THE 



CATCH 



can use and put back the rest. That doesn't 

 mean that the recreational angler has to cut 

 short his fishing fun, says Bahen, a long-time 

 proponent of catch-and-release practices. 



Done properly and promptly, fish sustain 

 minimal injury and stress when anglers 

 employ catch-and-release techniques, 

 especially when using circle hooks. Once the 

 fish takes the bait and begins to swim away, 

 the circle hook slides into the corner of the 

 fish's mouth. Studies show that the angler can 

 reel in the fish, scoop it into a coated landing 

 net, gently remove the circle hook, and return 

 the fish to the water — with little mortality. 



Catch and Release: A Guide to Ethical 

 Angling (UNC-SG-02-03), a new Sea Grant 

 publication authored by Bahen, describes in 

 detail the why and how of catch and release. 



Along with the use of circle hooks, it's 

 important to match gear to the size of the fish, 

 Bahen adds. The lighter the tackle, the longer 

 it takes to reel in the fish. The harder and 

 longer a fish fights, the less chance it has to 

 survive after being released. 



Gearing Up 



If he had one rod for surf fishing, what 

 would he choose? Bahen says a good all- 

 purpose choice would be an 8-foot fiberglass 

 rod, with a reel to match the length of the rod 

 for balance. "With an 8-foot rod, you can cast 

 out and retrieve, keeping the line above the 

 breaking wave, without wearing yourself out," 

 he explains. "I'd put a 12-pound test 

 monofilament line on that rig." 



You can spend as much or as little as you 

 want — but Bahen encourages beginners to 

 keep it simple. The tackle box should include 

 different tools for different jobs: A flounder 

 rig, a fish-finder rig, various size hooks, live 

 bait and artificial lures. 



Bahen, who has been fishing all his life, 

 confesses that each time he baits a hook, it's 

 as much fun as his first time. He loves sharing 

 his enthusiasm with prospective anglers. 



Like Bahen, Benjamin "Mac" Currin 

 enjoys working with novice anglers. Currin, 

 who represents recreational anglers on the 



N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission, 

 is a lifelong saltwater angler. For 17 

 years, the former researcher has run 

 the North Carolina State University 

 Sportfishing School. The oldest 

 saltwater fishing school in the 

 country, it is marking its 50th 

 anniversary this year. 



As for hooks and baits, Currin 

 agrees with Bahen about having a 

 variety of choices for the fish. In 

 other words, cast with several 

 different selections, see what the fish 

 prefer, and go with it. 



"In fishing schools, we may 

 have 20 rigs out there at a time — 

 the result is a chumming effect," he 

 quips. 



Currin adds a couple of items to 

 the preparation list. He says it's a 

 good idea to learn to tie one good all- 

 purpose knot. He recommends the 

 "uniknot" system to replace a number 

 of different knots for a number of 

 different applications. "Don't cloud 

 your head with too many," he says. 

 "Stick with one that will work well 

 with slippery monofilament." 



Another simple trick: Use a sand 

 spike. This low-cost investment 

 enables the angler to use two hands to 

 bait the hook and keeps the rod and 

 reel out of the sand and saltwater. 

 "And always rinse the gear with 

 freshwater after every trip to extend 

 the life of the gear," Currin advises. 



Learning the 

 Environment 



Currin tries to give novice 

 anglers an appreciation for the environment 

 — to help them begin "thinking like a fish." 



"The fish are always in the ocean, but 

 not always at the beach — they follow the 

 food and the water temperature," he says. To 

 locate fish, he tells students to look for some 

 of the obvious indicators — birds diving and 



ABOVE: Sportfishing requires close quarters 

 etiquette — and a variety of "tools. " 

 TOP RIGHT: Using catch and release 

 methods extends fishing enjoyment. 

 BOTTOM RIGHT: Joyce Taylor tests one of 

 her tasty seafood recipes. 



28 EARLY SUMMER 2002 



