F&H news "Columb. Springer Regs"

[Dinikin]

I just read and article in F&H news Jan29-Feb12, page 10.
"The commission has also said it supports new pilot regulations that would prohibit anglers from removing wild Chinook and steelhad from the water in the Columbia River between Tongue Point and Mcnary Dam"
I believ that it is not set but will be set Feb 5th.
When I fished(BANK) Bonneville for springers, nobody was using nets on wild fish anyway, they were relatively easy to unhook and release.
I have never got one from the boat. How much easier/harder is it? Having to remove 2 treble hooks with q.fish out of the mouth of trashing fish with sealions lurking by.
I am not in favor of harming wild fish in any way, but only conserned about safety of fishing people.

[SHLEPROCK]

I carry a fairly large pair of wire cutters.
If I start having a hard time releasing a fish I just cut the hooks as low as possible.

[5-Cents]

Very hard to release in the water, much easier if you release in the water while in the net which is what I do. I think the law doesnt want dorks pulling fish out of the water, laying them on the floor of their boat, stepping on their heads, ripping the hooks out then giving them the ole heave-ho off the step deck of their Thunder Jet [img]graemlins/eek13.gif[/img]

Seen it happen [img]graemlins/eek13.gif[/img]

[Webdog]

5-Cents,

I catch springers from my Thunder Jet, and I release the unclipped springers without removing them from the water. I dont think the brand of boat determines how a fish is released. Maybe you know more and can explain?

[Pete]

The discussion at the Commission and by staff recognizes the research that exposure to air increases mortality. They discussed a range of methods, including pliers and nets and didn't express a preference for a method. Also, this is an experiment to see if sport fishermen can reduce their mortality impacts on wild fish, thereby increasing the number of clipped fish we could keep. The regulation will be monitored during the season and after the season concludes, if it is enacted by the Compact on February 5th. The important point is that we, as sport fishers, still have a significant negative impact on wild Columbia river chinook and we should all be doing what we can to reduct that impact, both for the benefit of the wild fish and to give ourselves the potential of a greater number of kept clipped fish.

Here's what I plan to use this year.



[ 01-25-2004, 09:46 AM: Message edited by: Pete ]

[lost_sailor]

Wild fish stays in the water, already a rule on my boat...

[Mojo]

Take a 3 foot piece of 1" dowel, screw a "cup hook" in to the end of it. When you want to release a fish, just hook the cup hook around the hook shank, hold the leader, and flip the hook out. It takes practice. I tried at Sekiu, and had problems, but have practiced since, and I'm getting better at it.

[Small Fry]

It takes me twice as long to get the hooks out of a fish still in the water as one I bring aboard. Which is the worse of two evils?

Im sure with more pratice I can get better but don't want to make thing any worse for the nates.

[husker]

i have never boated a wild fish or had to put it in the net either.....just use needle nose pliers and release the fish.......wrap the line around your hand if necessary....pop the hooks and let mr springer swim away to play another day....i have done many times.....from my boat, drift boats and any boat i can safely reach the water from.

[kayakfisher]

Pete,

What the heck is that thing?...where did it come from ....looks like a hook or wire cutter?

The dowel hook worked well in Canada with a guide a few years ago...no barbs of course. Easy and quick..looked almost painless for the fishies...

M.

[Pete]

Kayakfisher,
that "thing" is a Fish Hook Extractor. You get the shank of the hook inside the little hook, then squeeze the handles together. That first grips the hook, then turns it 180º to remove it from the fish's mouth. Do a Google search for "fish hook extractor" and you'll find it!

Small Fry,
The real harm comes with removing the fish from the water. Exposure to air causes the lamellae in the gills to collapse. The longer the fish is out of the water, the more of them collapse. The problem is they don't re-inflate. The lamellae are nearly microscopic organs in the gills where oxygen is absorbed into the blood. When they collapse, they stop having blood flow and thus stop absorbing oxygen.

[ 01-25-2004, 02:04 PM: Message edited by: Pete ]

[fish-bones]

Pete. I would like to know how the gillnetters release these same fish without taking them out of the water.It,s bad enough to come in contact with any fishes gills.What is there trick or does it matter to them???The fiheries boys seem to worry about the sportsmen than gillnetting a fish.Help me out on this!!!I guess i,m ignorant when it comes to understanding the gillnetters buddys. The FISHERY-BOY,S

fish-bones

Originally posted by Pete:
Kayakfisher,
that "thing" is a Fish Hook Extractor. You get the shank of the hook inside the little hook, then squeeze the handles together. That first grips the hook, then turns it 180º to remove it from the fish's mouth. Do a Google search for "fish hook extractor" and you'll find it!

Small Fry,
The real harm comes with removing the fish from the water. Exposure to air causes the lamellae in the gills to collapse. The longer the fish is out of the water, the more of them collapse. The problem is they don't re-inflate. The lamellae are nearly microscopic organs in the gills where oxygen is absorbed into the blood. When they collapse, they stop having blood flow and thus stop absorbing oxygen.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">

[Pete]

fish bones ... why don't you come to the Commission meeting and ask?

