Keep or put fish back

A common misunderstanding is that you should always put fish back. In put and take it is often the other way round. Many waters require you to keep caught fish up to the bag limit, simply because you are paying for the fish you take. What applies always sits with the permit seller, and that is where you start.

Check the water’s rules first

The rules differ between waters. Some have a keep requirement, where you keep fish up to a certain bag limit. Others have size or slot rules for what may be kept. Catch and release occurs on some waters, but is not the standard in put and take, unlike much other sport fishing. Read what is on the permit or with the seller before you decide how you handle the fish, so you do not break the rules by mistake.

If you keep the fish

Kill it at once and properly, see kill fish humanely. Keep the catch cold and look after it promptly. How you clean and cook it is under cooking the catch. Looking after the fish well is part of fishing responsibly: if you have taken it for food, see that it becomes good food.

If you put the fish back

If the water allows putting fish back, do it gently:

• Always wet your hands, because dry hands damage the slime coat that protects the fish against infection.
• Keep the fish in the water as much as possible and minimise time in the air.
• Unhook quickly with forceps and avoid squeezing hard around the belly.
• Let the fish recover in the water until it swims away under its own power.

When it is kinder to keep it

Not every fish can be put back with a clear conscience. If the fish is deeply hooked and bleeding, or played hard in warm water, it often does not survive being put back. Then it is both kinder and more responsible to kill it and count it against the bag limit, instead of throwing back a dying fish. That belongs with bait: artificial lures hook shallow and are gentler, while natural baits are swallowed deep. More on this under rules and ethics.