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Author Topic: HOW MANY WILD STEELHEAD DID YOU KILL THIS YEAR?  (Read 11134 times)

wildmanyeah

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HOW MANY WILD STEELHEAD DID YOU KILL THIS YEAR?
« on: February 23, 2018, 08:36:31 PM »

What's faster to bring in a steelhead a center pin or  spinning or level wind reel? R you using strong enough fishing line or fighting them for a while? Im sure many have read this before but still seems important


HOW MANY WILD STEELHEAD DID YOU KILL THIS YEAR?

By Jeff Mishler

Let’s just say for the purpose of this piece that you’re a catch and release angler. You release all wild steelhead, salmon and trout because, well, it’s the law on most rivers here in the pacific northwest and more importantly, an angler concerned about the future of the sport, mostly likely, has come to realize that the future of any fishery lies in the preservation of genetic diversity which can only be ensured through abundant wild adult escapement.  Releasing wild fish keeps the gene pool rolling along its natural way.  And while some anglers are good at catching fish and others are not, it’s very probable that some anglers catch a lot of wild fish because they target them specifically; for whatever reason, they ignore the put and take fishery available to sport fishermen in most states and choose to pursue wild fish presumably using tackle and techniques that minimize mortality of the resource.
 
No angler of good intentions wants to admit that their catch and release routine, routinely kills wild fish. But these routines are often old habits passed down the family line and they can be hard to break, even if they negatively impact the resource we think we are protecting.

Consider the following scenario:
 
It’s early March.  You and a buddy are drift fishing for winter steelhead on one of Oregon’s many coastal rivers.  You hook six steelhead, land four and released all of them because most of the fish in the system at this time of year are in fact wild.  Three of the steelhead you landed, you hooked drifting a pearl/pink corkie  with a single hook and one of the steelhead was hooked after you threaded a sandshrimp under the corkie rig. Let’s say you are fishing from a drift boat.  The water is high and off-color making it difficult to find a place to step to shore.  So, for every fish hooked, you had to fight them longer than usual because the swift current made it difficult to bring the fish alongside the boat.  Each fish hung in the current downstream from the bow until it was exhausted---In fact, that is when you lost the other two.  You were certain they were ready, but they made one last turn away from the boat, towards the shore and the direction of pull on the line changed.  The hook pulled free and those two got away---But not the other four.  After three attempts, your buddy slides a net under the steelhead and hauls it into the boat.  It flops around a bit but you eventually unhooked the size 1 bait hook from the corner of its mouth. You hold the steelhead up for a picture or two and then slide the fish over the side.  You hold it upright for a moment because that’s what they say you should do to revive a tired fish, but it kicks out of your hand and swims off.  Let’s just say the four steelhead you landed responded similarly.  From your perspective, it would be reasonable to assume that all of the steelhead survived after release because they did in fact swim off on their own.

Could you believe that the opposite might be true?  More than likely, all four steelhead died from a long-term, delayed mortality, a truth difficult for the angler to confirm because in most instances, death occurs hours, if not days later.

In the previous scenario, you, the angler, made specific choices that directly affected the overall mortality of catch and release fishing.  What we do once the hook is set has more bearing on a wild fish’s survival than the gear we choose. Whether we fly fish only or pinch the barbs on our favorite plugs, equipment has little statistical impact on the overall percentage of mortality associated with catch and release---It is widely promoted that a fish hooked in the corner of the mouth or outside the mouth experiences a 3% chance of mortality if it is landed promptly, kept in the water and released quickly.  The use of barbed or barbless hooks doesn’t seem to change that percentage significantly.   Mortality is determined greatly by our behavior, or habits.

Dr. Bruce Tufts is a professor of biology at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.  He has studied the physiological effects of catch and release fishing since the late 1980’s.  The findings from his research have helped shape catch and release regulations throughout North America.

