Articles and stories on fishing in general

Posts and other content that look at all things fishing in general, salt water and fly fishing.

Securely handling trout without causing stress or damage

One of New Zealand’s best known guides, Tony Entwhistle, writing in the New Zealand Fish & Game Magazine, has one of the best descriptions I have read on the proper handling of a trout.

“Securely handling a trout without causing stress or damage is a matter of a gentle touch, not a tight grip.

To pacify a landed trout, simply place a hand vertically in front of its nose to prevent it from swimming forward and fold the palm to cover both eyes. This acts as a mask and immediately calms it down. Trout relax quickly when their eyes are covered.

Next grasp the fish’s tail with the other hand, without excessive force. Some anglers use a piece of stocking for grip, but with good technique this isn’t necessary. Securing a trout needs only gentle pressure between the thumb and forefinger, applied directly over the base of the tail, applied where it joins the body (hypural joint).

Apply pressure top and bottom through the first joints of the forefinger and thumb, rather than along the sides. The mistake is grasping the tail too far forward and using too much hand in doing so. Squeezing hard does not help as the fish slips more easily.

Now test the grip by lifting the fish slightly by the tail, keeping the other hand over the eyes for the moment. If the grip is secure the trout will not slip, but if it does resist grabbing at it with both hands. By quickly slipping a hand in front of the nose, and covering the eyes again, a lot more fish will be saved from premature release.

With a positive grip on the tail it is now possible to begin lifting the trout safely for a photograph or release.

Avoid squeezing the fish around the soft belly area behind the pectoral fins because this causes discomfort and can potentially cause serious damage to internal organs. Instead slide the free hand under the pectoral fins, orientating the hand so that the trout’s head rests along the index finger, with the pectoral fins spread out between thumb and little finger.

The trout will be nicely balanced and the soft tissue in the belly area will no be supporting any weight. Lifting the trout this way, and returning it to the water between photographs minimizes any distress which could reignite its struggles. Turn the fish belly up when removing the hook.

Handle trout gently and with respect and they won’t panic or stress, ensuring their revival for release without damage and a minimum of fuss.”

© Reproduced by permission – ‘New Zealand Fish and Game Magazine’

Posted by Tony Bishop in environment and conservation, fly fishing how-to, trout information

Great Whites Deep Divers

GreatWhiteShark

Malcolm Francis, of the New Zealand National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), says, “We used to think great white sharks were shallow-water coastal species that lived in cold areas, where there were lots of seals to eat,” he said. “Now we have changed our impression of what they do.”

What changed his mind were three four-metre-plus great whites tagged off the Chatham Islands, east of New Zealand’s main islands, which arrived in Tonga, 3000km north, for a midwinter feast of humpback whale calves.

NIWA and the Department of Conservation in New Zealand have been attaching satellite tags to great whites, to measure position, depth and water temperature. After several months, the tags pop off and float to the surface, where the data is transmitted to a satellite.

Dr Francis said that this year two Stewart Island whites had gone 4000 kilometres to Queensland’s Great Barrier. Surprisingly, they go in a straight line. “They seem to know where they are going,” he said, noting that they moved through the water at between 4kmh and 5kmh, or an impressive 120km a day.

Up to 70 per cent of the time they are near the surface but this winter one of the whites dived. “We’ve got what we think is a world record of 1000 metres for a white shark.” He believes it would have gone after a giant squid or phosphorescent fish. At that depth it would be pitch black and the white would have been guided in by the fish glow.

“They head off to the tropics, and we’re not quite sure what they are doing but we think they are showing interest in humpback whales,” Dr Francis said.

Tags were found in humpback whale calving areas. Evidence exists of whites feeding on dead whales and dead calves. Now NIWA thinks the whites follow the whales when seal numbers decline in colonies over winter.

Posted by Tony Bishop in weird fishy stuff

Who’s Name Goes in the Record Book

I get a lot of questions and some I can even answer, or find an answer, for my Answers page.

But this question was very interesting:

“I have two friends that went fishing in the Michigan U.P., USA. and on this particular trip landed a very large Muskie.  The first fisherman owns the cottage on the lake and has caught Muskies before, the second none.  As you listen to their individual stories they both claim to have caught the same fish.  Both took separate pictures holding it, both plan on having their own mounts made, both continue to brag about catching it.

I was raised in believing that a fish is caught by one fisherman, the person who hooked it, while the other person being a participant by netting the fish or holding the pole while the fisherman that hooked it brings it into the boat is just a witness or bystander.  Boy…. did the arguments start.  

I asked them if it was a record holder who’s name would it go under?  I can’t seem to get a straight answer to that question either as they each said themselves.  Can two people be listed as the catchee?

Even though it was just the two of them and not a charter, the second fisherman tells me that when a boat is chartered everyone on board catches all the fish.  Is this true?  Can you help me sort the rules out….  

Thanks, Curt    aka… milwpacker”

Here was my answer:

On one hand, it is just great that two friends got such a kick out of catching the fish – and if they both want a mount of the fish that is their choice – whatever floats their boat, I say. If both of them believe the fish would not have been boated without the active participation of each of them, then that is for them to call.

But on the other hand, and it is a big but, as far as records go, only the angler who hooks, plays and lands the fish can claim the record, and only that one angler’s name can go in the record book.

This applies to all fishing records, even big game fishing, where the active involvement of all the crew is necessary to boat the fish, but only the one angler’s name is recorded . So your comment about everyone other than the angler playing the fish being just a bystander is I am afraid way short of the mark as well. It may well be that the angler could not boat the fish without the aid of one or more other people in the boat.

In fact it is usually true that a big game angler would not be able to get the fish to the boat without the skipper moving the boat around to help recover line, prior to all the crew action at the end. This can also apply in small boat fishing.

