Dead Trout. RIP.

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Ive been fishing since i was a kid but almost always for bass and panfish and exclusively catch and release. Last year i decided to spend some time targeting trout in the small rivers and streams im town. Ive been pretty lucky and had some success last year and scored my first of the year this afternoon.

And it died.

Bass and panfish always swim off fine as long as theyre not really guthooked, but id say about 50% of the trout i catch go belly up after minimal fights while hooked in the lip/mouth. I try really hard to “keep em wet” and handle minimally, and as lightly as i can but they just sort of die.

What can i do to release more trout back into the stream?

Pic is of Trouty (the name i gave this Trout). RIP. He will go to my friend’s freezer because fish is barely food.

83511810-36FA-40D9-AB22-CB52ED181655.jpeg
 
You'll want to reel them in as quickly as possible w/o breaking your leader. As above mentioned, they can take a little work to revive. Keep them wet and in the water as much as you can then support them facing upstream (assuming moving water). Just a guess but IIRC I have had less than one in ten not make it. Bass and panfish you usually can just toss back- definitely a difference with trout.
 
I do not take them out of the net. Net and fish remain in water. I use my tweezers to grab the hook and remove from the fish. I try hard not to touch the fish. Turn fish into the running water and revive in net, then release. I don't this often since I prefer to eat them though :)

Trout have a slimy protective layer on them, like pickerel. But in the case of the trout I believe the are very sensitive to the removal of that stuff.
 
I pinch the barbs on my hooks (single hooks) so that I don’t have to handle the trout. I just slide the hook out once I bring it in and generally don’t touch the fish. Also, as the water temp rises you should minimize how much you play them, especially in the top 3+ feet of the surface. Never killed one in 40+ years unless I wanted to eat it. Also, never used a net.
 
I started pinching down the barbs on my hooks this year, hook came out very easy. I dont use a net so i think i need to pick one up.
 
Very sensitive to being squeezed too hard
Thats what i thought had been the problem, i didnt even touch this one though. I reeled him in in about 2 seconds through maybe 10 feet of water. He thrashed at my feet for like 10-15 seconds and when he calmed down i popped the hook out without touching him, just pliers. Deadski.
 
Wait...

You guys eat these things?

Some. They are a mild fish. I have a friend that loves them so I always keep them.

Simple to clean, remove the backbone, cut the head and tail off, pan fry it in butter over a campfire. Delicious.

Next time leave the Back bone in and the tail on. When done lift the tail a few inches. and use a fork to separate the fillet off the bone starting at the point where the meat tapers off to the tail And working forward to the head. Flip and repeat.

The skeleton will Come out nearly intact and you will have less bones to deal with as you enjoy your meal.

Bob
 
And since we’re on the subject I like to poke a sharp object like a very thin blade or ice pick right into the brain of the fish to kill instantly. Ikejime. Can’t say for sure that it enhances the meal or not but since the Japanese do it to their $$$ tunas I do the same.
 
Don't play the fish to death, fish barbless never take the fish out of the water, all you have to do is reach down and twitch your fly out of the fish mouth. The trout will swim away
 
When you land them, use a mesh gloved wet hand to handle them, your fingers are bad for the mucus on their skin.
Hold them by the tail and pull them back and forth through the water to get oxygen through their gills.

Also, stocked trout (which in MA is probably what your are catching) are from a hatchery and probably not all that hardy anyway, they are stocked for "put and take".

Wild and native trout are typically hardier, but you still have to be gentle with them.
 
I’ve never tried to fillet a trout due to the bones. I’ve always just cut head and tail off and fries it like that.
I cook them whole most of the time myself. Every once in awhile I will filet one if it's decent size. Then I use tweezers to pull out of the pin bones. I'm not fast it takes me about 20 minutes A fish.
 
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