Zac, Your knowledge and peacefull spirte is what the art of fly fishing is all about. I've had the pleasure of watching all of your youtube videos and hope more will be coming. Tight lines to you and sweet dreams to your dogs.
Thank you Daniel. I truly appreciate your support! It seems too few people think about the entirety of the habitat in which we recreate in and how our actions may or may not effect them. I always try to keep it in mind.
Zac, I just really enjoy your show. To me it's the most realistic show out there because unlike all those other shows that show them catching fish after fish after fish, in reality, it's not like that all the time. You have a great way to present the educational points as well. Keeping it real and simple like you do is a treat.
I really enjoy your videos. Glad to see you find cutthroat's up there, figured it'd just be brookies after how day started. You're respect for the sport and the environment is great to see.
Thank you for the kind thoughts - especially those of the environment! I was surprised to find anything but brookies as well! I just now saw this reply - apologies for the delay.
+Jason Broyles Thank you, sir. I appreciate the support, and hope you can help spread the word, and like us on Facebook. It all helps as we get ready for season VI! Take care.
It's great to see you back on the air again. You always present something worth learning. Did I by any chance see you fishing with one of my furled leaders in this episode?
+Joe Sanders I did fish one of your leaders on this episode, Joe! I talked about it while filming, but it didn't make the final cut. There will be a segment on leader design in future episodes, with some time talking about your leaders. ;-)
At 13:30 is that hill behind you mine tailings from 100 plus years ago or is it remnants of a very high water event that brought cobble down river from someplace up river?
Hey Zac! Learned a lot from your videos over the years. Ever fish NW Montana? Bull River, Lake Creek, Kootenai? Also, what's the name of that first song with the fast finger-picking guitar? Fun stuff. Thanks for all!
Hey Sam! Thanks for your support. I have fished around NW Montana, however not in the Kootenai system. 🤷🏽♂️ Some day I will! I don’t remember the name of the first song in the show. It is part of a body of work the production department had the rights too. We searched for quite a while to find it. If I find the name again, I’ll let you know!
@@fishwhisperingtv9606 No worries Zac! Love the guitar-work. And really appreciate all the fishing tips over the years. I imagine you've got great water in your neighborhood, but if you're ever up in Glacier and don't mind heading west a few hours, the Kootenai system is a wild gem. Native redbands (I'm fairly certain, given that it's a direct Columbia trib, though I can't find any lit. to confirm that) and bull trout call it home. If they ever open up the bull trout fishery, stripping big kokanee flies in the miles below Kootenai Falls would kill. Anyway, wishing you and yours all the best! Tight lines.
You might consider using a ketchum-release, thereby never touching the fish and not killing it. Taking a fish out of the water, into the air and handling it removes their protective slime. The ketchum-release negates all that. Release live fish! Tight lines.