[jaydee]

I spend a lot of time fishing salmon on the coastal waters of the olympic peninsula where in the last few years the salmon fishing has been fast and furious. Even for Chinooks. The limit is one, but during the peak of the season it's not to uncommon for an angler to bring 10-20 leagal sized kings to the boat or more.
The rule in my boat is that if a salmon comes aboard, it's going in the box.
The best way I've found to release salmon unharmed without putting them in the boat is a gaff hook.
That's right, a short handled, sticker style gaff hook. Instead of a hook, its more like a barb. The shaft comes out of the handle at about a 45-60 degree angle.
After a large fish is thoroughly pooped, or smaller fish that are within netting range quickly, lead the salmon to you by the leader.
Slide the gaff down along the leader until it's in the bend of the fish hook in the mouth.
Pull the leader down and the gaff up gentley and usually the fish easily pops off when you get your the fish hook to rotate out.
(We are fishing with single barbless hooks out there, which also makes it even easier)
I've done this with not only King, but adipose intact coho, halibut, undersize lingcod even diamondsiders. Anything that I don't want to bring aboard. It works with barbed hooks to, even trebles. And the best thing about it is it's fast and gets you back fishing right away.

J.D.

[fish_on]

Originally posted by Pete:
... Also, this is an experiment to see if sport fishermen can reduce their mortality impacts on wild fish, thereby increasing the number of clipped fish we could keep. The important point is that we, as sport fishers, still have a significant negative impact on wild Columbia river chinook and we should all be doing what we can to reduct that impact...

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">Ya we need to do evetything we can to reduce our impact since the gill killers will use up there alotment and a bunch of ours. My plan besides not taking natives out of the water is not to admit to anyone including fish checkers of catching any natives anywhere at any time on any river.

[HOGTIDE]

Mojo's dowel rod with a cup hook gizmo is diagramed out and suggested as a hook remover in the Canadian/ BC regs as an effective hook remover for salmon. I assume it must work well if the kanucks are promoting it!

I choose 'not' to net wild fish. I have always had very good luck releasing them rather quickly, just with a pair of needle nose. It seems that if you donot react or move quickly as the fish comes to the boat, he will come in more calmly. When you are in his topwater field of view, try to kneel down keeping a low profile. Your only quick movement should be when your pliers grasp the hook and reverse it's angle of penetration. Remember the horse-whisperer? Be the fish whisperer!

You'll know you are really good when you can talk him into using the lil'-bitty-fin upfront to remove his own hook at the boat

[surebite77]

The NETTING of the fish does more damage than a picture, proper hook extraction etc. A properly released fish should come nowhere near the destructive net, reach over the boat properly tail the fish pop out the hooks and let him take off on his own. Just another example of a beauracracy out of control. If you can get a pic of all your monsters, do it in a concientious manner and tell the beauracrats to get a clue.

[blacktail519]

Hey fishbones, I would like to know the same thing!!!! They probably release them right into the bottom of there boat!! But the question is why the state is trying to hit the sports fisherman and apparently being more tollerable to the commercial incidental death! That gets me fired UP

[5-Cents]

Webdog,

Nothing agains TJ, its just what the guy was in when I saw this happen

[Full Freezer]

It will be interesting to see how the folks fishing off Dibblee's Beach and other similar banks treat wild fish this year if new reg's are implemented.

In previous years, most wild fish were uncerimoniuosly dragged onto the sand by the net, flopping around while the hook was removed, then released.

If this rule is to be followed, would that mean actually wading into the water to identify the nate & releasing them while still swimming?

How would you properly release them if fishing from a shallow sandy bank???

[Chris Nordling]

Originally posted by fish_on:
...My plan besides not taking natives out of the water is not to admit to anyone including fish checkers of catching any natives anywhere at any time on any river.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">While I'm sure your intentions are good, this idea may actually hurt our fishery in the long run. Checkers need that info to determine how far into the run we are, and what % of fish are unmarked to see how we are doing against our impact #'s.

If those numbers(natives released) are missing, the folks deciding our fishing season may get a false sense that the run is "missing", and shut down our season. We then get to watch from our computer as thousands of salmon swim past Bonneville with no angling pressure. Not the way I want my season to go. I want to be able to thump 'em all the way to the end of April and beyond.

Then again, I'm simply happy to be fishing for them in the Columbia period.

My hat is off the folks at the captive brood program at Bonneville. Their work is part of the reason we can drown a kwikie, looking for Mr. Springer. While complete recovery may never happen for one of stocks, the other 2 have made dramatic increases in returns for those long hauling springers. Neat program, and a great example of what hatcheries can do.

Chris

[Slade]

I read this same bit of information and I was unclear as to whether it was okay to net the fish as long as you kept the fish and net in the water while you remove the hook and did not bring it into your boat.

I attempted to release two nates last year without the aid of the net. One worked quite well. The other one not so well. As the pliers approached the fishes grill he decided that he wasn't all too happy about that, so with one mighty body twist he snapped the leader and swam off with a face full of treble hooks and our lucky Kwiky.

I have heard others say that they use heavier leaders (50 lb.) in order to control fish once you have him down to the leader.