How long will a fish stay alive

[Scraggles]

never understood the urge to spend hours catching fish and then throwing them back, still if that is what gives you your jollies, keep doing it

[MrBennett]

I love fishing too.

Fishing matters.

[g3rrd]

rolex said:

Thats a big one! What strength of line did you use to catch that?

15lb line size 4 barbless = 54lb 6oz. Still was not the biggest fish caught mate caught one at 62lb's Annual France pilgrimage, cannot wait for this years trip!

[Laplace]

Different fish react differently to being caught and spending time out of water.
Tench for example are highly adapted to living in poorly oxygenated ponds and have been reported to live up to 8 hours out of the water. Carp are quite a hardy species and as long as you take care of them and handle them well you will have no problems returning them back to fight again another day.
Powan, an indigenous species to Loch Lomond and Loch Eck really struggle with being caught and spending any time out of the water, unfortunately they can often be seen belly up after return.

As a general rule of thumb though, take care of the fish, don't rush as mentioned before as a drop will do the fish more damage than spending a few minutes out of the water. Take a photo if you must and return the fish supporting it until its strong enough to swim away on its own.

[okgo]

g3rrd said:

rolex said:

Thats a big one! What strength of line did you use to catch that?

15lb line size 4 barbless = 54lb 6oz. Still was not the biggest fish caught mate caught one at 62lb's Annual France pilgrimage, cannot wait for this years trip!

That's some carp.

Would love to have a crack at a 50 pounder, I caught my pb when I was 17, 38 lbs

[tinman0]

Scraggles said:

never understood the urge to spend hours catching fish and then throwing them back, still if that is what gives you your jollies, keep doing it

I've always thought that its more about getting away from a nagging wife, and collecting your thoughts, rather than a proper hobby Catching a fish is merely the by product and the justification to the wife that you aren't wasting your time.

[elster]

okgo said:

Dare2Fail said:

This is a geniune question and not meant to be interpreted as having a go at fishermen, but what is the appeal of fishing if you then have to return the fish after it has been caught? I've never quite understood it as it has always struck me as the equivilent of hunting deer with a paintball gun or tranq gun.

If you have to ask you will never understand it. IMO

Surely you can give an explanation?

[10 Pence Short]

elster said:

okgo said:

Dare2Fail said:

This is a geniune question and not meant to be interpreted as having a go at fishermen, but what is the appeal of fishing if you then have to return the fish after it has been caught? I've never quite understood it as it has always struck me as the equivilent of hunting deer with a paintball gun or tranq gun.

If you have to ask you will never understand it. IMO

Surely you can give an explanation?

You use your judgement in equipment, lure, location and timing to stalk the fish and, hopefully, get all of that right to get a non-compliant animal to make a mistake and fall for the trap.

There's one hell of a buzz in fishing wild trout on a tiny river, trying to second guess what they're feeding on, where they are in the river and then getting it right in luring them in.

I couldn't really spend hours sitting by a stocked pond with a rod on a bracket, to me that's not what I want from fishing.

[okgo]

elster said:

okgo said:

Dare2Fail said:

This is a geniune question and not meant to be interpreted as having a go at fishermen, but what is the appeal of fishing if you then have to return the fish after it has been caught? I've never quite understood it as it has always struck me as the equivilent of hunting deer with a paintball gun or tranq gun.

If you have to ask you will never understand it. IMO

Surely you can give an explanation?

Yes, I can, but its not worth it, if someone is of that mindset then no explanation will do. When you are sitting in front of that lake on a beautiful crisp morning, and your bite alarm goes mental, the last thing you would think about it that you are wasting time by not eating it when you have caught it.

Its different to hunting land animals I think, because you cannot see what is going on under the water, its just totally different, and its all about tactics, baiting, etc, and you never know how right you are until the fish start being caught. This is carp fishing, I am talking about.

[Maxf]

10 Pence Short said:

elster said:

okgo said:

Dare2Fail said:

This is a geniune question and not meant to be interpreted as having a go at fishermen, but what is the appeal of fishing if you then have to return the fish after it has been caught? I've never quite understood it as it has always struck me as the equivilent of hunting deer with a paintball gun or tranq gun.

If you have to ask you will never understand it. IMO

Surely you can give an explanation?

You use your judgement in equipment, lure, location and timing to stalk the fish and, hopefully, get all of that right to get a non-compliant animal to make a mistake and fall for the trap.

There's one hell of a buzz in fishing wild trout on a tiny river, trying to second guess what they're feeding on, where they are in the river and then getting it right in luring them in.

I couldn't really spend hours sitting by a stocked pond with a rod on a bracket, to me that's not what I want from fishing.

Exactly. Using a collection of fur, feather and cotton to create something which a wild animal thinks is a fly, choose the right fly for the conditions, stalk a fish, then present the fly to the fish in a way akin to a fly landing on water (incredibly tricky in itself) - conning the fish into striking.

[10 Pence Short]

Maxf said:

Exactly. Using a collection of fur, feather and cotton to create something which a wild animal thinks is a fly, choose the right fly for the conditions, stalk a fish, then present the fly to the fish in a way akin to a fly landing on water (incredibly tricky in itself) - conning the fish into striking.

Ooh posh! I was just sticking to my spinner yesterday.

[okgo]

I was just talking about a hair-rig and a gravel pit

Edited by okgo on Sunday 5th April 13:42

[Maxf]

10 Pence Short said:

Maxf said:

Exactly. Using a collection of fur, feather and cotton to create something which a wild animal thinks is a fly, choose the right fly for the conditions, stalk a fish, then present the fly to the fish in a way akin to a fly landing on water (incredibly tricky in itself) - conning the fish into striking.

Ooh posh! I was just sticking to my spinner yesterday.

I should have added - 'or just throw some metal in and try and gill-hook a fish'

[10 Pence Short]

Maxf said:

10 Pence Short said:

Maxf said:

Exactly. Using a collection of fur, feather and cotton to create something which a wild animal thinks is a fly, choose the right fly for the conditions, stalk a fish, then present the fly to the fish in a way akin to a fly landing on water (incredibly tricky in itself) - conning the fish into striking.

Ooh posh! I was just sticking to my spinner yesterday.

I should have added - 'or just throw some metal in and try and gill-hook a fish'

Cheeky sod!

Joking aside, I was pleasantly surprised by the state of the river (The upper Eden, Cumbria) at such an early point in the season. Should be a good one if the summer's ok.

[RadoVR6]

They don't last long when you get the priest out.

[turbobloke]

shouldbworking said:

linked article said:

It has been repeatedly demonstrated that fish can be caught and returned alive to the water without them suffering any significant stress or damage.

eh? how can this be proven? does having had a barbed hook shoved through the side of your gob and then cut out again whilst you are held captive in an environment you cant breath in not count as significant stress or damage?

Would like to try it upon the people who made that statement and see how they feel about it

There are large carp - given names as a result and some become (in)famous - caught time and time again due to their love of the bait, so whatever the rights and wrongs of fishing it's clearly nonsense that all fish caught then die from stress.

ETA similar to the point made by robinhood21 earlier in the thread

Edited by turbobloke on Sunday 5th April 15:44