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aktuelle Mondphase:

16.03.2008

Fly Fishing

What a fish! Look at the fin! A beauty of a Sibirian grayling!
 

Fly fishing is the reason we try to cast a fly. We want to catch fish with it. The difficult and spooky fish make us improve our fly casting technique and our knowledge about the target fish and their environment. With no doubt the fishing, the attempt to catch fish, is the motor that keeps us motivated in developing all our skills that are necessary to become a successful fly angler. I started fishing at a very early age and after having gone through the basic school of fishing with all its facettes from ground baiting to spin fishing and even big game I finally got hooked on fly fishing in 1978. That's a long time ago and although I have fished so many waters around the world and have caught so many beautiful trophies I still get curious if not to say nervous like a child before christmas if it gets to fish a new water which I have never fished before, especially if it is said to be a really good one. Flies are tied, bookes about it are read, locals are contacted in advance and maybe friends are sought after who have fished the water before. When it gets to fish waters with no or difficult/limitted access Google Earth is a nice tool we can use to feel right at the river and study it right from our living room. I am a fisherman, a real fisherman, much more than I am a fly caster although I am meanwhile known for my flycasting abilities more or less around the globe. The only reason why I became a quite acceptable fly caster is because there were always good fish around which had chosen a stand which was quite difficult to fish and required a good technique to get the chance to get a take. I was quoted several times for having said that the more difficult a fish is to catch for me the more valuable it is for me and the fish which I cannot catch with all my experience is the most valuable one. This is still true because from this fish I can learn a lot. There is always something you can learn. You can study its habits, its feeding rhythms, its prey, to better handle water currents or to develope an even better way of presentation to ... finally get the take you are waiting for. After having caught such a fish after hours, days or weeks I feel really greatful for having got the chance to learn a bit more about a certain species.
 

Fish barbless!  
There were many articles published about the pros and cons of barbless(or bent down barb) fishing. There are also those who argue that a micro barb would harm a fish less. I believe a fish does not care too much about our little hooks in their mouth and I am sure that they do not feel pain or stress in the way we feel them all. But if you have to hold your fish longer than necessary in your hands, if you have problems to get the hook out of his mouth even after several attempts, then the fish skin will not be the same any more and you can believe me that this can lead to infections which can kill it. If you hook yourself, your guide or your friend during a fishing trip in the wild you will soon recognize that the release works much better with a barbless hook. A fish which is not hooked well gets away anyway with or without a barb!
 

Handle your catch with care!
You can often see fishers(not only fly fishers) which seem to do not trust their tackle or fish too light leaders and as a consequence play the fish far too long. They may even resuscitate the fish for a long time and somehow make them swim out of their hands. Many fish die some time after their release if they are played too long(lactic acid shock). So please never go fishing without a C&R net. Catch and release nets are a valueable help for reducing fighting time on one hand,  and un-hook and handle the catch in the water on the other hand. These knotless nets do not harm the fish skin and the fish can be kept in the water during handling and can be released in a much better condition.
 

Be careful with taking pictures!
If you want to make pictures of a trophy fish or a protected fish which you are going to release later you have to be very careful to not harm the fish. Wrong handling can lead to a much higher death rate of released fish. A C&R net is a must for someone who wants to make a picture of such a fish. Until your fishing buddy is ready to press the button you can leave the fish in the water in the C&R net all the time, lift it for a second to take the picture and release it carefully. Never lift a fish by holding it in the gills or head up. Especially migrating fish which are full with eggs are very sensitive and it is a must to handle them in the most gentle way. The roe is too heavy and the strings that keep it in place inside the fish will break if you hold such a fish head up. A female spawner that is lifted this way will not be able to spawn any more. If you take pictures of a fish, support it under the pectoral fins and hold it around the tail. It you are on your own, you have to be a pro to make such picture. Without having a landing net and a camera stand placed in advance you should not even think of making a picture at all. The fish will be thankful.
 

Catch & Release
Catch and release(C&R) is an important tool to protect endangered species. Resident fish populations are much more in danger in regard of overfishing than most migrating species. Fisheries which are dependent on resident species need a very good management. I don't think C&R is necessary everywhere and in some countries in Europe it is even forbidden. I like to eat fish from time to time but if I decide to take a fish I always care of the water I am taking it from. You should know some basics to recognize a good spawner, a so called valuable fish. In Central Europe we have minimal sizes and even catch and must-kill-regulations. Every single biologist knows that such (catch a 22cm-brown-trout-and bang it on the head) regulations are very doubtful. You better protect the valuable age groups of fish and make it possible to take the old fish(and the young if the populations allows it). You can even have a high minimum size. An old fish has carried out its duties and needs a lot of territory. But you have to know the water because a big fish is not everywhere an old fish(a 60 cm brown trout from the Gačka in Croatia is usually only about three years old). Better take migratory fish and protect the resident ones. In Europe it is not possible to push a C&R policy at all but if you fish in the Yellowstone and recognize the huge amount of fly fishers you will soon understand that C&R has its right to exist, too. I think a population considered release(PCR) is the more realisable way in Europe. Anyway I think more and more if not to say most of all good fly fishers release most of their catch. Limit your catch, don't catch your limit!

Rules for C&R

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