With all the restrictions going on I thought I would review a post we did a while ago.
Here at Top Gear Fishing, we believe in looking after any fish we don’t keep, it doesn’t matter what breed they are, they are an essential part of the Eco system, take away one and it affects all, especially our target species.
First off we should try and handle with care, try not to cause any undue damage to the fish especially when removing the hook.
A fish brought up from depths, especially quickly, will suffer Barrotrauma, a bit like a diver coming up to quick and getting the bends. Some species suffer more than others, if the fish is bloated and or, has a tongue or bubble coming out of its mouth it is suffering Barrotrauma, anybody fishing for any amount of time will have seen this.
What we do at Top Gear is have Syringes on board, we remove the plunger and use a largish gauge, 16-20, size of needle, we then push the needle into their belly as per the photos, you will immediately hear air come out, if you don’t either move it around gently or remove and redo, it only goes into the stomach cavity until air is removed, you can then either put it into your live tank for recovery or once you become proficient at it, let them go back to their home so they can keep growing and breeding and helping to ensure a good catch in the future. Leaving a trail of fish floating upside down to die a horrible slow death is not cool.
