Looking for a little discussion on what means can be taken by the non-commercial fisherman( fisherwoman<img src="/Images/biggrin.gif"><!--e7--> )to reduce the mortality rate of striped bass caught??? I am of the belief that both the recreational and commercial sectors can reduce the pressure on the bass. Let's get your opinions.

Obviuosly, crushing barbs and replacing the rear trebbles with single hooks on plugs. Circle hooks on bait... What other recommendations do you all have on getting the fish back in safer???


Thanks,

John

One thing is too avoid overly light tackle. If you take too long to land a fish , its probably not going to live. I see guys fishing the canal with lighter stuff and a 12 LB fish takes 20 minutes to land. Not good.
Fish jigs where you can. They seldom hook a fish anywhere but in the mouth.
If you are going to keep fish , put a piece of tape on your rod so you can immediately judge the shorts and return them to the water. Leaving the fish out while you find you tape measure or pliers or whatever and them humming and haoring about if its close , kills fish. On the same note , don't cut it too close on the limit. It takes too long to split hairs and if you keep a boarderline fish , its probably too short about and hour after it sits in the cooler. Could save a fish and could save you a big hassle and a fine.
I'm going to write a seperate post about poppers and will hit on the conservation aspects there too.

JOHN, Saltheart,
Salthart, hit the nail right on the head. this wips them. and the larger ones get wipped even more. one of the best eelmen I know ones told me he doesent think a stouter rod wips them as bad as the lite equipment does. he sells his fish, but when the selling season is over, he takes his table meat home and drives away from them, while they ar still feeding. Rather than do harm to them.
The only other thing I could add as a personal note is Please dont pick them up by there Gill plate, and if you do please stay as clear of the gills as possible, this is like sticking your hand's into some ones lungs. handel them by there lower Jaw if you can.

Linesides, Saltheart.
For years we have been hearing that going down to the lighter tackle is more sporting. It may be in the pure enjoyment sense but two things happen: If you spend half an hour bringing in a fish, you may be missing others, but more importantly you run a greater chance of tiring out that fish, especially when the temps are high in August, decreasing its ability to survive.

When I first started fishing seriously, I did not know that it was dangerous to hold the fish by the gills. Just a bad habit that I inherited from fishing with family when I was a kid. Fortunately, some people pulled me aside and explained it, just like you said Linesides, about how much you'd enjoy somebody grabbing a handfull of your lungs!!! That can do some major damaged in the gill's ability to extract the oxygen from the water...

The next thing that really irks me is the amount of time a fish is spent out of the water and how harshly it goes back in. If you or a friend is going to take a photo, get it quick and move on. No need to run up to the car to grab the camera. If you are prepared, do it and get that fish back in. I hate it when I see some people dragging a fish by the tail and whipping it into the water too. Irks me.

Get the fish in, kiss it ( unless you're fishing that old sewage outflow <img src="/Images/Tounge_Wink_Face.gif"><!--e5--> ), and send it back in. Short and sweet...