|
Post by Roobarb on Oct 16, 2007 23:17:22 GMT
I've been asked to help out with out of season rod and line broodstock fishing on Devons river Axe this year, its a tough job but somebody's got to do it. Actually it will in all probability be fairly uneventful, the five year average for the whole river must be less than 20. However the EA don't want to net or electro fish so rod and line it is. The EA run a trap on one of the weirs which usually produces enough hens but for some reason it gets very few cock fish, the same is true for sea trout. It is hoped that we can find the missing cocks...
It has been suggested that we hold any fish we get in keep nets until they can be collected but I don't fancy lugging one about all day. I've read about tethers somewhere (it may have been in the "other place" or on one of the sea trout fora but I cant find it). Does anyone know anything about them or have a link to anything?
Also on some of the beats it may be necessary to carry the fish several hundred yards to the vehicle with the tank, any suggestions on how to do this without stressing the fish too much?
Cheers
Andy
|
|
|
Post by builnacraig on Oct 17, 2007 6:39:45 GMT
The guy to speak to is Gethyn Thomas, who is the T&S correspondent for one of the Welsh rivers. I contacted him several years ago on this subject and he very kindly supplied me with an example of the tethers they use, along with a photo of a tethered salmon.
I never needed to use the technique but I am sure it would work. The tethers were made from old fly line. there was a spring clip on the end which was passed through the mouth and out the gill cover before it was clipped back onto a loop in the tether, forming a fixed loop holding the fish. the other end was secured to a strong point on the bank.
Most of the experienced broodstock guys I have met use large, strong clear plastic bags which they use to carry fish a surprisingly long way. You don't need a lot of water in the bag. At that time of year water temperatures are low and the fish tough.
I can't find the photo of the tethered fish at the moment but will post it when I do.
Builnacraig
|
|
|
Post by Roobarb on Oct 17, 2007 8:53:04 GMT
Thanks. I like the plastic bag idea for carrying them, I was thinking doing something similar with heavy black polythene tubing (about 1 foot diameter) to keep them in the dark.
Andy
|
|
robbie
Active Member
Posts: 882
|
Post by robbie on Oct 17, 2007 9:01:26 GMT
Pike fisherman have for years used a "Tube" to hold fish in for recovery/photography purposes. You could also use it to cary fish to the collection point within it, therefore reducing fish handling. It is knot free and fish friendly, and with only 2 rings, is very light and compact for carrying around. I googled "pike tube" and selected the following link at random www.leslies-fishing.co.uk/acatalog/Fish_CareP.htmlHope this is useful Robbie
|
|
severnfisher
Active Member
The Severn Valley in spring
Posts: 226
|
Post by severnfisher on Oct 17, 2007 10:19:54 GMT
salmosalar.proboards80.com/index.cgi?board=englishrivers&action=display&thread=1145555931&page=4From Stumpy's post: "Hi Tom, the stringer is dead simple to make,mine is made out of a used fly line about a 10..about 25ft is long enough... firstly you need to find some sort or clip to make the main release bit,lots of key rings have quick release clips which are cheap to but or alternativly a large rapala quick release clip can be used. Take your clip and thread it about 5 foot up the line,next make a 4" overhand loop to keep the clip in that position,a drop of super glue can be added to the knot to keep if from opening,next take the end of the line closest to the clip and make another loop about 6" and do a double over hand loop and pull tight,slip a 3" piece of shrink tube over this loop and pull down to knott and shrink down tight to leave a 3" loop,and your ready to go,all you do is push shrink tubed end in behind gill cover and straight out of mouth,then put clip onto the loop comig out of fishes mouth and line can be payed out and teathered to a stick on similar to recover,once the fish has recovered,simply draw line slowly in an release clip off loop and let the fish swim off and loop should just come away as fish turns and swims off..."
|
|
|
Post by Silver Stoat on Oct 17, 2007 10:39:43 GMT
Exerod.
A friend of mine runs the local fish farm where the Dyfi fish are stripped for the smolt scheme (and also catches about 90% of the broodstock !). He transports any fish he catches in his local area in a large, tough plastic bag - rather like a jumbo sized old fashioned shopping bag - stopping to renew the water from time to time if it has to be carried some distance (1/4 mile+ sometimes). If the the fish is a largish one, then it will be trapped in a landing net held down with large stones until he and an assistant can collect it in a plastic dustbin. This system seems to work well and there have been few casualties over many years. A plastic dustbin will easily fit into a small van so could be the answer for collecting your fish.
You should not have too much trouble getting the cocks, they get very aggressive as they get closer to spawning and will usually wallop any fly that gets close.
