To kill a trout or not kill?

My purpose in writing this book was to try and help you
catch more fish - but not to kill more fish.

Despite New Zealand's well-deserved reputation as one of the finest trout fisheries in the world, many of our waters actually carry fewer fish per cubic metre than overseas fisheries. Our major point of difference is a relative abundance of water carrying big (certainly compared to many overseas fisheries), wild trout.

But, and it is a big ‘but’, New Zealand's trout waters are not immune from the havoc that we humans are foisting on the planet. Pollution, bank clearing, forestry, increased numbers of anglers, et al, are all diminishing the habitat that supports healthy populations of our trout. In order to preserve what we have left I urge you to limit your kill, not kill your limit.

Catching and releasing trout is one way we can
do our bit to preserve what we have left.

Handling Fish For Release

Handling fish for release is not just an issue for ‘catch and release’ fishing. Bag limits and undersize fish also call for correct handling for release.

The best and safest method of handling fish
prior to release is not to.

If at all possible, remove the hook with the fish in the water. This will ensure that the fish does not damage itself in its struggles out of the water. Invest in a pair of forceps (haemostats), they are available at most tackle shops. They are cheap and very effective.

Lifting trout out of the water, by any means, will produce some damage to the fish.

Trout are simply not designed to be unsupported by water. Unpalatable as it may be, lifting a trout out of the water to take a photograph for instance, reduces the chances of survival of that fish.

If the fish must be removed from the water, a net is best. Try and remove the hook without touching the fish, and tip it back into the water from the net.

If the fish must be handled, at the very least make sure your hands are wet, better still, cover your hands, or the fish, with a damp, soft cloth.

Never, ever, not even once touch a trout's gills

To hold a fish up for a photo hold it just ahead of the tail, and under the gill latch.

Never hold the fish up by a hand under the it's stomach.

Make sure that whoever is taking the photo knows to ‘bracket’. That is to take several shots of the same shot in rapid succession. Taking one photo then setting up for another...only leads to greater stress on the fish.

If the fish is deeply hooked, cut the line as close to the hook as possible and leave the hook in the fish. It stands a much greater chance of survival with the hook in its throat or further down, than trying to survive after fingers or pliers are rammed down its gullet, or more lethal still, through the gills.

When returning a fish to the water, lay it in the water, and allow it time to recover and swim away from the net or your hands. This may take many seconds and sometimes minutes. Please be patient.

Trout often go into a kind of catatonic state after being landed, but seem to be able to swim away quite rapidly after what looks like a near-death experience.

Hold Your Breathe

How long should you keep a fish out of water to take photographs? Hold your breathe - when you need to take a breathe put the fish back in the water.

Do not throw a fish back in the water, never, not ever, not even once.

The shock and stress, added to what it has already been through, adds to the chances of the fish's non-recovery. Gently lower it into the water, supported in your hands. Face the fish into the current and it will swim away when it is ready

If you regularly fish on a catch and release basis consider using barbless hooks, or crush down the barbs.

Never, not ever, not even once use treble or double hooks.

The Catch and Release Dilemma

What I am about to describe has happened to me too many times, and once is one too many.

It was a great day on the Tongariro some years ago. On one pool I caught and released four fish in less than an hour. Then towards home time I landed a beautiful hen, fat and silvery. Just perfect for some guests we were expecting next evening for dinner.

I lifted the fish up the beach, and pulled out my priest to give it a whack on the noodle. An angler who had been fishing the same stretch of water with me yelled out, “You're not going to kill that are you?”

“Sure am, it's a lovely fish", I replied.

“Bloody meat hunter!” he yelled.

Meat hunter? This guy had watched me catch and release four fish, prior to giving this one a knock on the noggin. But my antagonist had not had enough - he stumped up the beach and started to give me a lecture about how all fish should be released. Any arguments I tried to make in my defence were met with a solid wall of dogma. The fact that my antagonist was a visitor to our country made it all the more galling. Finally I suggested, forcefully, that he should become interested in sex and travel, sooner rather than later.

In an early chapter in this book, I cautioned new anglers against a few in the sphere of fly-fishing who believe it is their mission to ritualize, and propound rules of fishing behaviour. Proponents of fly-fishing dogma. Some fishermen have selected catch and release fishing as their source of dogma.

Dogma: An authoritative principle, belief, or statement of ideas or opinion, especially one considered to be absolutely true.

Here is one piece of absolute truth - there is no such thing as an absolute truth. But here, for better or worse, is the ‘word’ according to this Bishop.

• Until laws are made to make it otherwise, the decision on whether to catch and release a fish is - quite rightly - down to the individual choice of the angler.
• Despite the above it should be acceptable for concerned anglers to inform other anglers of the need to avoid killing fish in water that has low fish numbers, or where populations are under stress, and request that they do not kill fish in those waters. But if that request is denied that should be the end of the matter.

There are those who advocate that all trout fishing should be on an exclusively catch and release basis in all water. These anglers are kidding themselves. What they choose to do on a personal choice level, should not by dint of dogma, become the rule for all others.

