10 Tips For Releasing Fish Unharmed

You can't keep every fish you catch. With fishing regulations becoming more restrictive every day, it is becoming increasingly important that all fishermen know how to handle and release fish unharmed. Here on the Reel Work, Fort Lauderdale Deep Sea Fishing Charters, we encourage our fishermen to practice catch and release. With modern taxidermy, it is possible to produce an exact replica of your trophy fish with just a picture and a few measurements. Here are 10 tips that will let you handle and release unwanted fish healthy and ready to fight another day.

1. Don't Play the Fish. Use properly sized tackle that will allow you to land the fish quickly.A fish landed quickly is much more likely to survive release.
2. Use circle hooks. Circle hooks are more likely to hook the fish in the side of the jaw reducing the number of gut hooked fish.
3. Bend down the barbs on your hooks. This will make releasing fish quicker and easier on the fish and you.
4. Have release tools handy. keep dehookers, forceps or needle-nose pliers within reach so you can release the fish as quickly as possible.
5. Can't see the hook...Cut the line! If the fish is gut hooked it is best to cut the line. It is better to loose a hook then a fish..
6. Leave large fish in the water. Take a picture of the fish boat side, then release it with either a dehooking device or by cutting the line.
7. Only touch fish with wet hands. Many fish have protective slime that can be removed by dry hands.
8. Revive exhausted fish. If the fish is overly tired, revive it by moving it forward in the water allowing water to flow over it's gills.
9. If you can see the stomach, vent the fish. The swim bladder on reef fish will sometimes expand and push the fishes stomach out of it's mouth. If you see this, use a venting tool to deflate the swim bladder before releasing the fish.
10. Don't handle the fish more then you have to! The quicker you can release unwanted fish, the more likely they are to survive to be caught another day.