Five Simple Actions that Make a Difference

 

Simms offers five simple actions we can all take to make this a great year.

1. Land them quickly.  Use tackle that is heavy enough to swiftly land your fish.  Fighting a fish for too long can greatly diminish its chance for survival. See this video from Orvis on How to Set the Hook and Fight a Fish.
2. Keep them wet.  Catch and release fish quickly – without removing them from the water if possible.
3. Handle with care.  Handle fish with wet, bare hands and never use a towel as it removes the fish’s protective slime coat.  Hemingway even wrote about this in “Big Two-Hearted River” published in 1925: “Nick had wet his hands before he touched the trout, so he would not disturb the delicate mucus that covered him.  If a trout was touched with a dry hand, a white fungus attacked the unprotected spot.  Years before when he had fished crowded streams, with fly fisherman ahead of him and behind him, Nick had again and again come on dead trout furry with white fungus, drilled against a rock, or floating belly up in some pool.”  Be like Nick.  
4. Pack it out.  Take all trash and every bit of leader back to your vehicle.  Discarded monofilament can cause harm and death to fish, turtles, and birds.  See this news release from Colorado Parks & Wildlife.  
5. Clean it up.  Commit to a local river or waterway clean up this year to help ensure healthy, clean water for all. Watch this space for announcements of our “clean-up days” at Deckers and at Catamount Reservoir!  

Simple actions can make a big difference.

Here’s to a prosperous and fish-filled 2018 from your friends at Simms.