, and lift it without squeezing.
