PB Rainbow Upper Kern, 8/9/09

[Rich and Noah]

Went to the Upper Kern to try out some new spots since the stocking ban went into effect. Fooled this 3+ lb Rainbow using a 2 lb leader and salmon egg. Luckily we had a net. Great job by Timmy getting all the tackle/crap out of the net! Fished for about 2 hrs and landed 4 trout and some misc. squaw fish.

This is the biggest fish we've seen after fishing these parts for the past 3 years! Didn't have the heart to kill it so we let her go. Catch her again next time.

[Sorry for the finger thru the gill, made sure fish was ok before letting go]

Enjoy

[DCCTrouserTrout]

Nice fish. Way to go on the release!!

[smokehound]

Thats a beautiful trout! Thank you for releasing him, big fish= big babies.

[Troutman65]

Nice going on that trout. ( I would of had it for dinner that very night. )

Thanks for the post.

[smokinflies]

Nice fish. Way to go on the release!!

ditto:Envious::Envious:

[PWBUILDING]

great fish & glad to see you teaching your son how to enjoy

[joe man]

Nice report and fish. That was a nice calm spot you found on the Kern.

[Granny Fish]

I'm glad you released it, since they aren't stocking anymore.

[FISH ON]

I'm glad you released it, since they aren't stocking anymore.
ditto...................rich & Noah are first class anglers in my book!!!!!!!

[mth1997]

Yes, nice going on releasing her, but are you holding her through the gills?

Please, folks, for the sake of a fish that you want to live...PLEASE handle the fish the proper way to ensure survival. Just because it swims off doesn't mean it lives. Trout and bass are very different regarding how they can be handled.

Good C&R tactics:

1. Wet your hands before handling the fish. Dry hands strip the fish of natural slime coat that protects against infection and helps in hydro-dynamics, the fish getting through the water with little resistance.

2 NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, HOLD THE TROUT BY THE GILLS OR GILL PLATE. This might be an accepted way of holding a bass, but not trout.

3. Try to keep it in the water. After about 15 seconds of being out of water, the gills begin to be damaged. Imagine sprinting for the duration of the fight you have with the fish, then being held underwater. You'd suffocate. So will the fish you fought.

4. If you're down for catch and release, be down for C&R, not for getting the best pic. The death of a fish for the sake of a photo isn't good C&R. Boasting is one thing, having the memory of landing a big ol baby in your head without a photo is a pretty good second place.

5. If you want to hold a beast up, form a ring out of your index finger and thumb around the tail, and cradle the belly with the other hand. This is MUCH better for the fish. Holding it like a bass is no good. Lipping it isn't great either, for reasons other than they have teeth ; ) Also, don't squeeze a trout. Their organs are very sensitive.

6. Rubber or mesh nets are OK, but knotted nylon nets suck. Any net with big holes it in sucks. They will strip the slime coat and damage fins and tails, leaving the fish open to infection. Use a net only when necessary (like for the bigguns).

This is the second post of a great trout that has been handled incorrectly that I've seen since yesterday. I commend you folks on C&R, especially on waters that are no longer stocked (like the Kern, upper and lower), but if you don't do it the right way, you might as well have kept it.

I don't mean this to be dicky, just informative. I'd love to fish the Kern in 20 years, but if stocking never resumes (which is likely) people need to practice proper C&R for us to be able to do that.

[Kevman]

Congrats on the beautiful fish and release!

Props to mth too for good C&R info presented in a fair manner. I saw the gill hold, too.

[tpfishnfool]

Yes, nice going on releasing her, but are you holding her through the gills?

Please, folks, for the sake of a fish that you want to live...PLEASE handle the fish the proper way to ensure survival. Just because it swims off doesn't mean it lives. Trout and bass are very different regarding how they can be handled.

Good C&R tactics:

1. Wet your hands before handling the fish. Dry hands strip the fish of natural slime coat that protects against infection and helps in hydro-dynamics, the fish getting through the water with little resistance.

2 NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, HOLD THE TROUT BY THE GILLS OR GILL PLATE. This might be an accepted way of holding a bass, but not trout.

3. Try to keep it in the water. After about 15 seconds of being out of water, the gills begin to be damaged. Imagine sprinting for the duration of the fight you have with the fish, then being held underwater. You'd suffocate. So will the fish you fought.