Thank you for watching, but I am afraid you may have some incorrect information about a trout's biology, with which you draw this conclusion. Fish do not die the moment one is touched, or the second they are taken out of the water. If you've ever seen a migrating salmon or steelhead jump waterfalls, then fight each other for position on a redd, it might give you some idea of their ability to survive. I have electro-shocked, trapped, tagged, drugged, and handled tens of thousands of fish while surveying streams for the US Forest Service. I have an emphasis in zoology, and studied ichthyology in college, while practicing what was preached, as a professional fisheries technician in later years. Trout are a cold-blooded organism, living in an environment with small amounts of dissolved oxygen, compared to a terrestrial habitat (what you live in). Therefore, they do not consume oxygen at the same rate as humans. Comparisons of holding your breath while holding a fish to see what the fish "feels" like, are absurd. We consume oxygen at a much faster rate than trout. There is no comparison. Fish can also respire oxygen as long as their gills are wet -- meaning, until their gills are completely dry, they can squeeze some oxygen in to their blood. Another biological fact to consider, is trout can replace slime. It is not a limited agent, as their zygotes are, i.e. milt and eggs. So, as long as their habitat is healthy (cold, clear, clean) they will replace lost slime. This is partly how they are able to swim so fast -- the slime dissipates, as the water pulls it away from their bodies, to reduce friction and enable ease of movement in an aqueous environment. I have interviewed biologists, and all have said as long as the dissolved oxygen is available (based primarily on water temperature, and some on slope, and substrate of the stream), the fish which is caught and released, even if drug on to shore and released with a human hand -- will survive. Once the water temperatures rise to about 67 degrees fahrenheit for most cutthroat sub species, and 70 degrees for other salmonids, then their ability to replace slime, and flush the lactic acid from their muscles used in fighting an angler becomes difficult, and some will inevitably die. Many will still live. It is not an all or nothing circumstance. The longer an angler fights a fish, especially in these conditions, then the higher the likelihood of a caught trout becomes. That is why I use heavier tippet than most, and apply as much pressure as I can, when fighting fish. The less I fight them, the better. The more a fish is flopping at one's feet, the healthier it is -- it has not worn itself out. I try to think about actual science and biology, combined with our own feelings as anglers, in each episode of Fish Whispering. The science of trout biology shows in most studies, they can and do well, after being caught, having their pictures taken, and released. You will find statements to the opposite of this, but they are outliers of the bell curve, and we are usually not given other data such as water temperature, stream slope, and/or substrate content (steeper streams have larger substrate in general and dissolve more oxygen in the stream), or the time it took to land that particular fish. As for the Ketchum Release, I also find it to be a sometimes useful tool for releasing fish. Unfortunately, I have snapped many tippets working to get a hook out of a fish's mouth, and stopped using them for the most part. Now, I have a different release tool, which I make out of stiff wire, brass, bamboo and cork. They get to the bend of a hook better, and put less pressure on the tippet/hook eye connection. Lastly, in filming a TV show, the host does well to include the viewer in the experience. To do this, it is nice to show the fish to the camera, which often is better if the fish is out of the water for a brief period. We generally time this moment, to keep the fish out of the water as briefly as possible, but also make it visible to the viewer to help them see, and appreciate the fish, and its environment. Sometimes a good fish-viewing will better help a Fish Whispering fan identify a rainbow vs. cutthroat, or brookie vs. brown trout, and they can better appreciate native vs. non-native, hatchery vs. wild fish. If I just release all fish in the water, without the viewer seeing them, then my words to describe that fish and moment, will fail. Imagine, "I just caught a native, steelhead. You can tell because it has a fully formed adipose fin, which I would show you, except I just released the fish in the water, and you couldn't see it was even a salmonid, really. But, it was. You'll have to take my word on it." It's possible of course, but not as engaging. You might suggest to hold the fish in the water and shoot video, which we do sometimes. However, often the fish is still ready to go, as I said, I fight them quickly with heavier tippet, when possible, and they like to flop away without being filmed. This happens often, and many of these instances don't make the final cut. When I fish alone, which is most times, I do keep the fish in the water, and release it most of the time. I can see the fish, and know it well. I can hold the hook shank, and let the fish flip feverishly, then swim to the wet, dark, and smile knowing everything is okay. Everything is okay with that fish, and the ones I hold for viewers. The next time you read about a fish population in decline, the primary issue is mostly one of habitat: too warm of water, too little water, too much sediment, too many dams, too much irrigation, too much logging, mining, too many miles of roads, etc... These are the issues we need to work together to educate people who care about freshwater ecosystems. This should be everyone, as every organism respiring at this moment depends on liquid, fresh water to live. Thank you for your part in that puzzle. Thank you for watching.
That must be why TU, the largest cold water fishery group in the world, has banned pictures of angles holding fish out of water and wrecking their slime, from their magazine, Trout. It is a bad practice. You may have done so with many trout and watched them swim away, but you have not followed their fate due to your handling. Time to change habits and preserve the fishery. Tight lines.
