By Skip Clement / video by Atlantic Salmon Federation
It hurt to watch. She was kind at heart but cruel in her ignorance
[dropcap]W[/dropcap]ith a son in tow she beached the big rainbow, steadied it with her foot and wrestled the treble hook lure free – one spike tearing loose skin tissue. In capture, the big bow had been desperately swimming on water-less rocks – banging its head more times than countable. The bow swam off to its most certain death that day, nevermore to produce offspring with its superior DNA – not even to be plated. She smiled as though an achiever deserving praise.
Although most of the sports fisher barbarians, catch and kill only for the boast of it (Hell Divers in Louisiana for example) or harvest as poachers have been run off by their more responsible peers, many catch and release anglers remain kind at heart but cruel in their ignorance of how to “release.”
The following video is so good at every scenario of proper catch and release techniques that it’s worth your valuable time to watch as a refresher or show as a teaching tool for your kids, fishing club or link to your fishing buddies.
The video is about safe releasing Atlantic salmon, the points made and the how-to are translatable in saltwater speak: bonefish, tarpon, permit, redfish, shark, and so on.
Featured Image: Rich Tudor shows how to revive a tarpon before properly releasing it; unharmed.
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