According to Tufts, factors such as time out of water and length of fight combine to determine a released fish’s chance of survival.  In his study, “Physiological Effect of Brief Air Exposure in Exhaustively Exercised Rainbow Trout: Implications for “Catch and Release” Fisheries”, Tufts studied the effect of time out of water periods of zero, 30 and 60 seconds for rainbow trout after exhaustive exercise.  In 57-degree water, after 12 hours of recovery time, the control group-- fish that were held in captivity but not exercised--experienced no mortality.  The group not exposed to air immediately after exercise experienced 12% mortality.  The group exposed to air for 30 seconds after exercise experienced 38% mortality, and the group exposed to air for 60 seconds after exercise experience 72% mortality.  7 out of 10 trout died after 12 hours when exposed to air for 60 seconds.

Tufts concluded, “…the brief period of air exposure which occurs in many “catch and release” fisheries is a significant additional stress which may ultimately influence whether a released fish survives”.   According to Tufts’ study, any exposure to air significantly decreases a salmon, trout, or steelhead’s chance for survival.
 
In the above fishing scenario, how long would it take you to clear the net, unhook the fish, take the pictures and then put the fish back into the river?  It is very, very difficult do it in less than a minute.  I’ve timed numerous anglers trying to do exactly what I have described and in most instances, it takes two minutes or more once the fish is brought on board.  So one might conclude that if 7 out of 10 rainbow trout die after an air exposure of 60 seconds, then 3 of the 4 steelhead netted and brought into the drift boat, died within 12 hrs after release.

Tufts states in a 2004, In-Fisherman, article, “When you remove a fish from water the secondary lamellae in the gills collapse, inhibiting gas exchange”.  Tufts and I use similar analogies when trying to explain how detrimental it is to hold a fish out of water for long periods of time after landing it.  Imagine running 100 meters as fast as you can and when you cross the finish line someone grabs you my the back of the head and forces it underwater for a minute.  What’s your chance of mortality? Salmon, trout and steelhead breathe air about as well as we breath water.

 Tufts states in an article published in, Atlantic Salmon Journal, Spring 2001, “There’s No Excuse Not to Stop Killing Salmon” that, “the studies have documented (delayed mortality) in salmon and other species…it is not something that occurs immediately after the period of exhaustive exercise…therefore not something that would be apparent to an angler releasing a fish.  Delayed mortality can occur in fish that appear absolutely normal at the start of the recovery period.”

60 seconds out of the water and you’ve killed 7 out of 10 fish. This is somber news.
   
Additionally, Tufts does not take into account the cumulative affects of removing a fish’s protective slime by netting and bringing the fish on board, increasing the chance of bacterial growth on the skin after release and the accompanying increased stress levels. Nor does he address the mortality impacts of hook placement and the increased blood loss from the most vital organ, the gills, when a fish is hooked inside the mouth on a delicate gill rake.  Some states have made laws requiring anglers to use single barbless hooks and to keep fish in the water at all times if it is to be released to reduce the chance for post release mortality.

The whether the capture of wild salmon and steelhead is intentional or accidental, catch and release fishing causes mortality at a rate higher than most well intended anglers could ever imagine.   It is possible that the angler who chooses to target wild fish, kills more wild steelhead, salmon or trout than the equally effective angler who chooses his angling opportunities according to the run timing of specific hatchery returns and kills every legal hatchery fish he or she catches; the determinant being the combination of variables the angler has no control over, and a few that one does.  If I catch 20 wild steelhead in four days of fishing and handle them carelessly, it is possible that I might have killed 14 of them, six more than the eight fish, four day limit of the angler whacking and stacking hatchery fish.  One has to ask, whose behavior is better for the resource?