Summary It makes sense that fish that are played longer and held out of water longer will experience more stress, and the more stress experienced by a fish the more likely it is to die when released. To reduce stress, scientists have recommended some general guidelines for catch-and-release angling (Cooke and Suski 2005): 1) minimize angling duration (the time a fish is played and handled for hook removal) 2) minimize air exposure (15-20 sec) by removing hooks with the fish in water and photographing fish quickly 3) use barbless hooks and artificial lures/flies 4) use rubber nets void of knots that protect fish scales and mucous 5) avoid angling during extremes in water temperature Many of these guidelines are already practiced by educated anglers that retrieve fish quickly, leave them in water during hook removal, use barbless hooks, and photograph fish quickly before releasing them, ultimately keeping fish out of the water for no more than 15-20 seconds. Anglers also limit fishing during warm summer periods when trout are stressed (management agencies sometimes close fisheries during these warm periods). These behaviors by educated anglers have helped substantially to reduce fish stress from catch-and-release fishing, thus increasing the chance those fish will live to be caught again. Tight lines.
Zac, Your knowledge and peacefull spirte is what the art of fly fishing is all about. I've had the pleasure of watching all of your youtube videos and hope more will be coming. Tight lines to you and sweet dreams to your dogs.
Thank you, Curtis. I hope to have more videos posted soon. I am working on updating software.... Keep coming back.
I've really been enjoying your videos, Zac! I appreciate your conservation-minded approach to angling. Keep up the great work!
Thank you Daniel. I truly appreciate your support! It seems too few people think about the entirety of the habitat in which we recreate in and how our actions may or may not effect them. I always try to keep it in mind.
still getting through your videos really enjoy them. they have a beautiful PBS of my youth feel to them. Thanks so mich for sharing
Thank you, Ryan!
Zac, I just really enjoy your show. To me it's the most realistic show out there because unlike all those other shows that show them catching fish after fish after fish, in reality, it's not like that all the time. You have a great way to present the educational points as well. Keeping it real and simple like you do is a treat.
Thank you, Terryll. That means a lot to me, and I am happy that you enjoy Fish Whispering! Keep in touch, and thank you for watching.
I really enjoy your videos. Glad to see you find cutthroat's up there, figured it'd just be brookies after how day started. You're respect for the sport and the environment is great to see.
Thank you for the kind thoughts - especially those of the environment! I was surprised to find anything but brookies as well! I just now saw this reply - apologies for the delay.
Such a great video, as always. Very well done! Keep going. Cheers and fish on!
Thank you.
Your videos are a favorite of mine, glad to see you are back! Keep em' coming!
+Jason Broyles Thank you, sir. I appreciate the support, and hope you can help spread the word, and like us on Facebook. It all helps as we get ready for season VI! Take care.
So happy to see a new upload!
absolutely love this show! so glad i found it
Thank you for the nice comment. I am very glad you have enjoyed the show!
It's great to see you back on the air again. You always present something worth learning. Did I by any chance see you fishing with one of my furled leaders in this episode?
+Joe Sanders I did fish one of your leaders on this episode, Joe! I talked about it while filming, but it didn't make the final cut. There will be a segment on leader design in future episodes, with some time talking about your leaders. ;-)
+Fish Whispering TV Thanks Zac. I really do appreciate it.
At 13:30 is that hill behind you mine tailings from 100 plus years ago or is it remnants of a very high water event that brought cobble down river from someplace up river?
Cobble from the earth being carved away by glaciers. Talus might be a more accurate word.
are you just on UA-cam or you're on TV as well? a very informative channel you've got going on here man. thank you. I'm just finding it out.
Fish Whispering is on cable TV! It currently airs on Comcast Sportsnet Northwest.
Fish Whispering TV no wonder I can't see it. when did Comcast Stat doing the right thing? let's hope fios catches up. n thank u.
