Proper Handling of a Redfish

As an inshore guide, I like to practice and promote catch and release fishing.  Some of the places I fish would be completely fished out in a week if clients kept a limit of fish on every trip.  Here are some tips to avoid harming fish and ensure a successful release….

Try to release most of your fish without even removing them from the water or touching them.  A growing trend in saltwater fishing is to leave large fish like tarpon and sailfish in the water and get a picture of them along side the boat.  Pulling large fish like these up onto your boat can harm them (and sometimes you or your boat!).

If you want to get a picture of the fish out of the water, try the following to help ensure that it makes it back into its habitat unharmed:
Bring fish to the boat quickly and only remove them from the water only briefly to snap some photos.  Use a lip grip so you don’t drop the fish on the dock or deck of the boat.  Have your camera ready before you take the fish out of the water.  Support the belly of the fish, (especially if it is larger like a bull red drum) snap some pics and get the fish back into the water to revive it.

Wet your hands before you handle fish, especially trout and flounder.  Spotted seatrout, weakfish and flounder have smaller scales and more vulnerable skin than most inshore game fish, so be extra careful when releasing these delicate fish.  By wetting your hands first, less of the fish’s protective slime is removed.

Avoid using nets if you plan on releasing your fish.  If you feel more comfortable with a net, consider one of the newer rubber mesh nets to avoid scarring the fish and removing its protective slime layer.

Catch and release can be difficult in the summer months of Lowcountry South Carolina.  With very warm temperatures and low oxygen levels in the water, reviving fish properly is very important.  Lactic acid can build up in an exhausted fish, just like a person experiences sore muscles after high aerobic activity such as a race.  Hold the fish by the mouth with lip grips or the tail if you don’t have a pair and slowly work its head side to side to imitate the natural swimming motion of the fish.

Tools to ensure a good release:

Circle Hooks:
Circle hooks are the way to go!  Buy tournament grade circle hooks or the equivalent shape if you purchase less expensive hooks.  Let the fish pull tension on your line and simply start reeling, there is no need to jerk the line to set the hook.  The hook with set in the corner of the fish’s mouth and will not get stuck in its gut.  Use circle hooks matched to the size of your target species and you will nearly eliminate chances of killing any fish by gut hooking.

De-Hooker:
Although I rarely hook a fish deep in the mouth, I take along an ARC De hooker to remove hooks from fish without having to touch them or remove a deep hookset if it happens.  These are also a safer way to remove hooks from toothy fish like blacktip sharks, barracuda and king mackerel rather than trying to use a pair of pliers.Boga Grips/Lip Grips:
Lip grips are an excellent way to avoid over handling fish and also help with releasing the fish.  With lip grips on the fish, work its head side to side with the head of the fish facing any current in the water.  I have seen people drag red drum by the tail through water to force water though the gills, but this will actually drown the fish.  Keep the head of the fish into any current or put the boat in gear and move the head of the fish side to side (forward and backward can “drown” the fish).  This allows the gill covers to open and close in a natural manner and will effectively revive a tired fish and the side to side motion also works out some of that lactic acid buildup I mentioned earlier.
Venting Tools for Bottom Fish/Reef Fish:
When a fish is pulled from deep water, sometimes the air its swim bladder will expand faster than the fish can compensate.  I have experienced this with bull red drum in depths as little as 33 feet.  When this happens, even a revived fish may still have too much air in its swim bladder and when you let go of the fish it will flip over and eventually die.  If the fish cannot right itself in the water and swim away, you may have to vent its swim bladder.  On bottom or reef fishing trips, bring along a thick syringe or hollow tube cut at an angle.  You will have to insert this into the fish just behind the pectoral fin and gently press the air out of the swim bladder.  Remove your venting tool and revive the fish until it swims away.

After you get a great fight, picture and a memory, return your catch back to the water.  Smile as it starts to struggle and attempts to swim away as it did when you first hooked it because this usually means that your fish ready for a shove off to freedom.  Feel proud that you let the fish live to be caught again and have the chance to spawn and produce fish for the future.

Thank you,
Capt. Mike Illig

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