Catch-and-Release: Fishing for the Future!

by: Ryan Hardy, Fishery Research Biologist Idaho Department of Fish and Game While walking in a crowded parking lot looking for my vehicle, I noticed a bumper sticker on an old beat up Ford truck. My first impression was that it would say something disagreeable. On the contrary, it read something a bit more satisfying: "Two creeks diverged in a yellow wood, and I fished the one posted CATCH-AND-RELEASE.....and that has made all the difference." In this day and age, there is an increasing number of people who fish for sport and choose to release their catch to ensure productive fishing for the next time around, even where regulations do not require them to do so. This growing-in-popularity philosophy of catch-and-release fishing reveals that angling is and has evolved into a recreational activity of more than just a way to provide food on the table. So why catch-and-release? From a non-biological standpoint, it is very easy to rationalize why to keep a fish, especially with the increasing expense of a typical fishing expedition, the uncertainty of success, and the appeal of a tasty fish dinner. So aside from regulations requiring bag and length limits, why would anglers wish to adopt the practice of catch-and-release? One of the first and foremost things that comes to mind for those of us who have children and/or grandchildren, is that catch-and-release is a way for us to help ensure they have fish to catch just as we did. Looking at today's angling technology and intense fishing pressure, it is easy to see how some of our local recreational fisheries, such as cutthroat trout fishing on the St. Joe River, could be depleted quite rapidly. Catch and release fishing in the St. Joe has increased the density of cutthroat trout by five fold, to the point where it is now a famous fishery. Bag limits are generally set to allocate harvest opportunities among anglers. Only when bag limits are very restrictive, in other words, set below the number the average angler can catch, can they be effective at limiting harvest. What would happen to our recreational fisheries if whenever we went out fishing, we caught and kept our limit, day in and day out? This is not to say that you should not keep any fish you catch. Lots of anglers throughout the country still enjoy consuming fish almost as much as catching them. However, sportsman can make a difference in their fisheries through wise choices made in the field. Not all anglers have to practice exclusive catch-and-release to help out the resource. An additional way is to practice selective harvest of only those fish needed and releasing the rest unharmed. With some fish populations, keeping only larger fish that have already had a chance to spawn helps to ensure a self-perpetuating population. Having a minimum length on cutthroat trout is a regulation that helps ensure plenty of fish for the future. In other populations, it may be that releasing the larger fish helps perpetuate a population of quality size, which so many anglers desire. For example, a crappie fisherman who releases the larger "hens" is practicing sensible selective harvest. These larger females often hold 3 to 4 times more eggs than smaller females. Size of spawning females can make a big difference in numbers of eggs spawned within a season. Catch-and-release can be a rather complex issue. Often, there are instances where restricting harvest will not increase a fish population size or numbers where something other than harvest is the problem. Factors such as loss of spawning and over-wintering habitat, disease, and competition with other species can also come into play. The bottom line is that, for catch-and-release to be an effective way to make fishing better, harvest of fish (rather than death by other causes) has to be keeping the population in check. Catch and release can, and has been, a very effective fish conservation tool when used appropriately. In some instances, however, keeping your catch is a fisheries management practice to reduce the threat from species that have increased to problematic levels. For example, there may be instances where keeping predatory fish, such as large rainbow trout and lake trout, could result in increases in prey populations like kokanee. Although controversial for those who wish to catch-and-release these fish, in the long run they may benefit from a larger prey base. Another example would be the reduction of non-native fish such as brook trout that compete with native cutthroat trout and bull trout populations for available stream habitat. Where there is a need to encourage harvest of fish, fisheries managers do so through changes in angler regulations. Releasing a fish is not always as easy as it sounds. Most fisherman have memories of their beautiful fish slipping gracefully out of their hands hitting the bank or floor of a boat and flopping relentlessly, turning their fishing trip into a mind numbing game of hot potato. Needless to say, this makes the successful release a bit more difficult. Catch-and-release, whether voluntary or required, must be done properly if it is to succeed in having the fish survive. Often, the consistent use of improper releasing techniques can result in killing the fish a few days later. A few easy techniques such as reducing the fish's time out of water, not touching gills, cutting the line if the hook is swallowed, and the use of a knotless net to reduce de-scaling can greatly improve a fish's chances of survival upon release. Today, taxidermy has advanced to accommodate the catch-and release angler by offering exact replicas of the fish caught simply by a photograph, length, girth, and approximate weight. So as anglers of a new day and age, we can all practice stewardship of our fish resources and invest in the future of fishing by releasing those fish we don't need to keep for conservation purposes or for a tasty meal. "Limiting our kill" rather than "killing our limit" will ensure that future generations will continue to have the opportunity to experience top quality angling along northern Idaho's lakes, rivers, and streams.