S
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wildmanyeah

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Re: HOW MANY WILD STEELHEAD DID YOU KILL THIS YEAR?
« Reply #1 on: February 23, 2018, 08:36:40 PM »

o, considering the previous angling scenario, the high water day from the drift boat, what could you have done differently to increase the chance of survival for those four wild fish you released?
 ---First, wear waders if you can.  Hip boots are fine.  An angler has to get down into the water to properly release a fish.  If the water is in fact too high and there is no accessible shore, pull anchor and find calmer water to land the fish.
---Use a net with a rubber or soft mesh.  Hard nylon is too hard on the fish.  If you can get to shore, slide the fish into the net but leave it in the water.  Don’t reef up on the handle and haul it out onto shore.  If you net the fish from the boat, don’t bring the fish into the boat.  Leave it hanging over the side.
---The fish must stay in the water. Make sure its head is submerged.  Get down on your knees, wait for the fish to calm down, and reach in carefully to remove the hook with a pair of pliers.
---Don’t rip the hook out of the mouth.  Gently back it out, the direction it went in.  Even with a barb, if the hook is lodged in the corner of the mouth or lips, the hook should come out easily with a soft tug.
---If the hook is buried in a gill rake, down in the gullet or buried in the tongue, don’t remove it.  The fish’s chances of survival with such a hook placement are reduced as it is. Removing a barbed hook from these areas will certainly kill it.  Clip the leader, leaving at least 18 inches trailing outside the mouth and do your best to revive the fish.  The old myth that the hook will dissolve over time can be questioned when one uses stainless steel or chrome hooks designed not to rust.  (How many shiny hooks have you found hanging in the shoreline brush long after the mono has rotted away?)
---When you are ready to release the fish, gently hold it upright in the current.  Don’t move it back and forth.  This drives water and sediments under the gill plate from the wrong direction inhibiting the all important gas exchange, effectively smothering the fish.
---When the fish seems ready to go, hold on to it a little longer.  Its fins should be erect and its movements positive.  Most fish will bolt from the hand out of fear when they start to get their senses back but haven’t recovered enough to hold themselves upright in the current. If allowed to swim away, they often roll over and die under a rock somewhere downstream.  This is the “not apparent” part of the delayed mortality Tufts refers to.  Yeah they swim off, but some of them die.
---Don’t touch the gills. The angler who puts his fingers into the gills of a fish they plan to release, for whatever reason, has probably killed that fish by damaging the delicate lamellae needed for gas exchange (breathing).

If you want to take a picture of the fish hold it gently at the wrist of the tail while supporting the girth under the pectoral fins.  Keep the head in the water while the photographer focuses and sets the exposure.  Only when the photographer is ready, when they say so, should you lift the fish out of the water an inch or two.  Take the picture and immediately place it back into the water.  Reset and repeat if you like.  Don’t stand up and hold it out.  Stay low.  If you drop the fish, it’s close to the water and won’t be injured.  How many times have you seen someone drop a squirming fish onto the rocks or into the bottom of the boat?  All bad.   I can always tell if a fish has been out of the water for a long period of time by the amount of water running off its body.  Sadly, most fish are bone dry when pics are taken.

Unfortunately, ego and pride often overtake common sense in those exciting moments when a big wild fish works us over. Taking a fish out of the water is purely a convenience for the angler or guide.  Yeah, we want that baby.  Gotta get a picture of that bad boy.  But, if you fish with the intent of releasing the wild ones, why wouldn’t you, in good conscience, do everything you can to ensure that the trophy you plan to release, realizes its purpose? Go buy the right net. Pinch your barbs.  Get out of the boat if you can. Don’t use divers and bait during the wild run. (Gut and gill hooked fish experience 68-80% mortality depending on which study you use)  Keep the fish in the water at all times. Fight the fish quickly.

The wild ones are amazing creatures and should be released unharmed to spawn and provide future angling opportunities.  It’s our responsibility as stewards and primary users of the resource to make sure that happens.  I know that some habits die hard and the processes we’ve used for years are often second nature, but taking additional care when releasing wild fish is just plain ole’ common sense that doesn’t compromise the experience, so why not try.   We will all benefit from your effort.
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Dave

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Re: HOW MANY WILD STEELHEAD DID YOU KILL THIS YEAR?
« Reply #2 on: February 24, 2018, 08:25:05 AM »

