“What does the angler wish for when he casts? On the surface the answer appears simple: to catch a fish. You want to deceive a wild creature, take it from its element, marvel over it and return it to the wild.”

Thus Luke Jennings in his wonderful book Blood Knots gets to the heart of catch & release far more eloquently than I will manage. I am of an age that I started fishing when the thought of returning fish did not even enter into the flyfisher’s head. I now cringe with embarrassment at the thought of prolific back end days on the Spey catching salmon in full spawning regalia and a ghillie working overtime with the priest almost chanting the mantra ‘that will smoke well’.

Catch & Release

Catch & Release was the preserve of flat-capped ‘coarse’ anglers sitting on canal banks. We were ‘game’ anglers pursuing some superior form of hunter gathering or so we thought. Although I don’t think any of us actually fished because we were hungry. I can’t claim any Damascene type moment on my personal road to catch & release; it has gradually crept up on me. First the coloured fish started to go back, then the hens, followed by all the spring fish, though they are few are far between. It is now many years since I have killed a salmon or sea trout. I can still remember the first salmon I returned and the inescapable feeling on doing so that it just felt right. I can still salivate at the sight of a fresh grilse in the net but if caught by me it is going back and one of the great culinary delights will have to be foregone.

As Chairman

As Chairman of the Esks Fisheries Trust I know the trials and tribulations that effect all the migratory fish that run our rivers and our stocks are in a fragile state, we are doing all we can to help them but it sometime seems we are treading water at best. Scotland’s runs of wild migratory fish are a crucial part of the rural economy, and still attract anglers from all over the world. As such we shouldn’t risk killing a single one of them. In general I find that overseas visitors to our rivers have a much more enlightened attitude than most of the locals to catch & release. If you want to fish in any of the few remaining prolific salmon or sea trout fisheries of the world (Russia or Tierra del Fuego) you will find them practicing 100% catch & release.

So I hope I have outlined an argument for catch and release. Should I carry on fishing? By catching fish am I just using them as an instrument of my own pleasure. This is a philosophical question I am happy to sidestep. All I know is I love fishing and will continue to do so. If you could ask a fish whether, on being unceremoniously pulled from the safety of the water, it would rather be hit on the head or be put back I’m sure it would choose the later.

The last thing I want to see

The last thing I want to see is a world in which we are governed by dictat and have no wish to see anglers legally required to return all fish. One for the pot is OK if you have to but allow me the chance to talk you out of it. If you want to fill your freezer I will take greater exception but accept that you are within your rights.

Tom Sampson