A Question for all anglers...
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I like to drag them up on the beach, flopping all over the place then sturdy the fish by stepping on it. Then after I take the hook out of its mouth I just kick it back in the water 
:-X :-X :-X
Seriously though, the only time a fish should feel the shore is if you have decided to bonk it (hatchery of course). I too like to keep the fish in the water. Even if you want the whole fish in the picture you can still leave the belly touching the water and only take it out for that brief photo op. Quickly getting it back into the flow to fight another day.
:-X :-X :-XSeriously though, the only time a fish should feel the shore is if you have decided to bonk it (hatchery of course). I too like to keep the fish in the water. Even if you want the whole fish in the picture you can still leave the belly touching the water and only take it out for that brief photo op. Quickly getting it back into the flow to fight another day.
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84 Posts
I agree... I have seen so many people using their feet to kick the fish back in the water. The poor fish is drag on the shore (rocky shore), then unhook, then kick it back to the river without trying to revive...
This happen all the time. The excuse is (when I asked them why you kick the fish) the water is too cold and I don't want to get my hands wet.... or it is faster for me to kick the fish in so that it will get to water faster... or it is going to die anyway...
This happen all the time. The excuse is (when I asked them why you kick the fish) the water is too cold and I don't want to get my hands wet.... or it is faster for me to kick the fish in so that it will get to water faster... or it is going to die anyway...
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Hey Charles, welcome to BCFR!
I am lucky to say I have never seen anyone kick a steelhead. Chum, yes by the dozens but no steelhead. Wouldn't it be funny to see someone boot a steelhead only to be shortly thereafter kicked themselves ;D
I am lucky to say I have never seen anyone kick a steelhead. Chum, yes by the dozens but no steelhead. Wouldn't it be funny to see someone boot a steelhead only to be shortly thereafter kicked themselves ;D
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I have seen people kicking Pink, coho, chum, and spring... Not just one person, but a whole gong show in the veddar doing the same thing. I actually feel like I am the only few people there trying to slowly revive the fish, wetting my hands, and making sure it swam back to the river...
Worest case I saw, fish got dragged to shore, the person unhooked it, picked it up by the tail and shot a few pictures while the fish was covered with sand... then he tried to toss it back to the river but landed a few feet from the water on the rocky stones... then he kicked it a few times before it made it to the water...
Worest case I saw, fish got dragged to shore, the person unhooked it, picked it up by the tail and shot a few pictures while the fish was covered with sand... then he tried to toss it back to the river but landed a few feet from the water on the rocky stones... then he kicked it a few times before it made it to the water...
Most importantly, you wouldn't kill a wild steelhead, so why would you risk injuring it???? If it dies because it was injured in some way while you took pictures of it that would be a complete waste!!!??? It bothers me quite a bit to think some anglers may not consider this fact and blindly act carelessly just to get a pic...
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Here is an unsolicated observation from down South. Your B.C. fishing and scenery is outstanding. Just a comment, there is somewhat of an obsession on this fine web site and in most fishing reports for the lodge we fish, with pictures of your catch. Why ? You caught it, you remember the thrill, and 10 years from now you could not find the old picture if you wanted it.
Never been much on a lot of pictures especially of something you did not keep and put in the freezer for dinner. Just my comments. Salt.
Never been much on a lot of pictures especially of something you did not keep and put in the freezer for dinner. Just my comments. Salt.
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I have seen some seriously poor ethics in people releasing any kind of fish, whether is be Salmon, Trout, or Sturgeon! I have seen some cases from people dragging 50 lb Harrison Springs waaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy up on the shore, taking a pic...and chucking them like a rugby ball back into the river..... :-\ , pinks are tough to release properly sometimes though...as they do tend to purposely beach themselves time to time..... :........the one thing I hate is when people net their fish in a non-rubber net....get the fishes gills, and fins tangled up...a bunch of slime comes off.....take forever to get the fish out of the net and than release it......but just like everything involving fishing there is always that margin of people who have poor ethics....end of story...
