Proper C & R
 

OK, so as many of you have seen I've posted some videos showing I caught and released a few legal halibut, as of yesterday I've probably released more legals than I can count using both hands. Today I posted the last video on some other site and got some crap for netting the fish, placing on the deck and 'cruising around' with it. Much like most of you I want to see our fisheries exist 5, 10.......15 years from now and I believe practicing C n R is one way to do it. I've been practicing C n R for several years but recently I started doing it with Halibut. So, my question is..........what is the best way to properly release a halibut but keep in mind that when and if I release it/them I want to release it/them with no hooks in their mouth.

from what i read: when you net the halibut you destroy the halibut tail and it rot and dies.



But the real story on why they gave you grief is because you had a fishing line tied on the underside so when you put them back in the water turned off the camera , and said come here BABY:spam:

I learned at Fred Hall a long time ago if you are going to "net" a Halibut to make sure the net is the, small mesh, rubbery type. This is so the tail will not split which, if happens, is pretty much all-she-wrote for a flattie as they will most likely get an infection. Then I just hold them above the tail and move them back & forth til they take off. That's all I got.

you are doing a fine job at CNR on halibuts, they don't spend too much time in the net, I have never seen a tail split in the type of nets we use
"corse I haven't had the luxury of catching more than I can eat...lol

Rule of thumb is that if you plan to release do the best you can not to touch the fishing at all. If you have no intention to keep them even if legal I would us a lip gripping tool and if the hook is in a location that you can needle nose the hook out great, but if the hook is in the further cut the line as close to the mouth as possible.

There have been many studies done on releasing fish with the hooks left in and the mortality rate is extremely low and not anything to really worry about. I believe I heard them talking about that last week on Let's Talk Hookup on the radio.

Netting the fish is not a big deal as long as you are using a net that does not mess up the tail. Keep up the good releases.

The best way to land a Halibut for release has got to be the ruberized net with the marble sized holes in it. Just make sure that you are ready to deal with the fish when you net it (pliers,measuring device and camera ready and not about to get run over or run into something). You can drag a Halibut a long way with little fight, they just don't want to come up.

If landing is not necessary, then I would recommend pliers with the fish yakside if hook is easily accessible.

Maybe stop using trap rigs? :rolleyes:

sure you'll hook alot less fish but the ones you do catch will be what your after....also it will be much easier to remove the hook without netting them if you do want to make a release.

OOOPS....

Good suggestion, I'll start doing that.

I stopped using trap hooks awhile back, noticed that on the larger fish it wasn't necessary as the circle hook was lodged in the corner of the mouth and the trap hook was hooked on the outside of the fish somewhere. That and the traps also hook more kelp and rocks.

Since kayaking I have switched all my hooks to circle type, works great for releasing the fish, I rarely need a net to get the hook out.

Cotton pickin trap rigs get caught in everything....:rolleyes: even near the kitchen sink...lol

pretty bad when you can't even release a fish right.

Hold your breath for 3 minutes, see how you fare. Best bet is to keep the fish in the water if you plan to release it.

For nets, this would be the best type for C&R.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d1...rubber_200.jpg

The suggestion of losing the trap rig to weed out the runts is a good one too.

Now where exactly did you release that little girl :evil: