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Hooking Mortality of Trophy‐Sized Wild Brook Trout Caught on Artificial Lures
Author(s) -
Nuhfer Andrew J.,
Alexander Gaylord R.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
north american journal of fisheries management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.587
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1548-8675
pISSN - 0275-5947
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8675(1992)012<0634:hmotsw>2.3.co;2
Subject(s) - trout , salvelinus , hook , fishery , fish <actinopterygii> , biology , zoology , catch and release , demography , medicine , recreational fishing , dentistry , sociology
The average hooking mortality per capture event for 630 trophy‐sized wild brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis (mean total length, 33.9 cm) caught on five hardware lures was 4.3% during the first 48 h after capture, Mortality was 8.3% for brook trout caught on Mepps spinners and Cleo spoons equipped with a treble‐pointed hook, whereas mortality was significantly lower (2.4% per hooking event; P < 0.05) for fish caught on the same lures with a single‐pointed hook. The 10.9% mortality caused by treble‐hook Mepps spinners was significantly higher than mortality caused by single‐hook Cleo spoons (1.6%). Mortality for brook trout caught on single‐hook Cleo spoons and single‐hook Mepps spinners combined (2.4%) was also significantly lower ( P < 0.05) than mortality offish caught on Mepps spinners with treble hooks. There was no mortality among 126 brook trout caught with Rapala lures rigged with two treble hooks. We believe that the differences in mortality of brook trout caught with different lures are primarily attributable to differences in the frequency and extent of damage to the gill arches and esophagus area. Certain lures were more likely to be engulfed deeply, particularly by larger fish, and thus were more likely to cause death. Lures that exhibit vigorous wobbling action when retrieved appear less likely to be deeply engulfed and consequently cause less mortality. Hooking mortality estimates for brook trout caught on Mepps and Cleo lures combined were positively and significantly correlated with size of fish ( P < 0.003). The probability of death within 48 h of capture for profusely bleeding brook trout that were hooked in the gills or throat increased rapidly with increasing water temperature. Fish that did not bleed profusely after capture with treble‐hooked Mepps and Cleo lures that did not penetrate the gill or throat region were unlikely to die as a result of temperature effects, unless temperatures were above approximately 14°C. The probability ofdeath was not significantly associated with temperatures ranging from 5.6 to 17.8°C when brook trout were hooked with single‐pointed hooks at anatomical sites other than the gills or throat and did not bleed heavily. Present regulations on Michigan's trophy trout lakes, which restrict lures to single‐pointed hooks and forbid harvest offish less than 38.1 cm in total length, appear quite adequate to minimize losses due to hooking mortality.