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[black][size 4]Normally when I fish Strawberry, I'm in a k'boat fishing flies, and a decent release with a low mortality rate is assured - proper handling is a must of course, net in the water, hemostats, the whole drill....
However, my wife absolutely loves to fish and really wanted to visit the 'Berry and do some jig fishing. So off we went on Sunday for our 1st experience at Strawberry besides flyfishing...
We launched at 7:00am (cold!!!) and headed over to the Chicken Creek area to join the rest of the flotilla. We caught quite a number of fish, however:
- We were fishing 3" curlytail grubs "sweetened" with a bit of worm and several cutts ("bigmouth" trout) inhaled the jigs into the gill area - DEEP. These were 1/4 & 3/8 jigheads (depending on depth) so leaving them in the fish was just as deadly as extracting them. We watched as they spiraled into the depths despite prolonged resuscitation.
- The boats around us were practicing horrendous release methods. MANY fish were hoisted on a scale for pictures, left to flop around in the bottom of the boat for prolonged periods, or simply squeezed to death while extracting the bait. In all fairness, there were a couple of boats "doing it right".
I'm not the puritanical catch-and-release freak, as we love eating wipers from WB as well as a few trout her and there, but we're wondering what the Game & Fish guys were thinking on these regs!!! And yes, I worked hard to keep the net in the water and attempt a decent release on EVERY fish.
The Wifey is a true sportsman and has been all of her life (she's landed as many wipers as alot of you). Killing fish without even having the chance to eat or let them go safely really bothered her. She's refusing to fish Strawberry again.
Maybe a two fish limit - regardless of size.
Maybe fly fishing only (gasp!!!).
I realize it's my choice whether to use bait or not, but we were going on information from others and didn't expect the high mortality rate or the rough handling we witnessed in the other boats. I switched to baitless jigs, but still had some fish hooked deep.
All I know is that, in my opinion, most fishermen out there were killing a full limit of fish - one way or another... Us included.
That's my rant. Deep breaths, deep breath...
W2D[/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]I agree with you totally.[/size][/black]
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[size 3]I think that out of necessity, the DWR will have to change the regulations just because of all the waste.[/size]
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[size 3]I practice total catch and release for trout, but don't hold it against anyone who wants to keep them to eat. [/size]
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[size 3]Pictures of the handling practices by fishermen, make me ill. The use of the lip grabbers and poor netting practices are not excusable.[/size]
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[size 3]Let's hope that any change in the regulations will help both fish and fishermen. [/size]
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[size 3]Let's hope that any change in the regulations will help both fish and fishermen. [/size]
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[black][size 6]Amen!!![/size][/black]
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Wow, I think lip grabbers are the best C&R tool ever invented.
They allow me to hold the fish without getting my dirty germ infected fingers on the fish or it's gills.
I usally "lip" the fish alongside the boat and extract the hook without ever taking the fish from the water, then I tow the fish along until it starts swimming faster than I am towing and with a simple push of a button the fish is released. Never left the water.
I love lip grippers.
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Lip grippers are a great tool, BUT, lifting a fairly heavy fish, or any fish really, by only the lower jaw can and will break their neck, stretch their spine, and/or cause their internal organs to be damaged. Much research has been done on this in recent years, and mortality rates are VERY high for fish lifted by the jaw with a lip gripper. The fish must be supported and held horizontally, and many anglers just aren't yet aware of this.
I do love lippers for "towing" a fish, as you described. I keep one on my boat for that reason and revive lake trout, tarpon, snook, and any other fish that needs some oxygen before release. And what you describe about not removing the fish from the water IS the best way. If only . . . Well, not gonna happen. Everyone's picture-crazy too.[  ]
The state of Florida has recently enacted and begun enforcing its law that tarpon and snook, among others, cannot be removed from the water at all! This is because they all must be released, and removing them from the water makes live releases much more difficult. Someday other states will come around, but for now, Florida is taking the lead in saying that a fish destined for release should not and will not be removed from the water. Like the whole catch and release ethic, it will take time, but progress is being started.
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It kills me when the catch and release guys think that all the fish they release live to fight another day. Some of the fish you see swim away are going to die. It is extremely stressfull on a fish to be taken out of 58 degree water, into 70 degree water, out of the water, into a net, photgrahed, weighed and put back. If you really care about the fish..and this sounds stupid...then dont go fishing! Game and fish put these fish there for you to catch. They know some are going to die. I have no problem with taking a few to eat, ( i have probably eaten 5 fish all season) but if you are complaining the fish you are releasing are dieing then you should find another hobbie.