Hey Zac! Learned a lot from your videos over the years. Ever fish NW Montana? Bull River, Lake Creek, Kootenai? Also, what's the name of that first song with the fast finger-picking guitar? Fun stuff. Thanks for all!
Hey Sam! Thanks for your support. I have fished around NW Montana, however not in the Kootenai system. 🤷🏽♂️ Some day I will! I don’t remember the name of the first song in the show. It is part of a body of work the production department had the rights too. We searched for quite a while to find it. If I find the name again, I’ll let you know!
@@fishwhisperingtv9606 No worries Zac! Love the guitar-work. And really appreciate all the fishing tips over the years. I imagine you've got great water in your neighborhood, but if you're ever up in Glacier and don't mind heading west a few hours, the Kootenai system is a wild gem. Native redbands (I'm fairly certain, given that it's a direct Columbia trib, though I can't find any lit. to confirm that) and bull trout call it home. If they ever open up the bull trout fishery, stripping big kokanee flies in the miles below Kootenai Falls would kill. Anyway, wishing you and yours all the best! Tight lines.
You might consider using a ketchum-release, thereby never touching the fish and not killing it. Taking a fish out of the water, into the air and handling it removes their protective slime. The ketchum-release negates all that. Release live fish!
Tight lines.
Thank you for watching, but I am afraid you may have some incorrect information about a trout's biology, with which you draw this conclusion. Fish do not die the moment one is touched, or the second they are taken out of the water. If you've ever seen a migrating salmon or steelhead jump waterfalls, then fight each other for position on a redd, it might give you some idea of their ability to survive. I have electro-shocked, trapped, tagged, drugged, and handled tens of thousands of fish while surveying streams for the US Forest Service. I have an emphasis in zoology, and studied ichthyology in college, while practicing what was preached, as a professional fisheries technician in later years. Trout are a cold-blooded organism, living in an environment with small amounts of dissolved oxygen, compared to a terrestrial habitat (what you live in). Therefore, they do not consume oxygen at the same rate as humans. Comparisons of holding your breath while holding a fish to see what the fish "feels" like, are absurd. We consume oxygen at a much faster rate than trout. There is no comparison. Fish can also respire oxygen as long as their gills are wet -- meaning, until their gills are completely dry, they can squeeze some oxygen in to their blood.
Another biological fact to consider, is trout can replace slime. It is not a limited agent, as their zygotes are, i.e. milt and eggs. So, as long as their habitat is healthy (cold, clear, clean) they will replace lost slime. This is partly how they are able to swim so fast -- the slime dissipates, as the water pulls it away from their bodies, to reduce friction and enable ease of movement in an aqueous environment. I have interviewed biologists, and all have said as long as the dissolved oxygen is available (based primarily on water temperature, and some on slope, and substrate of the stream), the fish which is caught and released, even if drug on to shore and released with a human hand -- will survive.
Once the water temperatures rise to about 67 degrees fahrenheit for most cutthroat sub species, and 70 degrees for other salmonids, then their ability to replace slime, and flush the lactic acid from their muscles used in fighting an angler becomes difficult, and some will inevitably die. Many will still live. It is not an all or nothing circumstance. The longer an angler fights a fish, especially in these conditions, then the higher the likelihood of a caught trout becomes. That is why I use heavier tippet than most, and apply as much pressure as I can, when fighting fish. The less I fight them, the better. The more a fish is flopping at one's feet, the healthier it is -- it has not worn itself out.
I try to think about actual science and biology, combined with our own feelings as anglers, in each episode of Fish Whispering. The science of trout biology shows in most studies, they can and do well, after being caught, having their pictures taken, and released. You will find statements to the opposite of this, but they are outliers of the bell curve, and we are usually not given other data such as water temperature, stream slope, and/or substrate content (steeper streams have larger substrate in general and dissolve more oxygen in the stream), or the time it took to land that particular fish.
