I think Bob's authoritative reply has more or less choked off debate. We'll wait till the fall for the video instructional but I've got a couple of other questions and comments to add to the stewpot.

Off line I received an email from an angler who asked me to ask Bob what model Loki net he is referring to (and some place to buy one mail order). This guy also brought up another approach I'll call 'Option 3': break 'em off. In Florida, big tarpon on fly are considered caught when the leader is on the rod. At that point the rod is pointed at the fish and it's broken off. (Actually landing a tarpon takes another 20-30 minutes and is hard on the fish and the angler.)

Option 3 is what one of the guides in Alaska does when fishing from a boat w/ drifted yarn: grabs the leader next to the fish and gives it a mighty yank, breaking off 6-12" of leader and the fly. I thought this was lazy and needlessly encumbered the fish with the mono trailing out of it's mouth (plus the hook has to end up set even more deeply than it was before), but it is another method and worth bringing up to see if anyone uses it or has a view.

Finally, let me ask if anyone in the Northwest uses a fish handling device called a Boga-Grip? It's a spring-loaded fish lip grasper and scale, and is popular in saltwater. I've never seen one used on salmon or steelhead and was wondering if anyone has tried it out up your way, and if so what the results were. I have a Boga and use it every week on saltwater fish. Works great. (Boga's cost $100 and can be found in Bass Pro's Offshore Angler catalog.)

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