Dave.
|
|
Speyducer
Advisory Board
Release to spawn another day
Posts: 4,123
|
Post by Speyducer on Oct 17, 2007 11:28:05 GMT
Also, British carp fishermen, who in the UK don't ever kill or retain their fish, are absolutely geared up for catch & release:
1. landing in HUGE landing net 2. Transfer to a landing mat to protect the fish from harm if it should flap about 3. safe release off barbless hook 4. transfer to a weight sling (sometimes the landing mat doubles as a weigh sling by zipping up the sides) 5. weigh and record fish accurately (most in UK would have scales that go to 55-60lbs, but on the continent, many will have scales that go to 120lbs) 6. take appropriate pictures whilst fish properly supported, many of these would be with the fish having been returned to the water WTH the angler, and the angler holding the fish up out of the water for a few seconds per photo 7. allow recovery in water, prior to safe release to the depths. 8. When a very large fish and it is night-time, some will, if the local rules allow, place the fish in the water in a carp sack - a light soft mesh sack of perhaps 5 x 3 feet with a zipper opening and a D ring to attach the carp sack cord, which is secured to the bank.
The only thing that the carp guys (and I have fished as one for over 15 years as well) don't generally do, is measure the fish length and girth; the weight and photos are all that is recorded. Again, it is a matter of being prepared for that possible fish of a lifetime.
I have now, in my game fishing kit, a large luminous dial scale, a weigh sling, and a tape measure in addition to the usual digital camera & waterproof digital camera.
Mike
|
|
robbie
Active Member
Posts: 882
|
Post by robbie on Oct 17, 2007 11:29:49 GMT
That's good to know for the 9th November Mike. I can leave mine at home
|
|
Speyducer
Advisory Board
Release to spawn another day
Posts: 4,123
|
Post by Speyducer on Oct 17, 2007 11:32:37 GMT
The other small snippet of info is, if you think that a fish will weigh more than the scales you have, or has bottomed out the scales, then, with the fish in an appropriate weigh-sling support with handles/loops, you can use TWO sets of scales in parallel, ie, both scales are seperately wieghing the fish, each sharing some of the weight, and you simply add the weights of each together.
You can't do this with scales in series (ie one scales hooked onto the other scale, as the second scale simply weighs the fish and the other scale!!
We had to do this for a catfish of 76lbs in France, where no-one had a scale of greater than 55lbs
Mike
|
|
|
Post by Willie Gunn on Oct 17, 2007 12:03:33 GMT
I have been using tethers on the Conon and the Beauly for at least 10 years now. I whip a loop on to the end of an old fly line; this makes it stiffer so that it can be pushed through the gills and out the mouth easily. I then attach a snap swivel about 3 feet up the line; it is then easy to clip the loop to the swivel. It is easy enough to attach the other end to a bush or tree root although I did used to carry a tent peg for smooth grassy pools. The fish happily swim behind the boat when crossing the river.
Once when we were retaining spring fish on the Conon, the local osprey spotted breakfast neatly tethered in the Russian. On other occasions the tethers supplied by the syndicate which had to be tied mysteriously became untied allowing the fish to escape, why anglers cannot tie good knots simply amazed me.
|
|
|
Post by Roobarb on Oct 17, 2007 21:40:34 GMT
Thanks for all the input and links, just what I was looking for. All we have to do now is find the fish, a bit of a needle in a haystack job given the very low numbers running the Axe but we shall try.
Andy
|
|
hornet
Active Member
Posts: 1,120
|
Post by hornet on Oct 17, 2007 21:43:01 GMT
Good Luck Andy,
Hopefully you can get a hold of them.
Hornet
|
|
|
Post by builnacraig on Oct 26, 2007 20:40:24 GMT
Found the photo of the salmon on the tether. this was sent to me by Gethyn Thomas, of the Dovey? Builnacraig
|
|
|
Post by salmonking on Oct 27, 2007 6:25:12 GMT
The thing that kind of gets me about this is,,,,, what if that fish get's a fright and takes off at rapid speed? the damage done could be substantial.
|
|
db
Active Member
Posts: 34
|
Post by db on Oct 27, 2007 8:59:40 GMT
The thing that kind of gets me about this is,,,,, what if that fish get's a fright and takes off at rapid speed? the damage done could be substantial. Very good point SK. Would't it be better to at least tether fish in deeper undercuts where they feel more secure and can just sidle beneath the banking?
|
|
|
Post by Roobarb on Oct 27, 2007 9:03:17 GMT
Found the photo of the salmon on the tether. this was sent to me by Gethyn Thomas, of the Dovey? Thanks for the photo. It looks like a cock fish, if it is still there can we have it! SK those were my thoughts when I first read about it but seems it has been used fairly widely by people who know what they are doing for some time now. Nobody has reported a problem yet Andy
|
|