First, I have had success with circle hooks even on small fish like trout. I also remove the barb from my hooks from everything from panfish to salmon. As long as my line stays tight, I can usually land the fish without the barb.

You mentioned using non-lead weights. There is now also a biodegradable fishing line available from Bioline Fishing. This line breaks down in 5 years as opposed to 600+ years. Conventional line is linked with many problems with aquatic animals such as sea turtles, birds, and coral reefs.

And, as an alternative to live bait which, as you mentioned, can spread non-native species, there are a few companies making biodegradable baits such as FoodSource Lures and Berkley Gulp! that attempt to look, feel, and smell like live bait. In fact, FoodSource lures are made from actual food.

Take care,

- Micah

You have a problem with European Carp? Aren’t they considered a prime gamefish in parts of Europe (especially the UK)?

Barbless hooks are definitely a fantastic tool (especially with trout). Circle hooks have fallen into favor around parts of the US since they won’t hook (well almost never) down in the gullet but slide up catching the jaw.

And to me any fishing is fun but bass fishing is AWESOME!

Have a great one and we’ll catch up soon!
Jim

Thanks for stopping and commenting. I can relate to the “hung coyote” scene; I ran into several of those instances in parts of Wyoming, Utah and Colorado several years back when doing field work out there.

Sometimes “we the people” fail to stop and think about the outcome of our actions. I have muttered a few choice words (under my breath of course) when out fishing with my electric motor powered boat and had it come to a sudden stop because the prop was wound in someone’s discarded line. I also freed an American Coot (waterbird) from a tangled mess of line when fishing last year. It was wary but seemingly happy when it was freed

Thanks again for the comment!
Jim

Whether you catch and release or catch to keep (many of us do both), the use of SS hooks is a bad idea since they will not corrode out and allow the fish to rid itself of it. Another alternative is to use circle hooks which lead to fat more jaw hook-ups and often lower losses in either case.

Thanks for commenting,
Jim

As a fellow fisherman I can relate to all of your tips, especially the one about not using bait that is not natural to the area.

I trout fish (even though they are an introduced species in Australia) and many of the trout waterways in Oz are becoming overrun with European Carp as a result of people using them for bait. They are disgusting creatures; slimy and uneatable. They also suck up all the mud on the bottom which often leads to pristine trout waters becoming murky and uninviting.

Using barbless hooks is another great way to minimize damage to released fish.

I travel across the mountain towards the coast once and a while to catch bass out of a canoe — what fun that is!

Great tips,

Thanks.

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Absolutely correct in noting how applicable these ideas and tips are to a wide range of activities. The best part is most only take a small adjustment in our normal routine.

Thanks for stopping and commenting,

Jim Hickey

I’m happy to read your forwarding this to your husband and I hope he finds the tips beneficial as he gets back into a very cool way to relax and enjoy the outdoors. You are absolutely correct, many of these tips apply to numerous other situations when enjoying the environment. Thanks for highlighting it as well as stopping to comment.

Best always,
Jim Hickey

Seems like a few of your tips cross over to many areas of life, using only what we need and cleaning up after ourselves. I agree with your points that preserving this resource is important and we can make a difference in keeping our environment clean.

Thanks for all these great tips. It is amazing how we can find ways to help our environment and live greener lives in almost everything we do.

Some of the little things we take for granted can make a big difference.

Omar

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I haven’t even considered some of your green fishing tips… and you’ve been doing these things just naturally for decades before all the furor over going green.

It’s a wonderful thing to protect the water from pollution with foreign bait fish, foreign algae on the bottom of the boat/motor.

And I’ve often seen dead fish floating along the edge of the lakes, but never really considered that they were polluting the water.

I live in Montana and we see dead animals hung on fences and trees from time to time. Coyote killers sometimes hang up coyotes to “warn” other coyotes. But dead fish hung in a tree (especially 5 pounders!) is a terrible sign.

I enjoyed every bit of your article, Jim.

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