04-10-2013, 11:10 PM
[quote anothersnag]Hi Ryno..........I'm curious about the kokanee that people play "catch & release" all day. Isn't it better if people keep the 1st. 3 kokanee they catch then target another species of fish? (Sure, kokanee will still be caught & released during the day, but not as many). Doesn't a good majority of these kokanee die and sink to the bottom after being released esp. when the water temp. is high? People who catch 40-50 kokanee a day just to release them then brag about it just ought to just brag about killing 40-50 kokanee instead. I for one keep the 1st. 3 kokanee I catch no matter what size then target another species of fish. Your input on this matter would be appreciated. [fishin] Thank you..............[/quote]
This topic comes up 3-4 times every year, I ‘m sure Ryno will chime in. To my knowledge there are no credible studies done on the gorge showing the mortality of caught and released kokanee. When there has been a study done, and it shows that released kokanee have a high mortality rate, then I will change my ways. I release about 90% of all the fish that I catch. While I don’t brag about it, I’m one of those fishermen that can catch 35- 40 fish a day, and I see very little morality in the fish that I release. One thing that I think will help any released fish, is to release it the proper way. Way to many times I have seen fisherman catch and then go to release kokanee and just “chuck” them over the side leaving a trail of dead or dying fish behind them. Kokanee are not very hearty fish after they have been caught, and rough handling will just lead to a higher mortality rate.
By using your method of keeping my first three kokes,what happens when I catch the fourth, and it turns out to be a floater?( Anyone that fishes the gorge very much knows that kokes can be caught when fishing for other species or vise versa.) Now I have to throw back a fish that I know will die, because I already have limit. Instead of being able to put that fish in the cooler, because I haven’t kept any fish yet, now it becomes seagull food. I do agree with you as for kokes having a higher mortality rate in the later part of the season, when water temps are high. If more people learned the proper way to release kokanee, then the mortality rate would go down.
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This topic comes up 3-4 times every year, I ‘m sure Ryno will chime in. To my knowledge there are no credible studies done on the gorge showing the mortality of caught and released kokanee. When there has been a study done, and it shows that released kokanee have a high mortality rate, then I will change my ways. I release about 90% of all the fish that I catch. While I don’t brag about it, I’m one of those fishermen that can catch 35- 40 fish a day, and I see very little morality in the fish that I release. One thing that I think will help any released fish, is to release it the proper way. Way to many times I have seen fisherman catch and then go to release kokanee and just “chuck” them over the side leaving a trail of dead or dying fish behind them. Kokanee are not very hearty fish after they have been caught, and rough handling will just lead to a higher mortality rate.
By using your method of keeping my first three kokes,what happens when I catch the fourth, and it turns out to be a floater?( Anyone that fishes the gorge very much knows that kokes can be caught when fishing for other species or vise versa.) Now I have to throw back a fish that I know will die, because I already have limit. Instead of being able to put that fish in the cooler, because I haven’t kept any fish yet, now it becomes seagull food. I do agree with you as for kokes having a higher mortality rate in the later part of the season, when water temps are high. If more people learned the proper way to release kokanee, then the mortality rate would go down.
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