FRESH WATER KEEP NETS FOR SHORE ANGLING

[STUART LANGRIDGE]

Hi to all fellow anglers concerning conservation of fish at our club outings,
We have recently been trying to do our bit for conservation of dwindling fish stocks by using freshwater type keep nets with a rope attached, this has been very effective in reducing the amount of fish kill, it can be a bit hard in rough conditions however a bit of patience often pays. I cant say that its 100% effective but it is definatley the way forward in our club master angler outings. I have been able to return many species including the larger species like rays and dogfish, wrasse, pollock coalies and codling also cope well as they are getting a good supply of fresh sea water and able to recoop after the initial shock of capture, ther will always be the casualties that have taken hooks to greedly and have damaged thier insides, we have also used keepnets in areas of low tidal influx for example river roe estuary, little did we no that some idiot would cause a major pollution incident with salmon and sea trout being the casualties , we will find out in two weeks whether there has been any damage to the superb estuary flounder fishing as we are competing there in an open competition, so to all anglers have a try at the keepnets or if you dont want to purchase one use a make shift net out of hessian sach or something similar that would let a good flow of water through
tight lines from stuart langridge carrickfergu :wink:

[Donagh]

Why would you use keep nets. Sounds like a lot of hassle and will only damage fish further. Most clubs either measure or weigh fish at capture and then release straight away.

Donagh

[STUART LANGRIDGE]

If there are venues in our club year that dont have a great return example, beaches we use the catch weigh and release method but on dangerous rock venues we dont take risks especially with kids having to clamber across slippy rocks to weigh every fish to release is not feasible therefore especially at high volume catch venues we elect to use the keepnets another point is that the poor guy with the scales especially at a venue like ramore head, wouldnt get his line into the water as it is so prolific, we have found absolutly no further damage to fish in fact on the contrary the fish are slowly recovered rather than a dogfish that is chucked straight in, to only be washed up on the beach the same can be said for most species especially whiting,as a competition angler I have seen it happen in many competitions, :o i would also point out that in freshwater matches keepnets can often be filled with hundreds of small species with no adverse effect that would detrimental to the species captured. our main priority is the safety of members on rock venues and if there are forty members of the club spead out over a two mile boundary for us it certainly works and works effectively

[Donagh]

Keepnets cause damage to fish even in coarse fishing. They should only be used with the similiar type fish in the keep net. When you gave an example of their use it wasn't on rock marks. Even on rock marks a measurement can be taken by the angler beside you. Nearly every other club in the country can practice catch and release without keep nets.

Donagh

[MAC]

I think the guys are using them in comps where fish are weighed rather that measured. I think it's agood idea and maybe it wont be long before someone makes a larger net for Saltwater fishing. As the Saltwater fish tend to be bigger hopefully you are weighing after about 3 - 5 fish so that they will not damage each other in the net. I think it's an excellent idea and surely anything is better that kill and weigh.

Kev

[x]

I'd have to agree that putting doggies or ray, with rough denticular skin, in with other fish will probably cause the skin of softer fish to be damaged. In addition, putting a whole batch of fish in a confined space that normally go out of their way to avoid each other is bound to stress them.

I haven't tried this approach with the keep net myself, so I'm well open to correction about what actually happens.

I don't agree with weight as a measure of angling success - but each to their own - preferring the idea of measure and release.

I'm not having a go here as I know time is precious under match conditions, but if you don't have the time to let the fish rest in the water after wading it back out before letting go of it (if need be), it's not doing the fish justice. The keep net sounds like a conservation friendly approach, always good, but I'd just be worried about different species damaging or stressing each other.

[squalus]

Its a good idea where practical. If the nature of your competion requires fish to be retained then being able to release most of the fish is a lot better than not releasing any alive.

[rocketman]

hi all

personally i agree with donagh that catch and release is the only way forward in match situations
on a more general level i was under the impression that the IFSA have abondoned 'weigh and kill' in favour of 'catch and release' and all competitions fished by affiliated clubs must be run on a catch and release basis

[BigPhil]

to the best of my knowledge the ifsa encourage catch and release and most clubs use it although i dont think its a federation rule as such??