Okay ... we've gone rounds on this one before ... but I've gotta get my two cents worth in again. In response to Corky ... it actually might be best the other way around when you take into account the matabolism of fish is based upon water temperature ... a fish played to exhaustion in warm summer waters ... especially at those times when the water temps are approaching 60 degrees or more.

While the original question may not have a perfect or exact answer ... the key is to do whatever you feel to be best for the fish. On the coast, some we play to the shallows ... others I'll put into a SPECIAL C&R net (more in a minute) ... it varies upon a multitude of factors ... from angler skill, fish's temperment, acceptable bank access for both you and the fish (sheer or very steep drops make bringing fish to hand probaby tougher on the fish than other options).

Learning which is best comes with experience of landing or helping others land lots (in my case thousands) of fish ... I feel that I'm a pretty good judge of what is best in each case ... and in many cases, especially in the areas that I fish heavily (such as the Canyon of the Hoh) ... the special net is brought out often.

I use a knotless, synthetic meshed, ver shallow bagged net from Loki ... the material is not very absorbant, but is very soft ... and is thoroughly rinsed inbetween fish to rid it of any grit or other contaminants. A note here ... this net is not used in the same manner as a standard landing net ... rather than netting and "closing the bag" by lifting the net handle ... the fish is simply slid into the "cage" the fine mesh creates while held in the water and left parallel to the water's surface ... basically placing the fish in a little tank while I can find a good place to pull over ... this fish with the pressure released from the line seems to calm down very quickly and actually become pretty docile.

While I'm on my vaction this year, I'm going to shoot some video that I'll upload of how to properly handle a fish .. and although my net is back in WA awaiting winter steelies, I'll make sure to take some video of how we use that one too ...

[This message has been edited by Bob (edited 08-06-99).]