Fishing for the pleasure of catching and not consuming the fish is a new trend growing in popularity for its ecological appeal. It’s a practise that requires skill and knowledge so as not to exhaust the fish when capturing it and not risk killing the fish through bad handling when releasing it back into the river. Some key tips when catch and release fishing :
• Use stronger fishing line than is necessary in order to minimize the fight
• Use single barbless hooks and preferably circular hooks.
• Use a plastic net or small mesh without knots
• Have a pair of pliers handy to unhook the hook more easily.
• Try and shorten the fight as much as possible to avoid excessive fatigue for the fish.
• Wet your hands before handling the fish (you will avoid removing the mucus that protects its skin)
• Use the fishing net and pliers to unhook the fish hook
• Avoid taking the fish out of the water. If you want to take a photo, hold the fish with both hands and only out of the water for 10seconds to prevent death.
• When you release your catch, do so in front of a weak current, hold it without going back and forth. This way the current passes by its gills effortlessly. Then wait until it leaves of its own accord.
There exist a number of very popular No Kill courses in the Dordogne valley and also No Kill courses for certain species such as salmon, black-bass and other carnivorous varieties such as pike and catfish. You will find that the number and size of the fish makes for exceptional fishing in these zones. Of course, all fish caught in these sections must be released, perhaps to be caught another day.
