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Safe Handling TechniquesWhen Releasing Snook (This originally appeared in the March 2007 issue of Fly Fisherman magazine) The Bad News: Nearly 45,000 snook that anglers conscientiously “released” because they were out-of-season, or outside the slot limits, were killed in Florida last year.
The Good News: Only about 10 percent of them were killed by fly anglers. But that’s still too many! We can do better by following these suggestions from Florida’s premier snook biologist.
According to Dr. Ron Taylor of Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, of more than two million snook caught last year 2.13 percent died after being released. That might not sound like much until you consider that it negates nearly all of the stocking that Mote Marine has done during the past 10 YEARS!
The major culprits were bait fishermen using treble hooks. According to Taylor, “most of those fish died from being hooked in the guts.
“There were fish that died after being caught on flies,” Taylor admits, “but the biggest majority of snook that died after being released were fish that were caught on bait. Poor handling techniques also contribute to mortality.
“It’s common to see photos of anglers holding snook by the lower jaw, suspended vertically. That can break the muscles in their lower jaw that are essential in the feeding process. When that happens, even though the snook looks healthy when it swims away, it can’t feed properly and ultimately dies.”
According to Taylor, the best method for landing snook is with a jaw-clip mechanism in order to minimize human hand contact with the fish’s protective slime coating. After removing the hook (and single-hook lures obviously are far better than “gang” hooks), hold the fish horizontal in the water until it regains strength. Snook will actually suck on your thumb until they’re ready to swim away.
“I see people rapidly shoving the fish back and forth in the water,” Taylor says. “But that’s not a natural motion for any fish. Just hold it quietly until that fish lets you know it’s ready to be let go! Then just open the clip and you’ve successfully released an unharmed snook.”
Taylor says that when anglers absolutely need photographic evidence of their success to show the folks back home, it’s best to use a jaw-clip device, moisten the other hand, and cradle the fish’s belly in a horizontal manner. “Unhook it, or cut the line if the snook swallowed the bait, and snap the photo quickly.”
Then follow the release method detailed above to help minimize snook mortality.
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