A Belly-Up Fish Can Still Swim Off If You Hold It Right
How to revive a belly-up fish: hold it upright into current, wait for the righting reflex, recapture if it rolls, and get deep-caught fish back down.
Catch & Release Handling
Techniques for minimal wounding, proper revival, and safe release to ensure fish survival.
Catch and Release Only Works If the Fish Swims Away
Catch and release succeeds or fails in the seconds between hookset and swim-away. Control fight length and air exposure, and the rest falls into line.
Why Fish Get Lost at the Pier Rail and How to Land Them
Most pier fish are lost in the last ten feet, where the line is shortest. Here's how to tire, control, and land or release them cleanly over the rail.
What a Biologist Sees When an Angler Lifts a Bass Off Its Bed
A nest has one parent, and lifting him off it starts a countdown. Here's the biology of spawn-season nest loss and the handling choices that follow.
That Jaw Grip Isn't Harmless, and the Slime Layer Is Why
A jaw grip isn't the real problem. The slime layer is. What happens in the few seconds your hands and net touch a fish, and how to keep that coat intact.
The Longer You Fight a Fish, the Less Chance It Swims Away
Fight duration, not net technique, decides whether a released fish can recover. Here is how to land fish faster with steady pressure and keep a release routine.
Your Released Fish Rolled Over, and It Can Still Recover
A fish that rolls over at release can still swim off. Here's how to read the minute after the hook is out, and what to do when it clearly isn't ready.
When a Fish Is Deep-Hooked, Should You Cut the Line?
A deep-hooked fish usually does better when you cut the line close to the hook. Here's how I decide, and why a tidy extraction is often the worst outcome.
How Fisheries Biologists Handle a Fish From Hookset to Release
Fish handling is one continuous sequence from hookset to release. See how the fight, the landing, and the unhooking decide what revival can still fix.
How to Release Fish Cleanly From a Boat Without a Bank to Stand On
Netting, unhooking, measuring, and reviving boat-side when there's no bank to stand on. How to stage the deck so the fish barely leaves the water.