Catch and Release

When to use this

Every fish you don’t intend to keep.

• Lakes and ponds with size limits
• Teaching ethics with kids
• Trout streams

What you need

• Wet hands or a knotless rubber net
• Needle-nose pliers or hemostats
• Pinched-barb hooks (recommended)

Step by step

1. 1.Land the fish quickly. Long fights exhaust it.
2. 2.Wet your hands before touching the fish. Dry hands strip its protective slime coat.
3. 3.Keep the fish in the water if possible. Only lift it briefly for a quick photo.
4. 4.Hold the fish horizontally with one hand under the belly, the other near the tail. Never squeeze it.
5. 5.Use pliers to back the hook out the way it went in. If it’s deep, cut the line close — the hook will dissolve.
6. 6.Lower the fish into the water. Hold it gently facing into the current until it kicks free under its own power.

Pro tips

• A photo on the water’s surface looks better than one in the air, and is far better for the fish.
• If you’re bringing a fish home for dinner, dispatch it immediately rather than letting it suffer on a stringer.

Common mistakes

• Lifting fish by the gill plate or jaw. Both cause real injury.
• Squeezing the fish to hold it still. Hold gently — they calm down.