Fish release tool

[Guy Gregory]

My fly club has manufactured and weakly promoted the Runje Releaser (Run-G) for a long time, you can google it and pick it up locally for about 10 bucks. Simple to use, I imagine it works like the other wire loops. It took me a while, but with practice it's pretty easy.

 

[RCF]

How often do you actually use a tool? In my experience I release more fish inadvertently with slack in the line, which is fine with me. Sometimes i purposely introduce slack so the fish is released quickly. A lot of times the fish unhooks itself in the net which is great!

i consider a fish caught when i can determine the approximate size of tfe fish.

Trout do not seem to hook deeply as much as other species. I do not fish blobs which seems help.

I just want to see the fish and see it swim away to be caught another day unharmed and with minimal stress.

 

[krusty]

How often do you actually use a tool? In my experience I release more fish inadvertently with slack in the line, which is fine with me. Sometimes i purposely introduce slack so the fish is released quickly. A lot of times the fish unhooks itself in the net which is great!

i consider a fish caught when i can determine the approximate size of tfe fish.

Trout do not seem to hook deeply as much as other species. I do not fish blobs which seems help.

I just want to see the fish and see it swim away to be caught another day unharmed and with minimal stress.

I'm always happy with an LDR, even with big fish, as long as I get a glimpse. Makes it easier to lie about their immense size.

I fish blobs, and they definitely do increase the deep hooking rate, and I snip off more tippets with blobs than any other pattern. I think trout are habituated to sucking in blobs because they resemble tasty fish eggs. I've had some stellar fishing days with pink blobs when netted hens are spewing pink eggs all over the kayak.

I have only tied on true barbless hooks for many years, but on the rare occasion I use one of my older flies with pinched down barbs I've also come to the conclusion that even a properly pinched down barb still creates hook release problems.