Catch and release - the quick guide
- Use barbless hooks
- Bring the fish to the net as quickly as possible
- Keep the fish in the water
- Handle as little as possible, and always with wet hands
- Do not squeeze - it damages internal organs (see further note below)
- Remove the hook using forceps if necessary
- Avoid contact with the bank or gravel as this removes protective slime
- Release the fish by pointing its nose into the current so that water is flowing over its gills
- Support it gently until it swims away
For those wanting photos, cradle the trout just behind the head and hold the wrist of the tail firmly. Keep the trout in the water, lifting it out very briefly to just above the water to take the shot. Always support larger trout with two hands.
Please, no 'Grip and Grin', holding Grayling dorsals up and so on, these fish are precious and deserve our respect.
Holding a live trout or grayling for a photo can be tricky (especially if it is big) and it is tempting to squeeze the fish to get a good grip. However, you could be inadvertently killing a fish that you are planning to release, because the place where most people will hold and squeeze a fish - just behind the head - is where the heart and liver are located.
A fish subjected to squeezing of the heart may swim away but die soon after.
Don't be a Mr Grippy!
