FISH WELFARE

We take fish welfare very seriously at Penrith Angling Association, therefore we would ask our members and their guests to please adhere to the following recommendations:

CATCH AND RELEASE
We heavily promote the practice of catch and release for all species of fish caught throughout all of our waters and we have reaped the benefits over the years with a decent/healthy stock of fish and some quite sizeable specimens turning up on occasions. But to practice catch and release successfully we would advise people to adhere to the following principles:

Use barbless hooks - We believe that there are many benefits from using barbless hooks

  • Better for fish welfare - it is said that removing the barb reduces tissue tearing, bleeding and overall trauma which drastically increases survival rates during catch and release.
  • Easier unhooking - Barbless hooks can slide right out without the risk of widening the puncture hole and many drop out naturally in the landing net, reducing the time or necessity to handle the fish.

Many are detered from using barbless hooks as they feel that it costs them fish, but you are never guaranteed success whatever hook you use and as long as you maintain tension throughout when playing fish, the chance of a hook slipping out is vastly reduced.

  • Use Rubber nets - They say that Rubber nets are softer than nylon mesh nets and normally do less damage to fish scales, fins and gills and do not tend to remove or damage the protective slime on fish.  Hooks, especially barbless, don't tend to snag as much on rubber nets.
  •  Wet your hands before handling fish - It is said that handling fish with wet hands helps to reduce the accidental removal of the mucus or slime that fish have to help protect them from disease, so always wet your hands before handling fish and hold fish over the water to avoid dropping a wriggling fish on dry land which may damage it and/or remove this protective slime.
  • Carry forceps or pliers - As mentioned above, quite often a barbless hook will come out in the net. But if this doesn't happen a pair of forceps or pliers will help to remove the hook quickly and, at times, without removing a fish from the water. On the rare occasions that a fish is deeply hooked it is sometimes easier to cut the line as close to the hook as possible rather than spend too much time with the fish out of the water whilst trying to remove the hook. Fish will get rid of the hook in time and all of this can help reduce the time a fish is in the net and speed up its release.
  • Keep air exposure to a minimum - Keeping a fish out of the water for too long can lessen the chance of survival once released, so try to keep the fish in the water as much as possible with its gills and mouth under or in the surface. Do not carry a fish up the bank and away from the water for a photograph.
  • Photographing fish - By all means take a photo of your prize, but please be mindful to keep the fish in the water while preparing for your photo. Either set your timer if taking a selfie or get a friend to tell you when he's ready to take the shot before raising the fish from the water, that way you can keep the fishes time out of the water to an absolute minimum. Fish survival and safe release are always paramount, so if the conditions are severe (high water temperatures), a fish has fought for a long time or predators (otters, cormorants etc.) are in the vacinity please forgo the photo and concentrate on the fish and it's welfare.
  • Make sure the fish is ready for release - If you have fought a fish for a long time or conditions are severe (high water temperatures) make sure your fish is well-rested and ready for release so that it swims away strongly.

WATER TEMPERATURES

High water temperatures can have a seriously detrimental effect on our rivers. As water temperature increases oxygen levels drop which increases the chance of suffocation or extreme levels of stress for our fish and invertibrates. In extremely high temperatures fish will stop feeding and will become more vulnerable to predation.

Please see below for recommendations from the Wild Trout Trust during the warm spell in 2026:

Brown trout, for example, are happiest in water that is colder than 15°C. Other salmonids, like grayling and Atlantic salmon, have similar needs. By the time the water hits 20°C, these fish will be seriously stressed. Even with a careful catch-and-release angling approach, there is a high chance that a protracted tussle could be fatal.

We all want to protect our wonderful wild fish from harm. So if you’re going fishing in the next few weeks, we recommend carrying a thermometer and taking a temperature reading from the river. Even if the evenings bring slightly cooler breezes, or rain raises the water level, the river temperature may still not have returned to a level that’s safe for fishing.

If the water is around 16 – 18°C, the fish may be starting to struggle with the heat; bring them to your net quickly, keep them in the river (ensuring they stay wet at all times), and skip taking a photo. They may also need more time to recover before swimming off strongly. But if the water is 19°C or more, then it’s best to head home.