Patrick L
07-22-2005, 09:42 PM
I release everything I catch (mainly so it will be there the next time I want to catch it), and something I've used for years that I haven't seen discussed is the ketchum release. I was curious if anyone else uses it?
This has worked really well for me, and when I release the fish with my ketchum release, I've never have to revive the fish. I'll often have to spend time reviving the fish if I use a net (I use a net while fishing with stoneflies since my ketchum release is the mid size and won't fit the really large flies). Basically, when you release the fish, you release at the same location you would normally net the fish, so you don't have to handle it at all and the fish doesn't waste its energy struggling in the net.
The only times I have problems with it are:
1) When I use the largest flies.
2) When I hook a fish on the upper fly of a two fly rig, while releasing the fish with the ketchum release, the fish will catch the second fly and pop it off. :depressed: To prevent this I use an elastic string to tie the ketchum release on, so when I release the fish I just let go and if the fish hits the second fly, my line won't pop. I then use the ketchum release to unhook the fish from the second fly. I know that I've basically foul hooked the fish with the second fly :redface:, but I still find that the fish doesn't need any time to recover as compared to a net and since I haven't handled the fish, the fish should recover quickly.
What I do notice is that when I handle a fish (and possibly have to revive it), the fish will usually spend a period of time in the slow water recovering and then slowly swim into the faster water. When I release them with the ketchum release, they normally dart of to the fastest water around.
Of course, the ketchum release only works on barbless hooks!
I including a picture of the ketchum release (I hope) from an unnamed catalog.
Patrick
C:\My Documents\ketchum.jpg
This has worked really well for me, and when I release the fish with my ketchum release, I've never have to revive the fish. I'll often have to spend time reviving the fish if I use a net (I use a net while fishing with stoneflies since my ketchum release is the mid size and won't fit the really large flies). Basically, when you release the fish, you release at the same location you would normally net the fish, so you don't have to handle it at all and the fish doesn't waste its energy struggling in the net.
The only times I have problems with it are:
1) When I use the largest flies.
2) When I hook a fish on the upper fly of a two fly rig, while releasing the fish with the ketchum release, the fish will catch the second fly and pop it off. :depressed: To prevent this I use an elastic string to tie the ketchum release on, so when I release the fish I just let go and if the fish hits the second fly, my line won't pop. I then use the ketchum release to unhook the fish from the second fly. I know that I've basically foul hooked the fish with the second fly :redface:, but I still find that the fish doesn't need any time to recover as compared to a net and since I haven't handled the fish, the fish should recover quickly.
What I do notice is that when I handle a fish (and possibly have to revive it), the fish will usually spend a period of time in the slow water recovering and then slowly swim into the faster water. When I release them with the ketchum release, they normally dart of to the fastest water around.
Of course, the ketchum release only works on barbless hooks!
I including a picture of the ketchum release (I hope) from an unnamed catalog.
Patrick
C:\My Documents\ketchum.jpg