
Catch and Release Fishing
Catch and release fishing is a concept that is “catching on”!
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Thanks to this new attitude, more anglers are finding satisfaction in quickly and carefully returning their fish to the water so they can spawn again and be caught again. Careful live release also allows for a selective harvest of fish: releasing large spawning-age fish and keeping smaller fish for the table.
Why practice live release?
The most common reason live release has become popular is that anglers simply want to help the fishery. It has been said that “Releasing a fish back into the water is the single greatest personal contribution an angler can make to a local fishery”. More and more anglers are keeping only a few selected fish for the table and releasing all others.
There are other reasons to practice live release.
Fish caught during the closed season must be released right away. Also, there are waterbodies throughout Ontario where size limits are in effect. Fish of a size which may not legally be kept must be promptly live released.
Anglers who purchase a Conservation Fishing Licence must also be proficient at live release. When fishing with a Conservation Fishing Licence, anglers must carefully and quickly live release any muskellunge, aurora trout, Atlantic salmon or sturgeon they catch, as the Conservation Fishing Licence does not authorize the keeping of these species.
The number of anglers who fish Ontario’s waters has increased substantially over the last quarter century and anglers are becoming better at what they do. Anglers are more educated than ever before, and many own advanced tackle and electronics – which can result in increased catches. For these reasons, the need to practice catch and release fishing is essential to sustaining Ontario’s fisheries. Although many anglers are catching more fish than ever before, they are also releasing more than ever. Study after study indicates that live release results in more and larger fish.
When and where should I release my catch?
“Selective Harvest” is a term used when anglers release a chosen portion of their catch yet still keep a few fish for the table. Most of Ontario’s fish are excellent to eat. Harvesting enough for a meal or two is perfectly acceptable and an important part of fishing.
However, some fish are better to keep than others. For example, fisheries managers and anglers alike realize the value of larger fish in a population not only for their trophy qualities but for their spawning superiority. In many cases it is better to keep a few of the averaged-sized fish you catch, and release most or all of the larger ones.
In Ontario waters, species such as yellow perch, rock bass and sunfish are far more abundant than game fish such as walleye or bass. Keeping a number of these “panfish” may well be preferable to keeping a limit of the less abundant game fish species.