in the 1970s, pollution, overfishing and habitat loss nearly annihilated the nation’s striped bass population.

Now, scientists conducting studies in Maryland, North Carolina and Massachusetts claim that catch-and-release fishing—long considered a means of helping to sustain fish populations—may be killing, not sustaining, stripers.

In this month’s issue of Fly Fisherman magazine, Brad Burns, a Maine fly fisherman and author of the L.L. Bean Fly Fishing for Striped Bass Handbook, says the nation’s recreational fishing community is unintentionally killing about 1.3 million striped bass a year.

The accusation has recreational anglers on the defensive. They say proper handling techniques and equipment result in a successful catch and release. A wound or swallowed hook may result on occasion, but the ability to survive is not usually compromised if the procedure is done correctly, they say.

Paul Carpenter, president of the Catch and Release Foundation in Pound Ridge, N.Y., said in a telephone interview that if anglers use the proper techniques, fish mortality should not be an issue.

Using the right equipment—such as a single-hook lure—and limiting the fish’s time on the hook and out of the water aid a fish’s survival.

Other suggestions include not using stainless steel hooks, as they do not dissolve in the fish’s stomach when swallowed; protecting the fish’s slime coating by wetting your hands first before handling or by keeping the fish in the water; and paying attention while fishing to increase your chances of lip-hooking, rather than gut-hooking, the fish.

If you go out and are smart, you’re fine, Carpenter said. Ken Warner, research and management supervisor for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, agrees with Carpenter.

He said catch and release, in general, works well for Maine’s recreational fishermen. Using the proper fish tackle and fishing when the water temperature is cooler than 70 degrees Fahrenheit will help to reduce the mortality rate after catching and releasing a fish,

Author: mkmcst

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