I am back online, and apologize for the delay in announcing the winner of this contest.
utahcutthroat is the winner of a Redington Rise Fly Reel, courtesy of Redington Fly Fishing.
Hit me @ info@flyfishergirl.com with your mailing address and i will forward it off to the powers that be to get the reel out to you. Please specify the size and color you would like. Congratulations!
We are very impressed with everyone's postings and info, and appreciate the time and effort that you all put into the contest. I have had lots of positive feedback regarding the contest and quality of responses. Thank you very much to all who participated and helped to educate. We hope to keep running contests similar to this in the future.
Everyone had great info, and the points that i thought were especially poignant were (i edited spelling/grammar on a few)...
not forgetting to wet my hands before picking the fish up
having a routine like this for me, offers every fish I catch a greater chance of a quicker recovery time which in hindsight is probably the most important factor every fisherman should uphold.
keep the mouth in the water or even better the entire head in the water
gentle cradle the upper body with one hand just behind the pectoral fin and with the other hand, hold the fish behind the anal fin
Kelts should be handled with the utmost care
often times using too light of tippet will result in over exhausting fish that even if C&R is practiced the fish will not survive
Fishing in extremely hot weather conditions is also harmful to fish (the same can be said for cold weather too)
photograph the fish in the water
I agree, "C&R and proper handling of the fish" is mental training and a philosophy. There is always something to improve based on our knowledge
these small creatures of water get the same respect as the larger breeds and require the same amount of reverence when handling
for these fish, their life depends on breeding, not growing to be a trophy wall hanger, but for their genes to survive the test of time
I wonder how many catch and release core fisherman will sacrifice one non-native species to save another?
catch and release fishing is the future of our fishing
it is our responsibility to keep these fish going after we have tried so hard to get rid of them
thinking back I kept it out of the water to long. The photograph of that first trout was so important that I didn't even realize that life was escaping from that poor trout
fast forward to the current and I try to practice very careful Catch & Release techniques since these fish are too precious to release only to end up expiring moments later
when I teach, explain, or promote my love for fishing, the main topic I advocate is how fish should be cherished, treated with the utmost respect, and both caught and returned as safely and effectively as possible
“every fish is a great fish” and I can not emphasize enough how important that saying is for me
when looking in my fly box, I consider what I am fishing for. Using the correct hook size is an important factor and even more so is ensuring all my hooks are barbless
I try to minimize the amount of time it spends on the end of my line
every piece of water has its trophy and ever river will have its day. Be it a 10lb Brown or a 12" Cutthroat
Once again - thank you everyone. A job well done!
These postings will be turned into a thread about proper catch and release techniques and moved into a different section of the forum in the next week. This will allow everyone to add more posts and information, and new members to participate even though the contest is over.
