Walleye Catch & Release Issues & Answers

There are several reasons to practice catch and release. Releasing a fish allows it to be caught again and be enjoyed by other anglers. Also, fishing regulations often require fish of a certain size to be released. Stress on fish increases when being caught, landed, and released and must be minimized in order to survive this process.

Stress is negative, whether you’re a person or a fish, and the higher the stress level, the longer it takes to recover. When fish are caught, a number of factors contribute to how much stress they experience. Effects of stressors on fish add up quickly. The more stress they experience, the lower the chance they will survive if released.

Hook, land, and release fish quickly.
Fish with techniques that allow for easy release of fish.
As water temperature rises, releasing fish becomes difficult.
Fish in shallow water (less than 30 feet deep) to increase survival of fish.
“Fizzing” of fish should not be done by anglers.

Major Sources of Stress

The longer it takes to land a fish, the more stress it experiences. Just like people, fish build up lactic acid in their muscles when they use them. Lactic acid is what makes our muscles sore the day after we work really hard. It takes, at least, a few days for a walleye to break down the lactic acid that builds up from being caught and released. Playing, landing with a net, and releasing a fish quickly results in less stress for the fish. While trolling plugs, be observant for a bite on the rod. If a fish becomes hooked and is dragged by the boat it decreases its chance for survival due to the increased time to land.

Hooks or lures that generally hook fish in the front of the mouth have high rates of survival of fish released. Hooks or lures that are often swallowed or hang up on the gill arches of a fish generally result in lower rate of survival. Research has shown that jigs and diving plugs with treble hooks are not usually swallowed. Single hooks tipped with live bait are more likely to be swallowed by a fish than artificial lures. Also, it usually takes more time to remove treble hooks from a fish than single hooks.

To minimize deep hooking, set the hook quickly, especially in live bait presentations. Allowing the fish to “swallow” the hook will greatly decrease the fish’s chance of survival. Hook shape, for live bait anglers, can influence the placement during hook set. Circle shaped hooks are a good choice when releasing of fish is important. The shape of the circle hook allows it to move past the esophagus and hook into the front of the mouth of the fish.

Warm water temperatures increase the amount of stress on a fish that has been hooked and landed. The cooler the water, the better the chance a fish released will live. When the surface water temperature is less than 65 degrees, fish have a good chance of survival. If water temperatures are warmer than 65 degrees chance of survival decreases.

Fish have a gas bladder that enables them to adjust their buoyancy and depth, much like a submarine does. However, the gas bladder in walleye is not attached to the throat. Therefore, walleye can’t burp out extra gas in their bladder to quickly change buoyancy or depth. Pressure increases as water depth increases. At 30 feet, the pressure on a walleye is twice as great as at the surface. When walleye are brought to the surface from a depth of 30 feet, the gas in the bladder expands quickly, doubling in volume and putting severe pressure on internal organs. When traveling to the surface from 60-feet deep, the pressure change is so great that the gas bladder may put extreme force on the fish’s internal organs and the stomach may stick out of the fish’s mouth, its eyes may bulge and gas bubbles may form in the blood vessels and gills. The percentage of fish eventually dying after being caught in 60 feet of water may exceed 50 percent. The shallower the water, the better the chance a fish will live if released.