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...but if you are complaining the fish you are releasing are dieing then you should find another hobbie. [/reply]
[black][size 3]Jacksonlaker, you're missing some important points here.[/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]How can you have effective C & R regulations when:[/size][/black]
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[black][size 3] - Hillbilly-fishing with a #6 treble hook loaded up with half a jar of "synthetic goo" is legal.[/size][/black]
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[black][size 3] - Gross mis-handling and mauling of fish destined to be released is rampant.[/size][/black]
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[black][size 3] - Personal observation - the average time out of the water for released fish was well over over 1 minute[/size][/black]
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[black][size 3] - A picture of every fish??? Put your "trophy-egos" away and give the fish a break...[/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]And give me a break. As far as giving up a hobby, we merely choose to fish in a less destructive way in the future.[/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]W2D[/size][/black]
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Fished Strawberry only once this year and observed fish mortality that was extremely high, every boat in front of the ladders (well over 50) had fish floating. Two of us caught 30+ and lost three that were obvious with a couple more that didn't float immediately. We were fishing with 3.5 in tube jigs, one pole per person, and still hooked some fish deep. Even when not hooked deep, but in the mouth plates one fish simply didn’t recover.
I THINK THE REGULATION NEED SOME ADJUSTING, fisherman should be allowed a two fish limit ignoring the slot to facilitate the consumption and better use of fish unable to recover.
I think catch and release is great, but anyone observing this kind of high mortality should be willing to rethink the regulations that create the situation.
Wasting Game is Also undesirable to any sportsman. The use of bait contributes very negatively to the situation also.
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A two fish limit would be great at the Berry. Two fish and your done for the day. A boat max would be nice also, say 6 per boat per day or 2 per person which ever is least.
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[#505000]I will have to agree that some people have horrible C&R techniques, but I wouldn't call the fish being released and dying a complete waste. [/#505000]
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[#505000]First off the program the DWR set up with the slot limits is working otherwise you wouldn't be able to catch so many fish within the slot. [/#505000]
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[#505000]As far as fish dying goes I gaurantee the birds of prey love it, as well as scavengers, bears, or anything else that eats the fish that find a free meal wash up on shore or floating on top. [/#505000]
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[#505000]I would be more up in arms myself if the lake wasn't frequently stocked and appeared to be doing so well. It is too bad that Billy Bob, feels the need to retrieve his treble packed with power goo from the fish's lower digestive, but that is more of an education issue than a problem with the current regulations issue. [/#505000]
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[#505000]Not that I am perfect, but when I feel the need to use power goo, I usually fish with a salmon egg hook so if I do have a deep swallow I can cut the line with the smallest possible hook left inside the fish.[/#505000]
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I'm not much for trout fishing, but die hard steelhead yes
Back in Cali we would used barbless hook 99.99% of all my catches live to fight another day
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Tom, I haven't heard or read where anyone said ALL the fish they release live. I KNOW some I release later die. No doubt about it. The duscussion was to REDUCE mortality as best we can, when we choose to release a fish. That's all! And if you've only eaten 4 or 5 fish all year, either you're not getting out enough, or you're also one of those dreaded "catch and release guys!"[ ] ('cause I know you've been catchin' a few when you go!) Chill out bro.[sly]
Heck, I've definitely chosen to kill a douple dozen fish to eat this summer. (Killed one every night on the Green this past weekend for the wife!) Nothing wrong with that. But when an angler chooses to release a fish, or is required to by law, its nice to have the information at hand to give the fish the best chance to survive, even though we all know that they all won't make it. I was merely educating readers on the pluses and minuses of a lipper.
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I didn't mean to offend anyone, and I appoligize if I did. I'm just saying that if you have ever gone fishing, no matter how carefuly you release fish, some are going to die. They dont always get hooked in the corner of the mouth. The original thread was the angler feeling bad about releasing deeply hooked fish. I was merely suggesting a way to stop feeling bad !!! And you are right Jim, I have not gotten out enough..this makes Jacksonlaker very grumpy !!!
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The flows will be dropping soon, the summer crowds are leaving or gone, leaves turning, and all that. Get out there! Should be some macks near the spawning areas on the lake? I've still got Flat Creek with the fairy wand on my hit list on a couple more weekends before the snow flies. South Fork too when they drop the water just a little more. And hey, you should be able to just walk out on Pali  es and pick 'em up with it at 5 percent full. I can't believe that.
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I question the effectiveness of a 2 fish limit, regardless of the slot. How many of you would only catch 2 fish then go home? My bet is that it would not have too much of an effect. I think people would keep the 2 fish and continue fishing for a while, then go home.