• First, there is some water where a limited cull is actually beneficial to the trout populations - Taupo is an example.
• Second, there are some stocked, or supplementary stocked water, where a cull is part of the overall stocking numbers equation.

But more importantly than either of these two points is the fact that for most fishermen catching an occasional fish to eat is an integral part of the fishing experience. Indeed, if it does not remain so, fishing may become an endangered occupation.

The fishing fraternity here and overseas has an uneasy alliance of convenience with most of the major conservation and ‘green’ organisations. This alliance based on the fact that both groups have, to a point, similar aims - the care and protection of the water and habitat to ensure the preservation of fish and other marine life. But if the sport fishing fraternity became seen as ‘villains’, by being seen to be subjecting fish to cruel treatment, that alliance will shatter.

Like it or not there are many people, and the numbers are growing world-wide and here, who consider catching fish for sport to be cruel. In their view, to hook a fish, play (a truly unfortunate word) that fish and then release it, is exceptionally cruel. To scale down tackle to make the contest more ‘sporting’ and prolong the fight further, is more cruel still.

There are countries where animal rights groups are targeting fishing. There are countries in Europe where catch and release is illegal. It is a growing trend.

But there is another good reason why most other New Zealand fishermen and I do not fish on an exclusively catch and release basis - I like eating good-conditioned trout. And I like eating good conditioned-trout that I have caught. There are still enough of my ancestor's hunting genes bouncing about in my body to still enjoy eating something, but nowhere near all, of what I catch (less than 1 in 50). While there remain some waters where killing a trout is not going to endanger their populations I will give a few a bash on the brow.

So if I decide to occasionally kill a fish in water that can sustain a limited kill, don't bang on in my ear with catch and release dogma, or I might bang on your ear - or at least get one of my big sons to do it.

Kill Me Quick

If you decide to kill a fish, kill it quickly, as soon as you land it. A solid belt above the eyes with a club, heavy rock, or solid stick will do this job well. Leaving a trout to gasp to death on the bank or in a fish box will ruin the meat.

Preparing and Cooking

For trout to taste as good as it should requires some work before it gets anywhere near the person who is doing the actual food preparation. Killing a fish quickly as described above is the first and very important first step. Keeping it at least cool, better chilled, preferably iced, is a solid second step.

If you are going to cook the trout whole

First cut through the gill latch and completely remove all the gills. Then run the point of a sharp knife from the anus up to the gill latch. Open the belly up and pull out the stomach contents. Then run the point of the knife up the top of the belly cavity to expose the dark blood along the spine. Use a teaspoon to remove all this blood.

Wash the fish thoroughly. Take particular care to remove all traces of blood from the belly cavity, along the spine, and in the gill cavity. Hang the fish up to drip dry for around ten minutes, then pat dry with paper towels, inside and out.

If filleting a trout

Take the fillets off both sides and remove all traces of blood, Wash thoroughly and hang the fillets up to drip dry for 10 minutes. Pat dry with paper towels, on both the skin side and flesh side.

To prepare fish properly [sharp knives] are essential.

Just One Recipe

I have tasted some truly creative recipes for trout. But most of them share one thing in common - the cooks have gone to extraordinary lengths to completely disguise the taste of the trout. Smothered in sauces, infused with herbs and spices - it could be anything under that lot, fish or otherwise.

Still I must be a teeny wee bit sympathetic towards the plight of some of these cooks - the condition of some of the trout they have to deal with is nothing short of disgusting. It is no wonder so many people do not particularly like to eat trout - very often they are eating a pallid travesty of the real thing.

Attempting to produce a tasty meal out of white soggy-flesh is beyond the capabilities of even the best chefs. As is trying to prepare a fish that has lain on a river bank in the sun for some hours. If you are going to cook a trout make sure it is in top condition, bright-eyed, firm orange-red flesh and recently caught, or well treated since capture.

This is my favourite recipe, but be warned, attempting to use it with a less than good-conditioned fish will fail.

Fillet the trout leaving the skin on. Cut the fillets up into serving size pieces. With a pair of scissors cut few 5mm (1/2") nicks in the edge of the skin to prevent the fillets 'curling'.

Cover the bottom of a fry pan with sea-salt (and only sea-salt will do) to 2 or 3mm and heat to a medium heat.

Once the pan is hot, lay the fillets, skin side down, gently and carefully, onto the salt.

Watch the ends of the fillets carefully - as soon as the flesh goes white, but still slightly translucent, remove from the pan. (If the fillets are very thick, you may have to place the pan under a grill for a few minutes to cook the top of fillets, without burning the bottom.)

While fish is cooking, prepare a vinaigrette of half a cup of best quality olive oil, half a cup of finely chopped chervil, 2 tablespoons chives, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

Place on plates and dribble with the vinaigrette and serve.

Accept ecstatic compliments graciously.

This recipe is also wonderful for any so called ‘oily’ fish such as salmon, kingfish or kahawai.