How to reduce release mortality of billfish

[sanchoco]

I would like to open a discussion on how to reduce release mortality of billfish. As a professional Captain, Tackle Shop owner and boat owner I would like to have billfish populations increase in the future. I am not interested in talking about commercial fishing but what we(recreational) fishermen can do to help our own selves.

I fish all circle hooks with bait of any type. Use fighting techniques to catch fish as fast a possible and cut the leaders on all my releases. I use a 4ft release stick and 4ft leaders so when the swivel is close to the wireman's hand he can cut the leader as close as possible. I am starting to try a 4ft double leader that I can cut at the swivel and take the whole leader out of the hook. I never touch the fish, and try hard to keep my fights under 30 minutes. Research shows that release mortality doubles after 30 minutes of fighting. I am more interested in a good release then total numbers and try and protect the fish from the boat and my paint from him. If a fish shows signs of fatigue I will tow it to help revive him. I am also trying a chemical call rejuvenate that is used for inshore release tournaments to help fish revive.

Please give me any suggestions that may help.

[Swami]

I think you hit just about everything you could be doing--the only thing I would add would be to keep the freespool dropbacks to the fish short. I cringe when I see people using a ten-count (or even longer) dropback because they're afraid of missing one. Even with circle hooks that's going to gut-hook a fish once in a while when the hook hangs up on a gillraker or part of the esophagus as it comes back up. After fishing with some very knowledgable captains, pretty much every one agrees that while every bite is different, a four-count to really no more than a six-count is all you ever need. Longer is not better for the fish.

Your mileage may vary (significantly); this is just how I was taught to do it.

[Captain Fred Archer]

Sanchoco,

Congrats on the release practices you have written of here. I agree with all, with the added reccomendation that the points on the C-hooks be dulled and the barbs removed. I hope that you give it a try and I'm sure that you will find that you will land just as many fish as before, but more importantly, that those you release will do so more easily and faster. Plus, in time you will see that the marlin and sails have little problem ridding themselves of the hooks once the line pressure has been eliminated.

Here's a trick from my shark books that we use (sounds like you are experimenting with it already) to release thresher and mako sharks that have been hooked a bit too deeply or that are too green and wild for the usual hook removal process. It leaves the barbless hook and a short piece of leader in the fish's mouth with a great likeyhood that the fish will shake off the hook quickly. The upper and hook leaders can be easily modified for billfish and I'm sure that a sharp angler like you will have no problem figuring this out if you choose to.

Once again, felicitaciones for taking steps to minimize the harm that you could do to the billfish in a venue that, unlike those that some fish that are lesser venues with a lot less fish, has many of them. That shows me, at least, that you are a good shepherd of the fish that we and those who we take fishing love. I call that intelligence and class and I salute you for it!

[sanchoco]

Thanks for that tip. I am working on something like that but as part of the hook leader so there is no line left at all.

I will try the barb-less hook. I used them before we went to circles years ago. As for the dulling of hooks I do that for my tarpon fishing and it works great. the hook slides on the bone until it finds a soft spot and I jump off very few of them now. It did not seem to work as well for my billfishing but I do not use high dollar hooks for billfish and the salt in the bait box dulls the eagle claw hooks a bit anyway.

[Captain Fred Archer]

Amigo Sanchoco,

Muy bueno on what you are experimenting with. I'd be very interested to see and hear about how it works out.

I never liked the Eagle Claws because of that fast corrosion thing. Since we dulled the points on our hooks, that wasn't a big deal, but we had some corrode so much that the hooks broke on us. That was unacceptable. Plus, just the saltwater environment and many days in a row of fishing caused too many of them to corrode just from the salt in the air and they didn't last long in the cooler with brined ballyhoo. We bait and switch fished almost exclusively and so we had issues with ballyhoo that didn't get pitched for long periods of time. That got worse when we switched over to pitching plastic ProSquids. So, we used the longliner hooks which have no corrosion issues.

Interesting that you mention tarpon. That was the first fish that I used circle hooks for and in turn got hooked by them down in Key West thirty-five or forty years ago. The decrease in missing and having them jump off on us was shocking! After that first night I had no problem trying them on anything.

Suerte con las empates y anzuelos.

[sanchoco]

interesting that a topic like this gets no attention on this site. I guess people are all worried about others killing fish and not themselves.

[teddyp]

interesting that a topic like this gets no attention on this site. I guess people are all worried about others killing fish and not themselves.

Its not that this subject isn't getting attention its that it isn't that interesting of a post. In your first post you said almost everything that you should do for a proper release. Its like when a pretty girl keeps asking if she's pretty. Your pretty sanchoco, keep up the good work.

If you want to get a lot of responses than tell these guys that shark fishing is for amateurs and chunking for tuna is cheating.

[sanchoco]

there has to be people out there with other ideas. Every were I have fished I have learned something and I can't know everything about this either.

[Fishlamanta]

If you want to get a lot of responses than tell these guys that shark fishing is for amateurs and chunking for tuna is cheating.

thats so funny I nearly fell off my chair!

[Fritz]

If you want to get a lot of responses than tell these guys that shark fishing is for amateurs and chunking for tuna is cheating.

Well what's wrong with that statement?

I do think circle hooks have done more for billfish mortality than anything else. Frankly, I don't see why some guys still fight it. Besides the health benefits to the fish, the hookup ratio with C-hooks is just better than with J-hooks.