To all the virgins..............Thanks for nothing!

Just like any big fish you should take as much care with it as you can before release.

Dont hang it from it's jaw for a pic, this will put major strain on its gill area where it connects behind it's bottom jaw, will also put dangerous pressure on it's vital organs.

Measure it instead of weighing it.

When you land it dont gaff it through the jaw, use an enviro net and keep it's body weight supported so as not to put stress on it's internal vital organs.

Have your camera in a handy spot before you start fishing.

Crank hard to get the fish off the bottom, then slow it all down once it's clear of structure, especially in the last ten meters.

Once fish is boated, treat it like a baby, act quick and get it back in the water asap. 

There's a lot more to succsessful release of fish than the bit at the end with a release weight,  there's so much to learn about correct handling practices on fish if your intention is C&R fishing for certain species.

I successfully fished C&R for Murray Cod (very delicate & vulnerable species) for many many years with an almost 100% survival rate, these fish require special attention to be C&R'd so I reckon I can speak on this subject with a degree of authority.

Any more questions? fire away, love to help out if I can.

 Cheers, Al.

i seen guys skull drag fish..it hurts and when it appears its undersize,most pple think slicing the bladder when it bloats out the mouth fixes it,, well it doesnt,we release weight fish.. don,t pierce the bladder ,the eys and bladder deflame,the do go back to normal size,after a bit if u cut the fish it dies within 3 weeks or so i,m told.. main thing.. don,t drag it up hard..

My friends and I have C&R hundreds of Murry cod and Yellow bellie and never had a fatality .

Just because you bring the fish up slow doesn't mean the fish isn't suffering trauma and doesn't need a release weight , even a good fish can be helped getting back down with a weight , sharks do eat them on the way back down if their slow or tired / stressed , they tend to pick up on how a fish is going and will eat it if it thinks it's an easy meal , getting it back to the bottom and near a reef is much better for them that letting them TRY and swim 80 m back down to the reef.

If I can help ANYbody with this please feel free , also Garry who is more knowledged in this than just about anybody and Wally too, even Al Bevan on Shikari who still Tags fish for fisheries even if they do want to kick him in the nuts with these new rules !!!

Brendan

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 Oatsfishwest member 88 .

IF you DONT know what your doing DON'T even think about venting, all fishes swim bladders are different and sticking a dirty needle into it will only harm it .

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 Oatsfishwest member 88 .

on the release weight Mav, just was trying to point out there's a lot more to successful C&R than just using a release weight.

It's just a tool in the whole scheme of things, and used in conjunction with good handling practices mortality rates will be very low. 

Cheers, Al.