Interesting article.  I wonder how applicable this is to the Vedder?  I have spent many, many hours on this system , starting back in 1960.  During that time I have seen less than a handful of dead steelhead in the open to angling area and one otter killed fish in the closed section.  I have no doubt there is some direct mortality attributed to catch and release of wild steelhead on the C-V, but as I stated in another post, I would be more concerned with the spawning success of steelhead that have been subjected to this form of stress.
In this study of wild Atlantic salmon, larger fish that had been previously captured and released had a lower spawning success rate than smaller fish:
http://wildsteelheadcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Richard-et-al-2013-Catch-and-Release-Sublethal-Effects.pdf

Here, another finds significant migration pattern differences in released Atlantic salmon:
http://fqsa.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/LENNOX-et-al-2016-Use-of-simulation-approaches-to-evaluate-the-consquences-of-cathc-and-release-angling-on-the-migration-behaviour-of-adult-Atlan.pdf

This next study examines catch and release of Kenai chinook in Alaska :
https://www.adn.com/fishing/article/killing-kenai-kings-kindness-paper-argues-catch-and-release-death-sentence-many/2013/12/09/

I’m not saying we should do away with c&r on the C-V, but we do need to be aware it is likely having a negative impact on spawning success. 


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wildmanyeah

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Re: HOW MANY WILD STEELHEAD DID YOU KILL THIS YEAR?
« Reply #3 on: February 24, 2018, 09:56:50 AM »

Without keeping track of returns on the c/v it’s anyones guess. The province is a joke when it
Comes to steelhead management.

The returns could be good good or bad but without any kind of counts no management measures are considered.

I also can’t find any science done on c/v. Like what is the avg age of the returners? How long do they stay in fresh water? 2 years? 3 years?

What ever all people seem to be concerned about is how, when and where they can catch them.
« Last Edit: February 24, 2018, 01:39:15 PM by wildmanyeah »
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Blood_Orange

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Re: HOW MANY WILD STEELHEAD DID YOU KILL THIS YEAR?
« Reply #4 on: February 24, 2018, 12:04:59 PM »

What ever all people seem to be concerned about is how, when and where they can rape them.
Perhaps a different choice of words would be better-suited to this discussion? I've never raped a fish and I can't imagine that anyone else here has, either.
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wildmanyeah

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Re: HOW MANY WILD STEELHEAD DID YOU KILL THIS YEAR?
« Reply #5 on: February 24, 2018, 01:40:14 PM »

Perhaps a different choice of words would be better-suited to this discussion? I've never raped a fish and I can't imagine that anyone else here has, either.

haha fare enough, I think its time tho to start writing the province and get them to do actual science on the system!
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firebird

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Re: HOW MANY WILD STEELHEAD DID YOU KILL THIS YEAR?
« Reply #6 on: February 24, 2018, 04:05:15 PM »


I also can’t find any science done on c/v. Like what is the avg age of the returners? How long do they stay in fresh water? 2 years? 3 years?


At the link below, try searching for Chilliwack River going through the public access portal and using "search for exact phrase". Do the same for Vedder River. You will get a few hits for studies done on the Chilliwack.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/research-monitoring-reporting/libraries-publication-catalogues/ecocat
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wildmanyeah

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Re: HOW MANY WILD STEELHEAD DID YOU KILL THIS YEAR?
« Reply #7 on: February 24, 2018, 04:29:29 PM »

At the link below, try searching for Chilliwack River going through the public access portal and using "search for exact phrase". Do the same for Vedder River. You will get a few hits for studies done on the Chilliwack.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/research-monitoring-reporting/libraries-publication-catalogues/ecocat

Thanks lots of great stuff pre 2000 and a good amount done on the fry. Looks like a good amount has been done on the juveniles steelhead too.

To bad they did follow their own reccomendations

5.1 Recommendations
• repeat annual steelhead snorkel counts.
• establish representative index section.
• continue juvenile assessment study


It would be nice if the local angling community could come together to put pressure back on the province to continue studies like this as right now it's the blind leading the blind IMO. Maybe you have some more recent data...?
 
