Double delight.....

[speycaster]

what a beauty

thats one of the nicest looking fish i have seen for a long time well done TT

[watermole]

12lb. sewin..

....Just the one then..? :>

...Only kidding Steff,-magnificent fish..well done!

David.

[goldhead]

fantastic fish -well worth waiting for-goldhead

[sewinfly]

Excellent fish Steff.

sewinfly........

[IanMcD]

Super one Steff... |\
TL's
Ian

[Aled]

Da iawn Steff, another beuty.
Tight Lines
Aled

[fredaevans]

Ok, I'll be the 'wet blanket.'

It is a beautiful fish, no doubt about that. But if you intended to return the fish to the river why did you even take it out of the water? Post photo's like that on a US based fishing board and you'd get a 'ration of poop' thrown your way.

Majority of folks here would have left the fish in the water, taken the picks, and then turned him/her loose.

[Leighton]

It is a beautiful fish, no doubt about that. But if you intended to return the fish to the river why did you even take it out of the water? Post photo's like that on a US based fishing board and you'd get a 'ration of poop' thrown your way.

Majority of folks here would have left the fish in the water, taken the picks, and then turned him/her loose.

With no intention of sparking up a big debate here, but I dont really see a problem with taking a few quick photos & returning the fish asap.
I would imagine that the fish was handled & treated with care & respect.

Thats my personal take on it.

[fredaevans]

Leighton, I'm sure your correct vis a vis 'care and respect.'

I would imagine that the fish was handled & treated with care & respect.

Thats my personal take on it.

(:,
Problem is fish 'internals' are designed to be supported by the surrounding water so taking them out really puts a strain on their internal organs (removing the protective 'slime' aside).

Game regulations here (at least in Washington and Oregon) require you to leave the fish in the water if your not going to keep same. Even pulling the fish on to the gravel/sand bank is considered a 'no-no' as it will/can remove the fishes protective 'slime.'

Fred

[Teifi-Terrorist]

Thanks for the comments gents.

Fred; I net the fish, unhook the fish on grass or gravel if it's too big to do when mid-river etc. Take some pics, support the fish in the water until it is strong enough to swim off, then smile at my capture as it swims off into the deeps. This system works for me. Personally I find this as being more than acceptable, and is the system I will continue to do over the forthcoming season/s.

Each to their own.

TT.

[fredaevans]

Indeed, to each his own.

Each to their own.

TT.

Just don't take the fish out of the water here in the PNW. A big 'no-no.'::

[Tyke]

Fred

Fred,
From what I have seen on TV of steelhead fishing in the US it seems that few anglers carry a net, or if they do its one of the very small laminated wood handled ones [this also appears to apply to many guides].
As a result the fish are played untill they can be handled [although the sight of an angler trying to handline a large & lively fish because he was a bit premature in grabbing the leader is always exciting!]. For night fishing for Sewin [particularly large ones] a net is preferable as the fish can be netted & brought under control at an earlier stage before its energies are fully spent - thus resulting in a much shorter recovery period for the fish & a higher probability of a successful recovery. [Also trying to grab the leader in the dark would be ''challanging'' to say the least].
I agree in daylight the fish could be unhooked in the net whilst in the water, but night fishing demands a torch to do this & any light on the water risks spoiling the fishing [which is not acceptable on public association water, in particular, where others could be waiting to follow you down the pool], therefore standard practice is to head for the bank & lay the fish [ in the net] on soft grass etc before heading back to the water for the release. This works well, & remember that by UK law all landing nets have to be of the soft, knotless knitted varity which minimises damage to the fish - possibly less than trying to hang on to a active fish by hand whilst un-hooking it.

For US anglers an ideal compromise would be to use a big knotless net but to unhook the fish in the river in daylight, thus putting the least possible stress on the fish of all.

Best wishes, Tyke.

[fredaevans]

Good points all Tyke.

Fred,
From what I have seen on TV of steelhead fishing in the US it seems that few anglers carry a net, or if they do its one of the very small laminated wood handled ones [this also appears to apply to many guides].
As a result the fish are played untill they can be handled [although the sight of an angler trying to handline a large & lively fish because he was a bit premature in grabbing the leader is always exciting!]. For night fishing for Sewin [particularly large ones] a net is preferable as the fish can be netted & brought under control at an earlier stage before its energies are fully spent - thus resulting in a much shorter recovery period for the fish & a higher probability of a successful recovery. [Also trying to grab the leader in the dark would be ''challanging'' to say the least].
I agree in daylight the fish could be unhooked in the net whilst in the water, but night fishing demands a torch to do this & any light on the water risks spoiling the fishing [which is not acceptable on public association water, in particular, where others could be waiting to follow you down the pool], therefore standard practice is to head for the bank & lay the fish [ in the net] on soft grass etc before heading back to the water for the release. This works well, & remember that by UK law all landing nets have to be of the soft, knotless knitted varity which minimises damage to the fish - possibly less than trying to hang on to a active fish by hand whilst un-hooking it.

For US anglers an ideal compromise would be to use a big knotless net but to unhook the fish in the river in daylight, thus putting the least possible stress on the fish of all.

Best wishes, Tyke.

Very few 'bank anglers' will carry a net, save for the situation where they're not moving around from run to run. On a boat, it's rare one that doesn't have a net on board. Loved this line: " [Also trying to grab the leader in the dark would be ''challenging'' to say the least]." I can well imagine!! Actually, most areas where you'd find Steelhead (PNW, BC, etc.,) you can only fish from one hour before dawn to one hour after (anti-snagging regulation).

"For US anglers an ideal compromise would be to use a big knotless net but to unhook the fish in the river in daylight, thus putting the least possible stress on the fish of all."

Usual 'trick' to release a fish is to leave him/her in the water and take a stout set of forceps or 'needle-nose' pliers and grab the hook and pop it out. If too well hooked (pulling would damage the fish) we'll just cut the leader next to the hook. Carbon steel hooks will 'rot out' on their own in a mater of a few days.

And I agree, a properly netted fish is actually being well supported if the fish is removed from the water. That said, the idea of shuffling along a river bottom in the dark doesn't sound like my cup of tea. You guys "get an unexpected bath" very often?

fae

[Tyke]

Unexpected Baths

Fred,

as we tend to fish familiar beats & therefor know the bottom contours pretty well this doesn't happen too often [although the first wade of a new season down after big winter floods & gravel movements can be exciting - I generally try to do this in daylight at the start of the season, but its not always possible],however I have noted, more than once, that it can be rather chilly in April !

What we do get, increasingly, is an unplaned gentle shower caused by walking thru an unseen patch of thistles in the dark in yet another pair of useless overpriced breathable chest waders - oh the joy, I've got 4 pairs & 3 of them now leak to some extent. [I'm so scared of Knackering the last pair that I'm only going to wear them indoors from now on.... but enough of the kinky stuff !]

One good thing about night fishing - no one can see well enough to critisize my lousy casting with a single handed rod [ I prefer 'em about 16ft for daylight work after salmon on a sizable river in Scotland] , but the fun of a big seatrout in the dark here on the Towy makes it all worth while, if ever you get over here you should give it a go.

Best wishes, Tyke,

[Ugie Fisher]

As we would say in peterhead " what a stoter" great fish steff. Is that an airlite you are fishing with? is it any good?