Just a heads up to check water temps. Yesterday morning, the entire lake was good at about 65 degree H2O temps, then in the afternoon all of the lake went to 68 except by the Cinder Hill area which was at 66.
68 is warm for catch and release! Be very gentle on fish you release and don’t add stress by taking them out of the water to remove hooks or take photos. Seriously, don’t pick them up and take a picture right now. When you revive a fish for release, hold them gently with your hand under the water and wait for them to show you a strong burst before you let them go. DON’T push and pull the fish back and forth to try to get water in the gills. Gills are not made to take water in backwards and that is harmful on any fish but extra so on a potentially stressed fish.
We want to release healthy trout!
So that rant is done(has to be done)… the fishing is very good. Callibaetis and Chironomids. I expect the water temps to drop a little in the next week with cooler days in the forecast and night time lows up there in the 40’s.
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After reading your article about releasing fish, I felt like an idiot (not the first time in 75 years). I have fished for trout for sixty five years, and have used the back and forth movement to revive the fish before release. I was shocked that I had been doing it wrong. I went on line and found other sites that agreed with your view, and others that used the back and forth method. The best (and logical) answer came from the Stone Fly Society which made total sense: “To revive the fish before releasing it. Gently hold it upright underwater by the tail and cradle its belly if necessary. Hold the fish facing the current when in a river or gently move the fish back and forth in still water to help move water through the gills. Give the fish as much time as needed..”
Bottom line, I was still doing the wrong thing when standing in the current, but maybe the right thing standing in still water. What is your opinion about the still water technique?
Andy