Deciding you’re going to release (most of or all) of the fish you catch is a great first step. The second great step is handling them in a manner that will make it likely they’ll live. Not all fish you release are going to live – but you can ensure that the majority of them will, if you follow a few short steps.

First, NEVER hold a fish with dry hands. Our friend Jeff Anderson once had a 1,000 saltwater tank in South Tampa – and a license to keep gamefish. We put a trout in there one year that we put back when he grew too big three years later. The handprint never came off that trout. WET your hands before touching a fish.

Second, do NOT hold the fish by the neck or mouth or gills or throat and hang it temporarily (especially true for larger fish) by breakable parts so somebody can snap a worthless picture. Take pictures of fish alongside the boat. If you don’t believe us and want to take a picture of the fish in your hands (as many do), WET your hands first, then pick the fish GENTLY up holding one hand under where their ears would be and one under their stomach. Have somebody take the picture FAST and then get the fish back in the water. Don’t drop it – put it gently in the water, and move it forward and backward a moment or two. The water moving over their gills will make them come back to life.

Third, do NOT handle the fish if at all possible. Release it while it’s still in the water alongside the boat using pliers to pull the hook from its mouth. If you fish with the rod in your hand and recognize strikes, you will rarely gut-hook a fish.

Fourth, if you happen to gut-hook a fish, do NOT pull and yank until the hook comes out with something hanging on it from the animal’s intestinal canal. A fish has a chance – limited, albeit – to live if you gently cut the line on a gutted hook very near (inside if possible) the fish’s mouth. If you rip the hook out, that fish is dead.

As they swim away – do NOT forget to watch them. Watching a snook swim gently away after a release will teach you how to recognize as they’re swimming BEFORE you catch them.

Author: Gary Poyssick
Photo: Matt Clarke