Stewardship Tip Aug8th, 2008-Tip for a better C&R(catch & Release)
Use single hooks and pinch your barbs to make C&R work better
The lunker that you caught and released stands a better chance of survival and reproduction if you handle her right. Handle her as little as you can, as fast as you can, and keep her in the water as much as you can. Using a single, barbless hook lets you do all of this faster.
Other benefits: You’ll hook more fish! The single, barbless hook has a slimmer profile that will penetrate a fish’s lip faster and deeper. When you hook yourself, your partner – or worse, the kid you took fishing, it’s a much less traumatic experience.
Not too long ago, it was mostly fly fishing trout anglers that used single barbless hooks. Today, all kinds of anglers have discovered barbless advantages. Musky, pike and bass hunters have begun removing the treble hooks from their lures and replacing them with single, barbless hooks. These anglers report that they have great hookup ratios. They also report that they don’t miss that extra hook fouling up their landing net!
Don’t be deterred if your favorite lure does not come in a single barbless version. Debarbing a hook is a simple process. Use a set of needle nose pliers and smash the barb down. Big beefy hooks can be dealt with using a file to file off the barb. For lures with treble hooks, open the split rings with a screwdriver or pocket knife, slide the treble hook off, and replace it with a single hook. Many tackle shops and hardware stores sell inexpensive pliers for split rings that will make the job much easier.
Spinnerbaits, jigs, and most soft molded baits are ready-made single hook tools already in your arsenal – now just pinch the barb!
Why it matters to fish and fishing: C&R has caught on, but to make it as effective as it can be, we need to improve our fish handling skills so the fish we’re letting swim survive. Many released fish die days after release from the stress associated with being caught. Julie Meka, a fisheries biologist with the United States Geological Service indicated in a recent study, “that the use of barbless . . . minimize[s] injury and reduce[s] the amount of time fish are handled during hook removal.” The logic is simple yet powerful. To increase the fish’s chance of survival, handle the fish as quickly and as minimally as possible, get it back in the water, and release it when it has reached equilibrium.
By using a single, barbless hook, we can do a better job of that. Want more? Take a look at Julie Meka’s research here.
This week’s sponsor-partner: Sure Life
Thanks to our friends at Sure Life, Their “Catch and Release” and “Please Release Me” products help reduce post-release mortality in fish held in livewells. Their partnership makes this week’s “Stewardship Tip” possible.
Rising demand for our weekly Stewardship Tip and a new partnership with Fly Cast America now makes the Stewardship Tip available in Spanish. Ahora, reciba el Stewardship Tip en español. Gentileza de Fly Cast America.
To read the weekly Stewardship Tip in Spanish, click here Simplemente haga click aquí si desea recibir el Stewardship tip en Español.
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