# Daylight pictures



## rustyfish (Apr 27, 2004)

This is not ment to be aimed at any one person, but why do people hold all the cats they catch in a night untill morning or the next day and take daylight photos then release them. I see this a lot both on this site and other places and I don't understand it. I'm sure their cameras have flash and you can get good pictures at night. So why put the fish through more stress than you have to. It doesn't matter how you hold them (stronger,tank or cage) it is a lot of added stress on an already stressed fish. 

Catch, photo, release
Not 
Catch,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,photo, release.


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## dinkbuster1 (Oct 28, 2005)

could be the person fishes a high pressured area and doesnt want to give the spot away, doesnt want to chance spooking other fish in the lake/river with a bright flash, wants to take better looking pictures during daylight hours or a large group of fish caught during the night. 

i personally have kept fish in my homemade cage for all of the above reason at times. i am very careful to not harm the fish i catch but catfish are tougher than what a lot of people give them credit for. many times i have seen flatheads go thru pure hell then be released and be re-caught several times over (marked fins). 

so long as their not out of the water over twenty min or so, and not dropped or banged up they tend to be fine when released.


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## bigcatjoe (Sep 6, 2006)

Holding them over sends them back no worse for wear, and morning light pictures come out a hell of a lot better than a flash at night time.


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## rustyfish (Apr 27, 2004)

Fish die from stress days or weeks after handling more commonly than people realize too. Sure you can hold them a few hours with the right setup without doing to much damage, but it is still added stress. And stress is the number one cause of illness in fish.


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## katfish (Apr 7, 2004)

Rusty

I have caught a few flathead and I agree that stress can kill fish,
but catching them causes more stress than roping them up for 
the night. I am certainly not prepared to stop flathead fishing to
relieve the stress levels on them.

The ranger at Piedmont was a musky fanatic and scoured the lake
all summer looking for large dead fish (Muskie are prone to lactic 
acid poisoning during warm water) He looped the lake 2 or 3 times
a day and never saw a dead flathead even during times when we
caught several.

We always handle flatheads as carefully as they will allow and I use 
a weigh sling and monitor the fish carefully especially in hot weather.










I feel that light frightens the big cats. Otherwise I would light up the 
night and have many more videos of flathead battles.










This 55 pounder was obviously stressed from spawning (but not enough
to keep from taking my bait twice in 6 weeks Both times he was held
till daylight and both times he swam away to fight again.

I think stress mortality from bass tournaments is not nearly comparable 
to stress mortality of *properly* kept flathead.


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## bigcatjoe (Sep 6, 2006)

I agree it is added stress, but like Robby said, so is sticking them in the face with an 8/0 and dragging them in. Flatheads remain very calm on a rope for the most part, and we've re-captured several of our fish months from the first release date. I'm working on a degree in fisheries biology and management, and I know all about stress levels in fish. If raising this stress level worries you this much, either handle them with extreme care as we do, or stop catching them . Robby, thats a hell of a fish as well.
-Joe


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## rustyfish (Apr 27, 2004)

As far as catching a fish being more stressful, a little stress over a long period of time can be just as bad as allot of stress over a short period of time. 

I&#8217;m not saying they all die, I just didn&#8217;t understand any reason for it. I have handled allot of fish in a controlled environment for years and I have a good grasp of what "can" happen. My experience tells me that holding fish for hours tends to be a bad idea. 

Some people who do this are judgmental of others who keep large fish to eat, which makes no sense to me. On top of that many people show a daylight picture of two fish that one person caught the night before which is not even legal to the best of my knowledge. I just think there is a large difference between kept then returned and catch & release. 

I don't have a problem with killing fish, I have been required to kill thousands of fish over the years. But if your putting the fish back in the water then put it back in the best shape you can. I do not agree with the way fish are released in bass tournaments either, and I think culling should be illegal. 

I&#8217;m sure some of you make every effort to ensure the fish is not harmed, but allot of people are releasing "soon to be dead fish" and have no clue they are doing it.


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## xTHExSA1NTx (Dec 22, 2011)

huge shovels!!


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## Rod Hawg (Jan 13, 2011)

What if you catch fish during daylight and take pictures of them then??? Is there anything wrong with that??? LOL. Just being a smart alic. Nice fish Robby. Thats a big ol shovelhead. And I agree fish being stressed can cause in worse cases death. I don't agree with keeping fish overnight alive for pics. But as long as they're okay I guess its not so bad. Just my .2c


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## Dr.Outdoors (Jul 21, 2011)

I dont believe that fish should be kept overnight just so you can get a picture of it. All cameras come with a flash, use it. Taking a picture is not going to scare away other fish. If that was the case I would never catch anything. Most of the fish I catch end up on the table anyways. The fish that I do return to the water, I return as fast and safe as possible.


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