With their acrobatic abiities, dorado often have a habit of “self-releasing” all on their own! But, knowing how to properly release a fish has alot to do with assuring that it lives to grow and fight another day!
“THE ART OF THE RELEASE!”
Originally published the week of Sept. 11, 2012 in Western Outdoor News
I had conflicted feelings that day. The client and his wife just got their first ever sailfish. The “glamour fish” they had always wanted to cross off the bucket list.
Not only that, they wanted to release the fish! Bravo! It takes a lot for people to release that first big trophy fish…or any fish. And I had to applaud.
But then the other side of me was in turmoil. Photo time.
Although no gaff was used, the fish was hauled out of the water and photo’d from every angle. Everyone got to hold it. Every possible combination of photo. With the deckhand. With the captain. With both of them. With the wife. With the wife and captain, but not the deckhand.
I tried to impart a big of urgency to the situation about wanting to get the fish back in the water.
I can only imagine the stress on the fish. A lot of hands were all over it, and it had it been a long battle for the exhausted fish. But, it was now out’ve the water as the seconds ticked by. Even moreso, I always worry about the internal organs of the fish.
In the water, the mass of the fish and it’s innards are neutrally buoyant. Outside of water, gravity takes effect. Already exhausted organs collapse on each other further creating potential injury to the animal.
The fish was already turning colors from strikingly iridescent blues and purples to the greyish pallor of a dead fish.
Into the water we go off the gunwale and slowly tried to work it back and forth to get water over it’s gills. It was a team effort and while at first sluggish, the fish slowly gained strength. You could feel it surge until we couldn’t hold it any longer and we watched it sink into the blue waters and with a flick of it’s tail descend to depths.
There were lots of high-fives that were well-deserved, but deep inside I doubted. I could only hope it wasn’t sinking to die.
Almost two decades now down here in Baja and it’s gratifying to see the increased interest in catch-and-release. I’m all for it. We have a finite resource that is under tremendous pressure. Keep what you need and release what you don’t. Hell…release it all is fine with me.
But what good does it do if the fish dies later?
To me, there’s a right and a wrong way to release a fish. It should really start BEFORE you ever hook up. Mike Fowlkes, the award-winning TV producer, director of “Inside Sportfishing” said it best.
He said something to the effect, of making the decision to release your fish BEFORE you ever go out. Don’t make the decision AFTER the heat of battle when the blood lust is going full turbo and everyone is back-slapping you and hoisting beers in the air. I never forgot Mike’s words.
To that end, think about how you’re going to fish and the equipment you’re going to use.
If you know how to use circle hooks, use them. They have a knack of hooking fish right on the corner of the mouth when used correctly. The hook doesn’t go down their gullet and instead lodges perfectly where you can usually get at it easily for a fast release. Or, as many fresh water anglers do, use barbless hooks or pinch off the barbs of your hooks!
Likewise, as much as I love light tackle, if I plan to be releasing fish that day, I tend towards heavier gear. I want short battles so that I can get the fish to the boat faster. Long battles stress the fish. Exertion causes oxygen deficit in the tissues.
According to one study: “This causes lactic acid to build up in the muscle tissue, and then to diffuse into the blood. Lactic acid acts as an acid in the blood, causing the pH of the blood to drop. Even slight changes in pH can cause major disruptions of the metabolic processes, ultimately killing the fish. If the fish is quickly released, its blood pH usually returns to normal and the fish will be unaffected. Some fish, after a long tow, may appear to live once released, but the imbalance in the blood chemistry may kill them as late as three days after being caught.” http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/factsheets/catch-release_fs.html
I’ll vouch for that. I’ve seen huge marlin and tuna sometimes simply “give it up” and die while still on the line. You definitely don’t want that to happen.
Once the fish is to the boat, the less you handle them the better.
If the fish is small enough to “lip” grabbing by the lip, this is better than sticking hands or fingers into their gills. They’re already stressed and gasping for oxygen so lip them and use pliers or hands to quickly remove the hook or lure.
If the hook is too deep, reaching in and prying around only damages the fish. Often I’ve seen anglers stab around and wrench hooks from deep in the gullet or reaching in through the gills to get their hooks. Then, just because the fish is still thrashing, toss the fish overboard thinking they executed a good “release.”
If the hook is deep, best to just cut the line as close to the hook as possible. Studies have shown the fish are very resilient if handled correctly and hooks will often dissolve or rust out on their own, whereas huge wounds from torn-out hooks can often become infected.
It would also seem obvious to keep the fish in the water as much as possible. But, as mentioned earlier, the urge to photo and touch the fish are sometimes just too hard to resist. All that touching removes the protective slime from the skin of the fish making them susceptible to disease as well. Plus, just being out of their neutrally buoyant environment can harm internal organs when lifted out of the water and gravity takes effect. Even contact with dry and foreign surfaces like nets, decks, fish gloves and boat rails can be detrimental.
The two biggest causes of fish mortality are stress and wounds. Keep that in mind and you’ll help insure that the fish that goes back in the water lives to battle another day!
That’s our story!
Jonathan and Jill Roldan
Tailhunter International
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Jonathan Roldan has been writing the Baja Column in Western Outdoor News since 2004. Along with his wife, Jill, they own and run the Tailhunter International Fishing Fleet in La Paz, Baja, Mexico www.tailhunter-international.com. They also run their Tailhunter Restaurant Bar on the famous La Paz malecon waterfront. If you’d like to contact him directly, his e-mail is riplipboy@tailhunter-international.com or drop by the restaurant to say hi!
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