{"id":2120,"date":"2022-01-30T19:22:58","date_gmt":"2022-01-31T01:22:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wisconsinsmallmouth.com\/?page_id=2120"},"modified":"2022-01-30T19:24:57","modified_gmt":"2022-01-31T01:24:57","slug":"proper-catch-and-release","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wisconsinsmallmouth.com\/?page_id=2120","title":{"rendered":"Proper Catch and Release"},"content":{"rendered":"<h5 class=\"p3\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">Catch and Release (C&amp;R) generally means landing a fish, holding it up to show off, taking a few photos and putting the fish back in the water to fight another day.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>But C&amp;R also reflects the core values of WSA and its long-standing Free the Fighter (FTF) focus.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n<h5 class=\"p3\"><strong><span class=\"s1\"> Both C&amp;R and FTF refer to letting smallmouth bass and other game fish go for someone else to enjoy the fight. \u00a0However the Catch and Release part has much more meaning and involves the care and PROPER handling of the fish to ensure it has the highest chance of survival.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n<h5 class=\"p3\"><strong><span class=\"s1\"> The Wisconsin\u2019s DNR offers these steps: <\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li4\">\n<h5><strong><span class=\"s1\">Land the fish as quickly as possible.<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"li4\">\n<h5><strong><span class=\"s5\">Keep the fish in the water as much as possible.<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"li4\">\n<h5><strong><span class=\"s5\">Handle the fish as little as possible. Use wet hands or gloves.<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"li4\">\n<h5><strong><span class=\"s5\">If the fish is deeply hooked, cut the line and let the fish go.<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"li4\">\n<h5><strong><span class=\"s5\">Treat the fish gently throughout the release.<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5 class=\"p5\"><strong><span class=\"s1\"> Building on this base, WSA recommends:<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li4\">\n<h5><strong><span class=\"s5\">Never holding the fish by its lower lip in a torqued position.<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"li6\">\n<h5><strong><span class=\"s5\">Using a gripper to avoid putting fingers in gills.<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"li4\">\n<h5><strong><span class=\"s5\">Cradling the fish with both hands to support its weight.<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"li4\">\n<h5><strong><span class=\"s5\">Minimizing time when displaying and taking photos.<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"li4\">\n<h5><strong><span class=\"s5\">Easing the fish back into the water rather than tossing it.<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"li6\">\n<h5><strong><span class=\"s1\">Using a rubber net, needle nose pliers, and fish handling gloves.<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"li6\">\n<h5><strong><span class=\"s5\">Substituting circle hooks or barbless hooks on lures.<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"li4\">\n<h5><strong><span class=\"s5\">Educating fellow fishers about the proper C&amp;R steps.<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5 class=\"p7\"><strong><span class=\"s1\"> Research in various states with different fish species shows that torquing the lower jaw and suspending a fish by its full weight can result in physical damage.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>This damage and stress can eventually result in death.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n<h5 class=\"p8\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">Here is a link to an important study showing what happens when a bass is improperly handled: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired2fish.com\/fish-biology\/what-happens-when-you-hold-a-bass\"><span class=\"s9\">https:\/\/www.wired2fish.com\/fish-biology\/what-happens-when-you-hold-a-bass<\/span><\/a>.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>In addition, other informative fish handling articles are included in portions of our website that will help in this important handling sequence.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n<h5 class=\"p8\"><strong><span class=\"s1\"> Ten percent is a common mortality rate that can be much greater under higher water temperatures.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Mortality also increases if fish are handled by their gills.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n<h5 class=\"p8\"><strong><span class=\"s1\"> Proper handling makes all the difference when you practice Catch and Release and Free the Fighter.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The fish and fellow fishers will appreciate it. <\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Catch and Release (C&amp;R) generally means landing a fish, holding it up to show off, taking a few photos and putting the fish back in the water to fight another day.\u00a0 But C&amp;R also reflects the core values of WSA and its long-standing Free the Fighter (FTF) focus.\u00a0 Both C&amp;R and FTF refer to letting <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/wisconsinsmallmouth.com\/?page_id=2120\">READ MORE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2120","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wisconsinsmallmouth.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wisconsinsmallmouth.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wisconsinsmallmouth.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wisconsinsmallmouth.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wisconsinsmallmouth.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wisconsinsmallmouth.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2120\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wisconsinsmallmouth.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}