Catch & Release (boat)

What are your views on catch and release, i know it can be a bit of a thorny issue but in my view within the boat section it is the way forward. For those of you who are unaware the boat section has had a dwindling turnout over the last few year's and in my opinion the weigh-in at the end of the match is one of the problems, i must say that taking a bucket of fish to return to the sea after the weigh-in is something i don't enjoy, some of the lad's have made the effort to install tank's in their boat's to try to keep the fish alive, it does seam to work with some species but only the hardy varieties, there are still fatalities, these day's the welfare of fish is an important consideration especially amongst people taking up the sport and the public perception of angling is crucial if we are to grow as a club.
To give a background to the issue within the boat section i will brief you as to how competition's are run at the moment - Species Hunt, 3 points per species + extra 3 points for species over w.f.s.a. specimen weight + points for weight, eg 20 points top weight then 19 etc etc . so 10 species + 2 specimens + top weight = 56 points match total, this goes to your points total over the league year to produce your final points total. Each boat is a team, the boat league is a team competition not an individual one.
What i and other's would like to see is a catch and return system introduced using match cards and digital photographs but how do you keep it interesting, some fish are not easily measured eg bull huss, smoothhounds, spurdogs, rays, tope etc, these could be awarded a fixed points total regardless of size, excluding these it would not be too difficult to get a fairly accurate measurement against an approved measure and to take a quick photo then return the fish, a points formula could be worked on to give the captors a points award going on the length of the fish for example a 23cm dab would get 3 points, a 26cm dab 4 points, 29cm 5points and 32 cm the max 6points. (this is only an example) this may sound complicated at first but i think you need this to keep the interest and to reward the anglers for catching quality fish (there will be no specimen points using this system as fish will not be weighed).
As for the photographs we will need them as evidence of the catch, i would not for one minute suggest that anyone would bend the rules but i am all for doing things above board so everyone can see what has gone on and who has caught what, and another bonus we can flood this site with fishy photos, Right what are your opinions fellow members, advice is appreciated from all quarters whether for or against, i know there is some opposition out there so let's here your reasons why you don't want this,and maybe why you would want this.

not a boat man myself but ive fished a few catch and release shore matches some weight to measure and some measure this is a good thing because all fish are returned to the water as soon as measured and like you said gary this the way forward it works well in pegged shore matches but dont no about boat matches good luck

Its got to be the way to go.

The majority of people have a digi camera now, and are able to take a photo, clear enough so the species can be identified.

There has been a lot of opposition to the club, and how we run our matches, on the local forums, and if things were to change to measure and release, then there may be a lot more anglers willing to join, and become involved in club events.

One thing i would say is you should still have a scale of points for the bigger species, as i would be slightly miffed if i caught a decent Conger or Thornie, which scored the same points as a strap, or a spikey dab.

weight to measure would be perfect because your rewarded for the bigger fish you catch so still keeps the luck element to a match,ie one big fish can win the match. wando has got a few cards from a previous match, i will get him to bring them to greenfield next sunday show us how it works.I think kev is spot on, i bet if our matches were catch an release we would be looking at 45/50 lads each match.

I think catch and release is way forward and things need to change to keep the club going.The clubs a bit behind times with this at the moment,I know not everybody would be happy for a change but you've got to think of the future(and conservation!)Your always going to get the regulars fishing but at the end of the day we need more people to fish the matches so I think a change is overdue .
I think what Gary's saying about the boat matches is a good idea and we could maybe try a match or two with some kind of format that everbody agrees with this summer

Although the original post was referring to catch and release from boats if the shore section where to go down this path i have to agree with Chris that attendances would increase eventually. But on the downside bigger attendances = bigger workload so would this be heaped on to Terry & Kev or are there member's in the shore section willing to muck in
Within the boat section i feel there should be a small committee of volunteers to run the matches, still have a section leader but with this group of people with designated jobs.
Right going back to boat section C&R I know there is a formula for working out the approximate weight of some species of fish by measurement eg tope and rays but i'm not sure if anyone has ever devised a formula for other species for example a ballan wrasse has a 2-04-00 specimen weight so at present that fish is worth 6 points + plus the extra weight, so the question is what ls the approximate length of a specimen ballan if we can work out that for all the species we are going to catch we can devise a species list with points to length where anyone can work out their own match score, this may sound a little complicated but once you grasp the system it's not

gary wrote:

Although the original post was referring to catch and release from boats if the shore section where to go down this path i have to agree with Chris that attendances would increase eventually. But on the downside bigger attendances = bigger workload so would this be heaped on to Terry & Kev or are there member's in the shore section willing to muck in
Within the boat section i feel there should be a small committee of volunteers to run the matches, still have a section leader but with this group of people with designated jobs.
Right going back to boat section C&R I know there is a formula for working out the approximate weight of some species of fish by measurement eg tope and rays but i'm not sure if anyone has ever devised a formula for other species for example a ballan wrasse has a 2-04-00 specimen weight so at present that fish is worth 6 points + plus the extra weight, so the question is what ls the approximate length of a specimen ballan if we can work out that for all the species we are going to catch we can devise a species list with points to length where anyone can work out their own match score, this may sound a little complicated but once you grasp the system it's not

I agree with what your saying Gary,I think a commitee meeting might be needed to sort things out

i for one will put my hand up to come to each match early an peg them out no problem, this is the way forward defo for boat an shore

Gary wrote:

But on the downside bigger attendances = bigger workload so would this be heaped on to Terry & Kev or are there member's in the shore section willing to muck in

It wouldnt, because i certainly wont be helping anymore, and i think the section will be looking for a new organiser.
It takes enough time and effort as it is, mainly on my Dads part. What do you get in return? Whining about venues and fishing times amongst other things.

We had a meeting earlier on this year, to pick the dates and venues for the summer league. The same four people turned up. Norman and Janet, me and Terry! The same four people who turn up and run the club Open shore matches, and have done since the end of the Festival, with very little help from anyone else!

I wont be holding my breath for all these volunteers!

me an chris would defo muck in kev with any league or open events.

Me 2 Kev so stop your whining!!!!!!

Me to, I dont mind helping out when needed

Not many of the boat lad's having any input apart from Dan and myself but early day's as yet.