Treatment of Snagged Fish in Streams

 

If you have spent more than one day on a salmon or steelhead river chances are that you have illegally hooked a fish. I know that I have done it numerous times, but watching a person on the Rogue River in Rockford, Mi catch, fight, and land a snagged king salmon brought several questions to mind about the treatment of snagged fish.

Most states DNR indicate a fish not hooked in the mouth must be returned to the stream immediately and can not be kept under any circumstances.

Now some river are easier to tell if you have snagged a fish than others, but my question is “Should you play out a knowingly snagged fish?”

When fish are hooked they begin excreting hormones that allow them to try to get away from their capturer. To avoid making this post overly scientific I will avoid the big terms that really have no place in general reading. As these hormones build up in the fish they require a longer time to recover. Consider it similar to a human sprinting and jumping for a few minutes! After that we are tired and sore and need sometime to recover.

Now fish are built to run and jump for long distances, especially during their spawning time, so compare them to professional athletes, but even they need a break once in a while!

So once you know that you have a fouled hooked fish on your line should you play them out and land them knowing that you are placing the fish in an unnecessary position where they could end up dying and no one is legally allowed to keep them? Or should you break off the line to prevent them from the added stress and tie on an new set-up and go on your way?

This is something I have struggled with for a long time and I have come to the following conclusion:

If you snag a fish when it would be easy to land them and remove the look without added stress on the fish I beliece that you should, especially in shallow streams that receive a lot of fishing pressure. The last thign that we want is another angler catching the same fish and getting your hook in their hand!

However, if the stream is large and it will take a significant amount of time to land the fish and the angling pressure is not too bad – or the stream is large enough to where the chances of another angler catching the same fish is minor – I believe that it should be broken off and ensure the fish will live to fight again.

Please leave your comments as this is a topic that comes up quite frequently in DNR meetings, fish biology research, and other applicable platforms and I would like different anglers points of view on this extremely important topic.

Thank you in advance!

J.Crane Flies & Tackle Staff

Steelhead Alley Fishing Report - Walnut & Elk Creek Erie, PA

This week saw a medium-sized push of fresh fish into the tributaries around Erie, PA. Listed below are pictures from elk and walnut creek. These pictures were taken early this week and documents just how low the creek levels are and the extreme clarity of the water.

Fish were being taken from the pier along the east bank of the Walnut Creek channel by people using spinners , power bait, and spawned sacks. 

Fish in the streams were available for the taking, however it was imperative that you found a time when the fish were not completely spooked . at some points during this week even fish in larger holes would spook with the drop of a split shot into the water .

Anglers were hooking into fish with both live bait , spawn , and flies. minnows seem to be the bait of choice for live bait anglers , while small spawn sacks with a single BB split shot under a float seem to do the trick. fly fishermen were utilizing a combination of streamers, nymphs, and egg/spawn imitations.

From talking with a number of successful anglers it is clear that the following patterns for flies emerged over and over. (pictures listed below)

The rain this week may bring the creek levels up , however I do not expect a significant change in fishing conditions until the water level increases and a new run of fish enter the stream.



Tight Lines - Until Next Time,



J.Crane Flies & Tackle


REMEMBER: always respect land owner property and signs. pick up any garbage that others left behind and leave only footprints behind.








Elk Creek Just Up From Mouth - Week of 10-14-13
 



Mouth of Walnut Creek - Week of 10-14-13

Just Above Stop Sign Hole at Walnut Creek

Stop Sign Hole







 

NOTE ON PICTURE USE:
You may use these pictures that were taken by J.Crane Fly & Tackle Staff for any non-commercial work. We own the right to all pictures placed on this blog and allow their use for educational, news, or other work that is for the greater good of the public AS LONG AS J.Crane Flies & Tackle receives credit for the photos.