As for the Ketchum Release, I also find it to be a sometimes useful tool for releasing fish. Unfortunately, I have snapped many tippets working to get a hook out of a fish's mouth, and stopped using them for the most part. Now, I have a different release tool, which I make out of stiff wire, brass, bamboo and cork. They get to the bend of a hook better, and put less pressure on the tippet/hook eye connection.
Lastly, in filming a TV show, the host does well to include the viewer in the experience. To do this, it is nice to show the fish to the camera, which often is better if the fish is out of the water for a brief period. We generally time this moment, to keep the fish out of the water as briefly as possible, but also make it visible to the viewer to help them see, and appreciate the fish, and its environment. Sometimes a good fish-viewing will better help a Fish Whispering fan identify a rainbow vs. cutthroat, or brookie vs. brown trout, and they can better appreciate native vs. non-native, hatchery vs. wild fish. If I just release all fish in the water, without the viewer seeing them, then my words to describe that fish and moment, will fail. Imagine, "I just caught a native, steelhead. You can tell because it has a fully formed adipose fin, which I would show you, except I just released the fish in the water, and you couldn't see it was even a salmonid, really. But, it was. You'll have to take my word on it." It's possible of course, but not as engaging. You might suggest to hold the fish in the water and shoot video, which we do sometimes. However, often the fish is still ready to go, as I said, I fight them quickly with heavier tippet, when possible, and they like to flop away without being filmed. This happens often, and many of these instances don't make the final cut. When I fish alone, which is most times, I do keep the fish in the water, and release it most of the time. I can see the fish, and know it well. I can hold the hook shank, and let the fish flip feverishly, then swim to the wet, dark, and smile knowing everything is okay. Everything is okay with that fish, and the ones I hold for viewers.
The next time you read about a fish population in decline, the primary issue is mostly one of habitat: too warm of water, too little water, too much sediment, too many dams, too much irrigation, too much logging, mining, too many miles of roads, etc... These are the issues we need to work together to educate people who care about freshwater ecosystems. This should be everyone, as every organism respiring at this moment depends on liquid, fresh water to live. Thank you for your part in that puzzle.
Thank you for watching.
That must be why TU, the largest cold water fishery group in the world, has banned pictures of angles holding fish out of water and wrecking their slime, from their magazine, Trout. It is a bad practice. You may have done so with many trout and watched them swim away, but you have not followed their fate due to your handling. Time to change habits and preserve the fishery.
Tight lines.
Anglers, not angles.
For your reading pleasure: www.tu.org/sites/default/files/Handling_Stress_Summary.pdf
Tight lines.
Summary
It makes sense that fish that are played longer and held out of water longer will experience more stress, and the
more stress experienced by a fish the more likely it is to die when released. To reduce stress, scientists have
recommended some general guidelines for catch-and-release angling (Cooke and Suski 2005):
1) minimize angling duration (the time a fish is played and handled for hook removal)
2) minimize air exposure (15-20 sec) by removing hooks with the fish in water and photographing fish quickly
3) use barbless hooks and artificial lures/flies
4) use rubber nets void of knots that protect fish scales and mucous
5) avoid angling during extremes in water temperature
Many of these guidelines are already practiced by educated anglers that retrieve fish quickly, leave them in
water during hook removal, use barbless hooks, and photograph fish quickly before releasing them, ultimately
keeping fish out of the water for no more than 15-20 seconds. Anglers also limit fishing during warm summer
periods when trout are stressed (management agencies sometimes close fisheries during these warm periods).
These behaviors by educated anglers have helped substantially to reduce fish stress from catch-and-release
fishing, thus increasing the chance those fish will live to be caught again.
Tight lines.
Zac, Really like your videos, What rod is that you're using? Is it one you made? It throws a nice loop.
Thanks for watching, Michael! Glad you like that rod. I do! ;-)
oops, should have watched the whole vid before I responded. Nevermind!