wheels 543 Posted January 19, 2012 Author Share Posted January 19, 2012 4 people fishing at Hobbsy were catching snapper about 2" in length. I told them that if they used hooks somewhat larger than the little tiny things they had and some bait a little bigger than the match head size they had on the hook, they might actually catch a bigger fishI don't know if snapper survive being handled, but Blue cod don't. Link to post Share on other sites
Grinna 2 Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Depending on how the fish are handled and how quickly they're returned to the water, snapper can have a reasonably good survival rate from catch and release apparently. Its a difficult thing to determine with any accuracy, but its thought that survival rates for catch and release snapper are around the 80% level or higher. Snapper can and do get quite stressed with physiological responses including elevated cortisol levels, etc but their physical appearance can change when they're stressed .... they get wide vertical red stripes along their sides. The clearer the stripes, the more the fish is stressed. Link to post Share on other sites
wheels 543 Posted January 19, 2012 Author Share Posted January 19, 2012 Wow, that's interesting. We found that with Blue Cod, a bare hand would burn them and it was often possible to catch a Cod that had a perfect imprint of a hand on the side of them. I guess it must be the acid in our Skin, but also our Hands must feel very hot to a Cod that has just come up from a depth. The other issue that was common, was Shags/Cormorants woudl hang around the boat and when you released a fish, the birds would follow them down and catch the fish. Unbleievable how big a fish they would have ago at swallowing too. Link to post Share on other sites
darkside 61 Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 At the Galapagos after a dive the dive master chucks a bit of a bread roll to a pelican. The pelican just sits there looking at it and we thought you fussy bugger. But the pelican was waiting for the fish to have have a go at the bread and traded up nicely Link to post Share on other sites
Fogg 427 Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Yeah we threw plenty of under-sized back even when we were desperaret mainly cos I quite like AC and don't fancy having her confiscated. But we also thought the fish Gods might bless us with better luck! But one dilemma, we caught an under-sized snapper and it was hooked horribly through it's face and eye and I reckoned there was zero chance of survival and it would have felt more humane to kill and keep the thing than throw it back. We did throw it back but what's the official rule on catching injured under-sized fish? Link to post Share on other sites
ab1974 1 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Don't think there is. They are probably best back in the water as lunch for something bigger in any event. Imagine the number of fisherman (think the 2" ones referred to above) who would claim the fish was injured when they caught it and that is why they now have an undersize fish in their possession....... The sizes rules are good in that they are simple - much harder to have case by case interpretations Link to post Share on other sites
Grinna 2 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Wheels, you're right that handlign fish with bare hands isn't good for them, that's why you're supposed to use a damp old towel to handle the fish. It means less heat transfer, no skin acids, and if the towel is over their eyes they don't freak out so much. Hence the "depending on how they're handled" bit with regards to survival. Having said that, some fish seem to cope with damage and rough handling and still survive .... hard to know exactly how long for. If you return a fish and 10 minutes later its eaten by something else, is that a survival or a fatality? The circle hooks are really good at rolling into the corners of a fishes mouth and you'll get consistent catches and easy releases with them. Origianlly designed by the Japanese after long hours of research and testing for long line hooks the idea is that they have a higher chance of the fish hooking itself. "Striking" or jerking the rod upward to "set" the hook doesn't work with circle hooks and it just yanks it out of the fishes mouth. You very rarely get a swallowed hook with circle hooks. Link to post Share on other sites
Fogg 427 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 The circle hooks are really good at rolling into the corners of a fishes mouth and you'll get consistent catches and easy releases with them. Pics of the hooks you mean? Link to post Share on other sites
Grinna 2 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Here's a photo of a circle hook. Matt Watson talks about them quite often on his fishing show. Link to post Share on other sites
Grinna 2 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Here's another one comparing a circle hook to a J hook. Link to post Share on other sites
Fogg 427 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 OK and these are the hooks that taker convetional fresh bait, right? Whereas that plastic atomic turkey sh*t uses different hooks with integrated weights? Link to post Share on other sites
Grinna 2 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Yup, these are regular old baited hooks .... pilchards, squid, bonito, mullet etc. Can't guarantee that you'll be knee deep in fish 10 minutes after you throw your line over, but you can relax a little bit and have a beer while you fish without having to yank your rod into the air all the time. And the advantage is if you catch smaller fish, then they're easy to release. AC, I'd highly recommend going down to somewhere like WS Laurie's and having a chat with some of the guys there about what works and what doesn't. They know their stuff and they won't try to sell you stuff that you really don't need. Worth the time to have a chat anyway .... its all information. Link to post Share on other sites
Fogg 427 Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 That strange warm, yellow orb thing is visible in the sky this morning and apparently it might hang around for much of the weekend. So I'm optimistically heading out this eve with some summer clothes and a fresh bottle of sunscreen, see where the wind (or engine) takes me. Anyone else heading out this w/e? Link to post Share on other sites
Grinna 2 Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 There's not supposed to be much in the way of wind this weekend AC and I'm afraid its all my fault. We fitted our wind generator last weekend and we haven't had more than about 10 knots ever since. Sorry. Link to post Share on other sites
Megwyn 2 Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 That strange warm, yellow orb thing is visible in the sky this morning and apparently it might hang around for much of the weekend. So I'm optimistically heading out this eve with some summer clothes and a fresh bottle of sunscreen, see where the wind (or engine) takes me. Anyone else heading out this w/e? There is no sign at all of that strange warm yellow orb thing here - not even the smallest patch of blue. And there is this soft wet stuff falling consistently from the sky. Hoping it improves, because I have Mr RO at home, and he will get really scratchy if he has to stay inside all day. We are packed and ready to go sailing at the first hint . . . M Link to post Share on other sites
Fogg 427 Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 You know what Grinna, after the summer we've had so far I'm not fussy, my cruising wish-lsit (in order of preference) for this weekend is simply: 1. Warm & sunny 2. Fair wind 3. Fish are biting Even if we only get #1 I'd be happy. If #2 and/or #3 fail to materialise I can overcome that with the diesel in my tank and a visit to Auckland seafood market! Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 AC - we got our limit of your snappy things anchored mid way between Saddle and Motuora. How's that for giving up the family secrets? Link to post Share on other sites
Fogg 427 Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Thanks. Have actually been doing quite well in the last 2-3 weeks, mostly due to having a mate onboard who is dead keen (he drops the line the second we anchor anywhere and has caught our biggest snapper in the mostly unlikely areas e.g. in 3m of water up a creek in Mahurangi!). Also took someone's advice on using new (sharp) hooks and ditched that pathetic softbait nuclear chicken crap and went back to simple salted bonito - less smelly than fresh bait but more effective than atomic turkey. Result = fish for dinner every night so far. Scallops have been thin pickings tho. Link to post Share on other sites
Terry B 71 Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I'm with AC - going out regardless of no wind. Forecast at Met Service currently has the breeze coming from pretty near every direction at some point tomorrow in the Gulf Who cares, gotta go, make the most of it. Altho with lite winds there will be 50 million fizz boats fishing - so it'll be like Queen St on a Friday nite!!!! Have fun out there! Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Time your sailing for late afternoon, you might pick up a sea breeze if it gets hot enough. Link to post Share on other sites
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