Handling Trout for Catch and Release

Trout are slippery! They have a protective slime all over there bodies which helps protect them from infectious diseases. If this slime is removed from the trout's skin, they may not be able to fight off infectious diseases.

When you're reeling in a trout, you pretty much know if it's a keeper before you get it out the water. Anything under 6 inches is too small to keep. And many anglers practice catch and release all the time.

So when you're reeling in the fish, you want to be careful not to reel it upon shore It's best to remove the hook from the fish while it's in the water (or at least pull it up out of the water). Letting a trout flop around the ground, deck, boat, etc. can cause harm to it's scales and protective slime.

You want to be careful handling your catch so as to minimize the amount of slime and scales that are removed. Get the hook out as fast as possible while handling the trout as little as you can. If the trout is large and you can remove the hook while keeping the trout's head underwater, that's even better.

You can still take a moment to take photos of the trout you intend to release. Just try and do it quickly and hold the fish by the tail and belly (as shown in the picture) to help minimize damage to it.

When releasing the fish back into the water, you want to keep in mind that it may be tired from the fight and may need a bit help to regain it's strength so it can swim off again.

You can help out by lowering the trout's head in the water and moving it back and forth to force water through it's gills. Hold the fish by the tail until it shows signs of being able to swim off by itself. You don't want to let the fish go if it's too tired to swim away.

Practicing catch and release helps protect and preserve fishing resources. As anglers, we want to do our part by not causing the fish undue harm.

This trout tip (and more) can be found in the eBook, "Trout Fishing Tips".