It’s Time to Rethink Catch-and-Release Trout Fishing—or Get Much Better at It

Releasing a nice brown in Wyoming. Photo: Tom Koerner / USFWS

The title of this article by Christine Peterson in Outdoor Life is purposely controversial, but the author covers a lot of ground and talk to a lot of experts who have concerns about the current state of catch-and-release regulations on some iconic rivers in the West. Whether or not you agree with the main premise or any of the opinions expressed, it’s always a good thing to examine one’s sacred cows:

I remember asking the former fisheries manager when I first started reporting on the Platte River more than 15 years ago: Why they didn’t simply make the river catch-and-release only? He told me he wanted anglers to have the opportunity to take a fish home with them if they wanted. Catch-and-release fishing, he said, and most often catch-and-release fly fishing, isn’t the only way to fish.

But as other prized rivers in the West go to catch-and-release only, the notion of releasing a fish to grow bigger can sometimes reach an uncomfortable conclusion. Without more thought to how those fish are being caught and released, they may well not survive to find the next angler’s hook.

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