So, I am not sure if this clears anything up, except the one-name one-record business, but this has been one of the more interesting questions I have received.

Posted by Tony Bishop in Articles and stories on fishing in general, big game fishing

Assorted Fishy Weirdness

Is there something in the water? Is there an outbreak of strangeness? Your guess is as good as mine.

Crotch lobster

Oh my. While some folks are hard at work designing new marine protected areas for southern California, others are shoving lobsters down their pants. Stealing lobsters isn’t particularly difficult — wardens say it’s one of the most common poaching …

Mysterious fish said to eat people in India

It’s called a goonch, and it’s a catfish that can get really big and is said to be eating people in India and Nepal. The story is strange. The goonch probably started down the path of eating people by scavenging bodies disposed in rivers in the area,…

Holy Lures!

One of the most amazing fishing tackle stories of all-time centers on a group of Franciscan nuns in Ohio who decided to go into the tackle business. Calling their lures “St. Peter’s Fishing Lures,” they manufactured and sold a line of 16 different …

Trouser Trout Marketing

The Levi’s “unleash your beast” campaign encourages web users to create and share with friends animated images of phallic creatures popping out of 501 jeans. The American Decency Association is calling for a boycott.

Posted by Tony Bishop in fishing humour, weird fishy stuff

Fishermen’s “Alternative Truths”

In today’s The Times is a nice article on fishermen telling ‘pork pies’ and a few hints on maximising the impact of these fibs:

“Last month’s column on how an angler qualifies for the term “great” prompted a flurry of correspondence. Amid much else, it brought to light a telling quote attributed to Jerome K. Jerome, the author of the wonderful Three Men in a Boat. Jerome was talking not about great anglers, but about the qualities even a merely good angler needs to possess.

“Here is what he said: “Some people are under the impression that all that is required to make a good fisherman is the ability to tell lies easily and without blushing. But that is a mistake. Mere bold fabrication is useless. It is in the circumstantial detail, the embellishing touches of probability, the general air of scrupulous – almost of pedantic – veracity, that the experienced angler is seen.””


The previous article on:

Quiet, unsung heroes are true greats of angling

is also a good read.

I wrote an article for a fishing magazine on this subject, but with a different slant, you might enjoy it:

Do Fishermen Tell Lies?

“I guess, at the risk of upsetting some friends and readers, that only politicians, car salesmen, and advertisers, have as bad a reputation for telling pork pies as fishermen; it is a widespread prejudice.

The picture of a fisherman, his arms spread wide, extolling the size of the "one that got away", has become an over-worked clichĂ©. But under the clichĂ©, beyond the ‘lies’, there lurks a possibility.

Fishing, by its very nature, nourishes the imagination, feeding it with a potent fuel of hope and desire
”

Posted by Tony Bishop in Articles and stories on fishing in general, fishing media

Joan Wulff: Advanced Casting Techniques

Midcurrent has the next video from Joan Wulff video casting series up on their site.

joanwulff

In this next chapter from "Joan Wulff’s Dynamics of Fly Casting" DVD, Joan demonstrates several casting techniques for dealing with the challenges of positioning and presentation on a trout stream.

These "advanced" lessons — including changing direction, curve casts, and casts for weighted nymphs — are easily absorbed by even novice fly casters, but they’re a great refresher for experts.

If you don’t learn anything from Joan you must be watching with your eyes closed ?

Posted by Tony Bishop in Fishing Videos, fly fishing how-to

New Video: Joan Wulff’s Distance Casting Techniques

Midcurrent has just released the next instalment in Joan Wulff’s casting videos. This one is on distance casting.

“What techniques contribute to better timing and higher line speed? As Joan Wulff shows us this week in "Distance Casting," modifying shoulder and elbow position, shooting line on the back cast, and adding single hauls can easily help further your reach. At the end of the video she also demonstrates a handy trick for creating loops that will not tangle when shooting line while wading.”

You will also learn, as I did, that a ‘single haul’ is not half a ‘double haul’.

Posted by Tony Bishop in Fishing Videos, fly fishing how-to

Weird Fish, Ugly Fish, Ferocious Fish, Huge Fish


PiranhaOnSteroids3

A real passion of mine is exploring sites that reveal the world under our world’s water, and I am continually surprised by the new fish I find, fish that almost defy imagination.

If you share my interest and want to view some truly weird, some truly ugly, some truly ferocious, some truly huge, and some truly other-worldly, head to darkroastblend.com and enjoy.

Posted by Tony Bishop in weird fishy stuff

The Reach Cast Demonstrated

The Midcurrent site has another of Joan Wulff’s great fly casting videos up. This time on the “Reach Cast”.

From the video – “A dry fly fisherman has to be aware of what we call ‘drag.’ Drag is that motion that makes the fly look as if it is a water-skier instead of a free-floating insect, and it’s caused by the currents that work on the line and leader. So we need affect that by doing what we call a ‘Reach Cast,’ which will put the arm and the upper part of the rod upstream of the fly, so that the fly drifts down first.”

It is as well to remember that the reach cast has a strong place when using nymphs – a drag free drift is just as important in this style of fishing. When nymphing it can be a great help throw in a reach cast, giving you that extra little bit of time to throw in an early up-stream mend which sets up a long drift.

Posted by Tony Bishop in Fishing Videos, fly fishing how-to

Caught Any? Again!

A girl in ripped t-shirt, tattoos and piercings (obviously a grunge rock fan ) is fishing at the river listening to her iPod.

A guy passes and asks “caught any, love?”

“No,” she replies “Nirvana.”

Another from John R in the UK, well, Ireland to be more specific.

Posted by Tony Bishop in fishing humour