Mike <")))))))><
........the one thing I hate is when people net their fish in a non-rubber net....get the fishes gills, and fins tangled up...a bunch of slime comes off.....take forever to get the fish out of the net and than release it......but just like everything involving fishing there is always that margin of people who have poor ethics....end of story...Mike <")))))))><
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Here's one for you to laugh at ...
I saw a lady fishing in running shoes and she hooked a Coho while throwing spoons in the Fraser. Here is this lady standing on the edge of the water ..... holding the fishing rod up with one hand and standing on the edge of the sand trying to unhook the coho. Of course she didn't want to get he runners wet. : :
Everytime she bent over the fish would flip or move and scare her ........ guess she thought she might get wet??? ??? ???
After watching this from a distance for some time ...... and it looked like no one else was going to "step in" and release the fish ....... I walked the 150 yards down the beach to do so.
Needless to say I was as polite as I could be given the situation ........ the short version is ....... I hoped one day she was the one on the end of the hook and the person on the other end of the rod had her compassion for life and nature.
GOFISH 8)
I saw a lady fishing in running shoes and she hooked a Coho while throwing spoons in the Fraser. Here is this lady standing on the edge of the water ..... holding the fishing rod up with one hand and standing on the edge of the sand trying to unhook the coho. Of course she didn't want to get he runners wet. :
:Everytime she bent over the fish would flip or move and scare her ........ guess she thought she might get wet??? ??? ???
After watching this from a distance for some time ...... and it looked like no one else was going to "step in" and release the fish ....... I walked the 150 yards down the beach to do so.
Needless to say I was as polite as I could be given the situation ........ the short version is ....... I hoped one day she was the one on the end of the hook and the person on the other end of the rod had her compassion for life and nature.
GOFISH 8)
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I think this has to go with all fish, not just salmon...
I used to fish in amberside for dogfish at night for fun. Catch and release only and I have had countless offer for my catch and I would say no.
1) Don't cut the spike off the fins and throw them back. People do that so when they unhook the fish, the spikes won't get them. USE A BARBLESS HOOK like I do. and LEARN TO HANDLE THE FISH.
2) A few nights that I was there, I have seen a few people will catch them, and let them sit on the docks to die. I thought they were going to bring them home. But at the end, all of them left without the fish. THEY WERE JUST LEFT THERE TO DIE.
What is the point!
I used to fish in amberside for dogfish at night for fun. Catch and release only and I have had countless offer for my catch and I would say no.
1) Don't cut the spike off the fins and throw them back. People do that so when they unhook the fish, the spikes won't get them. USE A BARBLESS HOOK like I do. and LEARN TO HANDLE THE FISH.
2) A few nights that I was there, I have seen a few people will catch them, and let them sit on the docks to die. I thought they were going to bring them home. But at the end, all of them left without the fish. THEY WERE JUST LEFT THERE TO DIE.
What is the point!
We all have the capacity for change, and if we recognize our actions may not be in accordance with what we feel is right, we can adjust our future actions to better suit our values and idea's on how things should be done. Like I said, nobody is perfect, I at one time did not handle my fish nearly as carefully as I do now, but I recognized that fact and in changing my thinking, I changed my actions, and thus reduced any negative impact I might have when out on the flow. For instance, I am a smoker. In the past I would just flick cigarette butts onto the ground when I finished them...Now I know this might sound a bit extreme, but since early last year, I have been extinguishing those cigarette butts and placing them in a pocket of my vest for disposal later, rather than leave them lying on the river bank. Those cigarette butts don't break down, and can't be good for juvenile fish that inevitably do taste tests on them, so I stopped tossing them. Yes this is extreme, but anyone I fish with will attest to the fact that I do this, and it makes me feel better to know my impacts are reduced as a result...
The moral of the story is you can change, regardless of the situation, be it how you treat fish or what you do with your garbage. Ask yourself how you conduct yourself while on your local flows. A little introspection can go a long way...
The moral of the story is you can change, regardless of the situation, be it how you treat fish or what you do with your garbage. Ask yourself how you conduct yourself while on your local flows. A little introspection can go a long way...
