A good article to read for all you catch-and-release fishermen...

Something to think about before handling or netting a to-be-released fish...

http://www.marinij.com/sports/ci_14145396

Thanks for the info. 

Has anyone tried replacing treble lure hooks with a good quality single hook.  I am replacing rusted hooks on some of my lures and I want to try single hooks. 

Any info appreciated.

Thanks for the link. Do you have a link to the original study? Google isn't helping.

Phil - not sure about the original study. I'll ask my brother; he wrote the article!

Phil - not sure about the original study. I'll ask my brother; he wrote the article!

figured as much ever since reading the tuna article from last year (?).  tell him i appreciate his efforts to spread the word!

Great article!  Thanks for posting the link Andrew.

Thanks for the info. 

Has anyone tried replacing treble lure hooks with a good quality single hook.  I am replacing rusted hooks on some of my lures and I want to try single hooks. 

Any info appreciated.

I've replaced trebles with singles on most of my lures. I've also crimped a lot of them.

Fishing in a C&R only lake in Canada, we were required by law to crimp all hooks - and they did check on the water with a hefty fine for EACH uncrimped one. If you had a big plug with 3 trebles that you forgot to prep, that would be $50 x 9!

Almost all of my hooks are singles, its far easier to get the hook out.  My brother when fishing for salmon on the Sac uses singles on all of his gear.  He claims more hooks up on single hooks over trebles.

This year I plan to do more C&R so this is good information.

My 2 cents. How many of you remember to wet your hands before handling a fish, especially a long fish like a striper, steelie, salmon, etc.? No rags or gloves either, to handle a released fish. Single barbless are great. Treble barbless are good too. This will work for plugs as well, the single hooks, mostly the Kwikfish kind of plug.
I don't like nets for a fish to be released. They get too beat up. I've seen it firsthand, half the fish's scales floating off in the current. The rubber type might be better, I haven't tried them yet.

I don't recall having dry hands at any point while kayak fishing....

I've done a decent amount of fishing in the Puget Sound where it's requried to run single point barbless hooks.  Kwikfish do well with single siwash hooks as replacements for their trebles, and i've done the same with other lures too

Phil - not sure about the original study. I'll ask my brother; he wrote the article!

I read him every week - good stuff.  Any idea what happened to Nels?  It seemed like he was going on leave but haven't heard anything about him.  (Nel's Johnson was the Fishing writer prior to Malibu-Two's brother and a long-time IJ writer .)

if possible i always catch and release(dont really ike the taste of fish) and i use a rubber net ALWAYS if i net a fish at all.  I used to use a cossten one but alot of the time the fish flailed 2x more because the cotton had more give and the fish sagged in the net.  With the robber they sit flat yet open.

My 2 cents

Mike

P.S.  GREAT article, your brothers a reallty good writer