Posted by Jon on February 19, 2004 at 10:07:59:
In Reply to: another viewpoint posted by Chris on February 18, 2004 at 22:50:14:
Chris,
Why do caught-and-released ocean fish tend to die? Is it from the trauma of being hooked or from being hauled up from the depths and having their swim bladders distended?
C&R is practiced quite successfully in freshwater trout fisheries (just look at all the tagged trophy fish that are caught over and over again) but the practice is to use barbless hooks and, of course, the trout aren't being brought up from significant depths.
Perhaps DFG should encourage more C&R saltwater flyfishing vs. deep sea fishing? Not to mention the fact that it's way more fun to play a 3lb fish on a 7 weight rod than to land a 20lb fish with a broomhandle....
Just curious,
Jon