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Very good point made by all. For me, if I am fishing by myself, I rarely try to take a pic, and if I do, it is while the fish is in the water while I am reviving it, and only if the camera is within easy access. Now when I am fishing with a partner, we have come up with a real decent method of getting a pic or 2 with minimal handling of the fish. When the fight is nearing it's end, I hand the rod over to my parther, he already having the camera out, steers the fish over to me for tailing. I tail it, take the hook out while he is taking pics then I may hold the fish up for a second or 2 for another pic, while I am in usually knee deep water. Now the fish is back in the water and being revived for release. We have found that this works really well, and in minimal time the fish is back on it's way. In other circumstances, when landing a fish would be more difficult, upon finding that the fish is a wild, and this has worked like a charm on numerous occasions, before fighting it to long, usually when the fish is just holding right infront of you, I just click the bail over and slack out some line and the hook just falls out and the steelie is back on it's way. It helps if you are right over top of the fish for this, allowing the hook to fall out. If that doens't work, then we just get close enough to the fish to pop the hook.
Anyhow, those are jsut a couple examples of what we do in certain circumstances.
Anyhow, those are jsut a couple examples of what we do in certain circumstances.
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Oh man, once you come out of the 90's and buy a digital......you'll wanna take all the pics u can just to brag on the forums..... ;D.....young gun said:
Ribwart: We should get a bunch of guys together to do a video on how to release fish properly! whether it is now, summer, or in the fall!
Mike <")))))))><
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hey rib i like your ciggy butt solution. it should be a law on all water but smaller lakes for sure. you wouldn't believe how many butts are floating on tunkwa or leighton after a long weekend. DISGUSTING
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Hey Rib
I wouldn't call it a rant when it was said so well. Every point you made rings true.
One of the things I have tried to do when I am fishing is if I see somebody fishing alone and fighting a fish I will always offer to lend a hand landing it so that it doesn't end up getting dragged up on shore. Then ask if they plan on keeping if it is a hatchery fish so it can be kept in the water if it is going to be released.
Centerpin 8)
I wouldn't call it a rant when it was said so well. Every point you made rings true.
One of the things I have tried to do when I am fishing is if I see somebody fishing alone and fighting a fish I will always offer to lend a hand landing it so that it doesn't end up getting dragged up on shore. Then ask if they plan on keeping if it is a hatchery fish so it can be kept in the water if it is going to be released.
Centerpin 8)
Yes, I try to do this as well, most people are very glad for the help, and I'm sure the fish are too...it's good to see such a positive response to this thread.Centerpin said:
I do have a story of someone kicking a fish as well 8). There's a guy who fishes the vedder quite a bit, you would know him if you saw him, he's in his late 30's early 40's, short, brown hair mustache, and always fishes with his girlfriend or wife, whatever she is, they fish together and have obviously been doing it for a long time. I see him around about once a year, but never talk to him. He's usually drifting aggressively dredging the rocks, setting the hook 2-3 times a drift...he's obviously fished this way all his life and oblivious to other methods. Kind of a loud, but little guy. Anyways last year one of his hook sets actually turns out to be a fish, and he yelled out at the top of his lungs..."FISH ON!!!!". As he plays it to shore, I hear him say, "IT"S A HATCHERY!", rather assertively, and then watch as he runs backwards swinging this nice bright steelhead up onto the gradually sloping rock beach. This fish is flopping around 20-30 feet from the water when the momentum it gained from his dragging it up there so quickly, slows down... I then hear him say, "Oh no, no it's not...." and he proceeds to "nudge" it with his foot so that it starts to slide slowly down the beach towards the water...he gives it a few more pushes as the fish looks like it is doing cartwheels over the rocks down the beach till it hits the water and swims away. Then quicker than I can blink, he has his rod in his hand again, and already has a drift going before I even realize my jaw has dropped....it was almost like it never happened...
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You and rib intervened by stepping in and good on you for doing that. By doing so you not only help the fish if it is going to be released but you also hopefully educate the "angler" at the same time. Not to mention you get to cradle a beautiful fish which in itself is kind of neat.
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