Releasing a Bonefish

A release deserves the same attention as the presentation that started the catch. The Bonefish & Tarpon Trust handling guidance brings that attention down to practical decisions: prepare the photograph, minimise handling, keep any lift brief, and check for predators before letting a weakened fish go. BTT developed its best practices with guides and lodges. We explain that sequence here for bonefish, keeping the photograph in its proper place within the release.

Plan the photo before the fish is up

BTT starts with agreement. Everyone involved should understand which fish will be photographed and how the photograph will be taken. Its examples include the first fish of the day or a personal best. Decide that before lifting the fish, with the camera already out and ready. Choosing the picture and finding the camera belong in the preparation, while the fish remains in the water.

A useful way to organise that conversation is to make each part explicit: who is taking the picture, whether the camera is ready, and how the fish will be returned to the water. There should be no need to hold the fish up while those decisions are still being made. If the photograph is not ready, leave the fish in the water rather than lifting it to wait. The aim is a prepared moment, without turning the fish's time out of water into preparation time.

The ten-second rule

BTT's instruction is specific: use clean, wet hands, without gloves or sunblock, and gently lift the fish while keeping it over the water. Take the photograph and gently place it back. A bonefish removed from the water for longer than ten seconds is six times less likely to survive, according to the guidance.

That figure gives the short lift its urgency. Treat the ten-second rule as a reason to finish promptly, with the return to the water already planned. It is not a guarantee of survival for a fish photographed more quickly. The guidance combines time, clean wet hands, gentle handling, and keeping the fish over water; the number should stay connected to that whole sequence. Its survival comparison concerns bonefish, so it should not be applied as a measured result for other species.

Leave it in the water with a dehooker

A photograph is not required for every release. BTT explains that a dehooking device can eliminate the need to handle the catch at all: the fish stays in the water while the hook or fly is removed. This gives the release a clear alternative to lifting the fish. Decide whether a lift is needed before beginning the handling sequence.

BTT describes the tool's action in a particular order. Keep the line tight to the eye of the hook, place the loop at the end of the dehooker over the line, and slide it down the hook's shank to the bend. Flip or twist the hook with the tool while pulling the hook away from the fish to disengage it. The point of that sequence is to remove the hook with the fish still in the water, allowing it to swim away without being handled.

Reviving and releasing away from predators

Removing the hook is one part of the release. BTT also says to be certain the fish is ready, watch for predators, and try not to release a weakened fish where predators might take advantage. Keep attention on the fish and the surrounding water after the photograph or dehooking step is finished. Readiness and the presence of predators both belong in the final decision.

The guidance does not prescribe a fixed revival time. Avoid substituting a countdown for its instruction to check that the fish is ready. A quick photograph alone does not settle that question, and a completed photograph does not mean every release consideration has been addressed. Keep the fish's condition and the surroundings in view as the release is completed.