i was wondering what you guys thought about fish being accidently snagged. this has happend to me a few times. its tough to let a fish go that you know will most likely die in a few hours, but then again is it really worth gettin all your gear and licence taken away? i know they can't just say its ok to keep a fish that is accidently snagged because we all know what would happen if they did. i snagged a real nice silver last year on accident in the sky, it tore about a 1in. hole in its belly, there was no way this fish was gonna live so i kept it. iv also let a number of fish go under the same situations. what do you guys do?

by the way, caught 2 silvers 12 and 13lbs, chrome bright. what a way to start the season! 4 fish in 2 days of fishing.

The price on the tickets they give out these days makes it not worth it unless you have a relative named Gates. Besides the fish will provide protein for the new smolts when they arrive.

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Marty
Steelheader.net marty@steelheader.net

Hey Bud, keeping a snagged fish is against the law for obviously very good reasons. A vast majority of snagged and released fish survive because their gills and throats aren't involved. The fish you kept with the hole torn in it's belly might have survived long enough to spawn. I have seen very big holes torn in bellies, sides, and backs of salmon and steelhead by seals that have made it all the way up into upriver areas with the wound semi-healed over. In the few instances that one should die it will provide needed nutrients to the river for juvenile fish to feed on, as Marty mentioned. You were very wrong and against the law to have kept that fish; if unwittingly, now you know not to under any circumstances! Can you imagine if that excuse to keep a fish were acceptable? Whiifftt ... whiifftt ... whiifftt ... whiifftt ... whiifftt ... would be heard a lot more than it is unfortunately heard already. - RT

I agree 100% with both posts of marty's and rt...it is simply illegal, not worth mental anxiety that comes along with stuff like that.

Have Fun and if you want keep 'em if their legal.

Jim

Bud4you,

I agree with the other posts. I've always looked at the issue of releasing fish and post-release mortality this way: if I release a fish, it has some chance of survival, even if that chance is a low one. If I kill and keep a fish, it has zero chance of survival. Pretty simple, really.

And this is independent of ethical issues such as snagged fish or the legal matter of retaining an unlawfully hooked fish. Another way of looking at it is that I've never caught a fish that I really needed to keep, and there is no wastage in the natural ecosystem. If it's snagged, release it. In the long run, you'll sleep better.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.