4. If you're down for catch and release, be down for C&R, not for getting the best pic. The death of a fish for the sake of a photo isn't good C&R. Boasting is one thing, having the memory of landing a big ol baby in your head without a photo is a pretty good second place.

5. If you want to hold a beast up, form a ring out of your index finger and thumb around the tail, and cradle the belly with the other hand. This is MUCH better for the fish. Holding it like a bass is no good. Lipping it isn't great either, for reasons other than they have teeth ; ) Also, don't squeeze a trout. Their organs are very sensitive.

6. Rubber or mesh nets are OK, but knotted nylon nets suck. Any net with big holes it in sucks. They will strip the slime coat and damage fins and tails, leaving the fish open to infection. Use a net only when necessary (like for the bigguns).

This is the second post of a great trout that has been handled incorrectly that I've seen since yesterday. I commend you folks on C&R, especially on waters that are no longer stocked (like the Kern, upper and lower), but if you don't do it the right way, you might as well have kept it.

I don't mean this to be dicky, just informative. I'd love to fish the Kern in 20 years, but if stocking never resumes (which is likely) people need to practice proper C&R for us to be able to do that.

Give it a rest man, the dude released the fish.. we all get so tired of honks posting up after a good gesture of releasing a fish..........

[mth1997]

Give it a rest man, the dude released the fish.. we all get so tired of honks posting up after a good gesture of releasing a fish..........

I'll never give it a rest. This guy had the right sentiment, just the wrong way of going about it. Hopefully my post, which was not attacking or disrespectful, informs folks who value catch and release, like Rich and Noah apparently do. If you think you can just handle a fish however you want then release it and have it survive, you're fooling yourself.

[Skaguy04]

I'll never give it a rest. This guy had the right sentiment, just the wrong way of going about it. Hopefully my post, which was not attacking or disrespectful, informs folks who value catch and release, like Rich and Noah apparently do. If you think you can just handle a fish however you want then release it and have it survive, you're fooling yourself.

I second that...

[TShaffer]

I second that...

All in favor...Ay!
All opposed...Nay.

[gman90706]

Ah hell, that was me holding the fish, don't really remember but surely from the pic my finger(s) are rammed right through the gills... so blame me not Rich & his son on this one.

Was a nice mini-epic battle on the 2lb test, heck my intentions all along were to keep it as soon as we landed it (trust me the pic doesn't really do justice to what a monster it was). Only after a photo shoot & quick discussion on how that's the biggest trout we'd ever personally seen pulled outta there did we decide to release it (out of respect if not anything else).

I've never released a keeper trout before, so never was taught anything about that. I'm just not a C&R type guy ... always have kept & ate everything but dinks out of that area in the 30+ years I've been fishing it.

That being said, the advice from mth1997 is appreciated. Solid suggestions that haven't fallen on deaf ears. Thanks for the tips. Next time we'll take better care on any C&R's. We at least did our best to baby it for a while 'til it had it's strength back and appeared fine, sure hope it's OK.

[Kevman]

Ah hell, that was me holding the fish, don't really remember but surely from the pic my finger(s) are rammed right through the gills... so blame me not Rich & his son on this one.

Was a nice mini-epic battle on the 2lb test, heck my intentions all along were to keep it as soon as we landed it (trust me the pic doesn't really do justice to what a monster it was). Only after a photo shoot & quick discussion on how that's the biggest trout we'd ever personally seen pulled outta there did we decide to release it (out of respect if not anything else).

I've never released a keeper trout before, so never was taught anything about that. I'm just not a C&R type guy ... always have kept & ate everything but dinks out of that area in the 30+ years I've been fishing it.

That being said, the advice from mth1997 is appreciated. Solid suggestions that haven't fallen on deaf ears. Thanks for the tips. Next time we'll take better care on any C&R's. We at least did our best to baby it for a while 'til it had it's strength back and appeared fine, sure hope it's OK.

Great attitude, bro! Two thumbs up! Can't blame you for keeping some tasty trout to eat. I've also released fish that have really fought hard so I know where you're coming from. You released a quality fish to fight again. Great catch on 2#. Congrats. Catch it again when it's 5 pounds!

Good Fishin',
Kev

[annex138]

I'll never give it a rest. This guy had the right sentiment, just the wrong way of going about it. Hopefully my post, which was not attacking or disrespectful, informs folks who value catch and release, like Rich and Noah apparently do. If you think you can just handle a fish however you want then release it and have it survive, you're fooling yourself.

I 3rd this