C&R Rockfish

And another dumb question by the Schills! 

I'm the only one in my family who will eat fish, so I really don't often keep the fish I catch.  No problem when I'm fishing 20-30 feet of water, but what about the deep water fish?  I fished 100+ feet of water the other day in Albion and the fish couldn't survive after being thrown back in.  I've heard of descenders.. do they work?  And does anyone know what is maximum depth where its safe to put the fish back without descending them?  And a million other questions.  Anyone have some insight?  Am I the only idiot who actually throws delicious fish back?

-Schills

I was a bit hasty in this post and found some good info outside of the NCKA forums, including how to make my own descender!

Descenders work, but I use a barbless hook through the side of the lips, from the outside in. It may take several pounds of lead to get a large rockfish down. Once the rockfish descends past 60', you will feel it come back to life. Just give a quick jerk on the rod to send it on its way.

Am I the only idiot who actually throws delicious fish back?

No, I do that a lot too, since my older son is allergic to fish. But if a fish I catch is not likely to survive, I'll keep it. If we don't want to eat them, my wife gives them away to her friends. She's very popular.

here you guys go. Someone posted it on FB beginning of this year. Its FREE!! and comes with a descender device as well as a fish id chart!!

http://oceaned.org/request-devices/

here you guys go. Someone posted it on FB beginning of this year. Its FREE!! and comes with a descender device as well as a fish id chart!!

http://oceaned.org/request-devices/

+1 This!  That is where I got my descender.

How do you cook your fish? I have a couple recipes that have turned "eww fish!" friends into rockfish eatin' fools.

Hard to go wrong with a good panko mix and some tasty dipping sauces.

Other than that, I'd recommend staying in less than 30 feet if you know you'll be releasing your fish. Yes, descenders work. But wouldn't it be more fun to spend your time catching fish instead of descending them?




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Most of the rockies I catch are of the brown variety, but every once in a while Ill come across a black rocky and unless its a monster, Ill let it go in the hope that ti will live to produce more fishies for me to catch.  That being said I have yet to fish in water deeper than 40 ft. so I have not seen any signs of barometric trauma.  I did just order a fish ID card and descender for free from http://oceaned.org/request-devices/ per Smokes suggestion.  Ill let you know how that works when I need to use it. 

.... Other than that, I'd recommend staying in less than 30 feet if you know you'll be releasing your fish. ...

I catch most of my rockfish in 50 to 60 fow and seldom see any sign of trauma.

.... Other than that, I'd recommend staying in less than 30 feet if you know you'll be releasing your fish. ...

I catch most of my rockfish in 50 to 60 fow and seldom see any sign of trauma.

Yeah, I was definitely being a bit conservative with the 30 foot number. You can be 100% confident that any fish caught from that depth should swim away happy and (baro)trauma-free. Thus my recommendation.


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I've noticed that bigger fish (both rockfish and lake trout in this case) are more resilient to barotrauma. Also as a side note lingcod do not have a swimbladder so they do not suffer the same barotrauma issues that others suffer.

That being said I use bigger baits and target bigger fish. They are easier to release. As for a descender I have it on a clip and 1lb of weight. I just clip it onto my lure and send the fish back down. Works great for me.

I've noticed that bigger fish (both rockfish and lake trout in this case) are more resilient to barotrauma. Also as a side note lingcod do not have a swimbladder so they do not suffer the same barotrauma issues that others suffer.

That being said I use bigger baits and target bigger fish. They are easier to release. As for a descender I have it on a clip and 1lb of weight. I just clip it onto my lure and send the fish back down. Works great for me.

You need more than 1 lb to get a big yelloweye back down.  Be ready to add more weight if you are fishing > 100' or so. 

Ok I had to go check, I lied, it's 24 oz, apparently I don't know what a pound is in Oz 

I've also never caught a yelloweye so ymmv 

lol

Descending small rock fish is a very ethical thing to do....and also a great way to catch a giant ling.