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fishingwithjohn

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Re: HOW MANY WILD STEELHEAD DID YOU KILL THIS YEAR?
« Reply #8 on: March 25, 2018, 07:14:08 PM »

great read...the part about taking the fish out of the water after a stressful fight is something my father always talked about not doing for fish that are not getting the rock shampoo...people should really revive that fish before anything is done...with your waders go and sit/kneel in the water and angle the fish sideways...the camera captures a perfect image and ok if you must really have that trophy shot...after you revive just take him out the water for a few seconds and then off they go...
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Fatso

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Re: HOW MANY WILD STEELHEAD DID YOU KILL THIS YEAR?
« Reply #9 on: July 02, 2018, 06:21:00 PM »

I didn't kill any steelhead last year as I don't fish for anything that I cannot keep.
I think the mortality rate is much higher than the statistics say.  So for me, catch and release is a non-starter.   :)
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Sandy

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Re: HOW MANY WILD STEELHEAD DID YOU KILL THIS YEAR?
« Reply #10 on: July 03, 2018, 10:08:58 AM »

I think "mortality" in C&R is probably more to do with overplaying the fish, than the actual release method. That is not to say that proper handling is not as important..

We have all heard the boasters and some witnessed the idiocy  " took 20 min to land "  5 weight rod .. either end , an overplayed exhausted fish is 
as pointed out by others less likely to spawn ,especially if dragged off of the reds.. possibly if in transit , able to return to its natal red ..

certainly, we must be aware !

 our opportunities to fish anything but a put and take fishery are pretty close to none in the near future.. become aware of what is coming at us quite quickly..
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finding your limits is fun, it can also be VERY painful.

If you care about Canada's future, get involved by holding your MLA's & MP's accountable!! don't just be sheep!!

Fatso

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Re: HOW MANY WILD STEELHEAD DID YOU KILL THIS YEAR?
« Reply #11 on: July 03, 2018, 04:59:50 PM »

Ok, yes, how you play a fish will make a difference.  But putting a hole in the fishes mouth and causing it to bleed cannot be good either. How does the bleeding stop?  How much blood can a fish lose? 

I will pass on c & r.  It's c(catch) & k(kill) & e(eat) for me or nothing.  :)

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stsfisher

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Re: HOW MANY WILD STEELHEAD DID YOU KILL THIS YEAR?
« Reply #12 on: July 04, 2018, 07:40:54 AM »

Ok, yes, how you play a fish will make a difference.  But putting a hole in the fishes mouth and causing it to bleed cannot be good either. How does the bleeding stop?  How much blood can a fish lose? 

I will pass on c & r.  It's c(catch) & k(kill) & e(eat) for me or nothing.  :)

Do you even fish?
What do you do when you catch an incidental catch, kill it anyways because it will possible parish?
Please explain to me what fisheries you partake in that has zero risk of catching a species not in season or under/over the legal size. To say its catch and kill and eat is a big statement when regulations need to be adhered too.
Or maybe you are simply saying you do not fish for steelhead at all, and that this is the only species you are concerned about putting a hole in its face?

Sorry I am confused, as all fisherman/women know the risk of putting a fishing lure/bait/fly what have you into any body of water. Just because you go out targeting a certain species does not mean you will never encounter another species that can not be brought home to your dinner table.
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Fatso

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Re: HOW MANY WILD STEELHEAD DID YOU KILL THIS YEAR?
« Reply #13 on: July 16, 2018, 08:22:44 PM »

No i dont "fish", I just  "catch".  ;)


Incidental catch is always a risk so all the more reason to not target fish that i cannot keep.

Everybody including you are free to do as you choose.  Catch and release is not for me.  I just wont fish if i cant take 'em.


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zap brannigan

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Re: HOW MANY WILD STEELHEAD DID YOU KILL THIS YEAR?
« Reply #14 on: July 17, 2018, 11:06:42 PM »

alright we get it your much cooler than most fatso.
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