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I also fished Strawberry this past weekend. Reminded me of why I dislike the place. I'm glad it's there though to keep people away from the good places! Those cutthroats are bums. Caught a bunch of the sickly things on tube jigs. Caught one redeeming rainbow that made it somewhat worthwhile. I know we need this fishery and commend the DWR for a fine job managing it, but it's safe from me. And as far as eating those fish? You'ld have to be half goat!
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Mortality rate is built into the regs and unfortunately is part of the game. [unsure]
That said, I have a buddy that refuses to catch a fish that he can't keep and eat, so he refuses to fish at Strawberry. [crazy] I invite him every weekend and so far he has never been on the lake.
While fishing up at Yellowstone Lake last summer, a conservation officer was talking with us on a typical visit to our remote boat camp. On the end of the dock you could see dead fish in the water below. Most were Lake Trout (required to kill in that lake if caught) but a lot were also the valuable Yellowstone Cutthroats. We asked him how he felt about seeing dead fish like that and he said that it was unfortunate, but that they EXPECTED a 10% to 30% mortality rate of all fish caught and released.[shocked]
This summer at Strawberry I was talking to a fishcop who had been watching me fish from my boat with binoculars. He had watched me release at least a dozen fish and hadn't noticed any immediate "floaters". (That day anyway!) I asked him what he would have done had there been any. He told me that as long as I released them, dead or alive, I was obeying the law. [angelic] He then told me the same thing that the fishcop up at Yellowstone told me: That they (dwr) expect a 10% to 30% mortality rate on fish that are caught and released. A lot depends on the fisherman, and the techniques they use. Some fisherman have dead fish floating all around them, others don't.
Now I'm not perfect, and I am 100% positive that some of the fish that I release die. [unsure] I try to minimize that the best I can, but sometimes they just die. I also realize that the mortality rate is built into the system, and as other posters have mentioned, nothing goes to waste in the ecosystem. I have watched seagulls and pelicans come and scoop up the "floaters" within minutes. Also, I might mention, I personally feel that sometimes the regs are working a little bit TOO good at Strawberry and there are times when I catch a bunch of skinny fish. That tells me that some are going hungry, and it might be good that a few become pelican and seagull bait. Especially earlier in the summer. There were a couple of weekends when we wondered what the heck was going on as most fish caught where skin and bones.
Whatever the case, that is one fantastic fishery and I think the DWR is doing a great job with it and I wish other lakes were managed in the same ways.
I trust that the folks at the DWR know a lot more about what they are doing than I do when it comes to fishery management. Whatever regulations are in place at any particular fishery, I obey those regulations. If I'm hungry and decide to keep a fish, and if it within the law to do so, I do. If I'm not hungry, I don't. If catch and release were not allowed, I wouldn't. But as long as it is legal, I'll probably keep doing it.
Also, remember that not every fisherman catches dozens of fish each time he/she goes out so it's not like every fisherman kills a dozen fish each time they go. I know people that go there regularly and have a good day when they catch 3 fish! I've been skunked there myself many times, and those are probably the only days that I don't kill a fish! [unsure]
Just thought I'd throw in my .02 cents. Probably about all it's worth.
Randy
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I used to N.ot have E.nough T.ime O.ff to go fishing. Then I retired. Now I have less time than I had before. Sheesh.
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I wish I had a dollar for every post written that involves Catch & Release or what is the ethical way to fish. I think it is very humorous because it is basically just preaching to the choir as a vast majority of the fishermen that post here practice correct handling and releasing of fish. I also find it interesting that everybody that uses "power goo" or whatever you want to call it, is a hillbillie with a freezer full of fish that they will never eat. It is like "racial profiling" on the water.
Why do I bring this up, because overall, in my opinion, the trout fishing in Utah is amazing. This may be because of the fact that they plant millions and millions of trout annual, but still from nearly any place in the state you can drive to a spot within an hour and have a chance to catch trout over twenty inches. Strawberry is a great example. A world class fishery litteraly in the back yard of a million residents. I think that the state deserves credit for the trout fisheries they have developed and the regulations they have put into effect to protect them. We all have our own opions on how we could make them better, but there is no way that they could possible make every single fisherman happy. I always felt that on lakes such as Strawberry and Panguitch with the specific slot limit that they should be artificial only. But as mentioned on this post that does not necessarily help the issue.
I figure that the best thing to do is just go fishing.
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[reply]
Mortality rate is built into the regs [/reply]
Yep, job security.
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