Yellowtail Release

[YakDout]

Yep, just like a bass. They are pretty hardy fish and will almost always swim away. Unlike a wsb, black sea bass, and a few others.

[goldenglory18]

Good to hear. Thanks for the info!

[dos ballenas]

As noted above yes they are very hardy fish.

In New Zealand they have a tagging program where they gaff fish, tag them, and release them.... and from tag recoveries it seems many of them survive!

There was a small tagging program here for a while too....



you might recognize the pesky yakker in the background

[chris138]

Originally Posted by dos ballenas

As noted above yes they are very hardy fish.

In New Zealand they have a tagging program where they gaff fish, tag them, and release them.... and from tag recoveries it seems many of them survive!

There was a small tagging program here for a while too....



you might recognize the pesky yakker in the background

LOL Greg Andrew lurking in the sonar cone?!

I would love to have the opportunity to tag fish. I feel like it would be even more incentive to release more fish.

Having GoPro really helps when releasing too. I feel like even with the fish I keep, the video is the most valuable part of the equation.

[taggermike]

Great video and well done with the release.
A few asked about handling and lipping YT. Basically YT have no teeth. They have a sand paper feeling similar to large mouth bass. They do have strong jaws but can't hurt you. Their gill plates aren't sharp either.
Like all jacks they have 2 small, but sharp, spines tight in front of their anal fin.

YT are easy fish to release and have an extremely high survival rate.

Personally I very rarely put fish in the freezer. I eat it or give it away. But I don't feel like I have to feed the whole neighborhood either. I've certainly failed at this but I don't keep alot of fish cause I'm confident I'll catch more soon. Mike

[taggermike]

As 2 whales said, YT are hardy.

Years ago I worked for the Hubba Institute.

We collected YT for brood stock. We fished off the Dolphin sports boat out of Islandia.
As I recall we landed 13 fish in the 15-20 lb range. We used big long handed soft nets to lift the fish, laid them on a damp towel to unhook them, then put them in the bait tank. The YT rolled over on to their backs and laid on the bottom just gilling gently.

Back at the dock we netted them again, ran them up to our tank truck, drove the short way to SeaWorld, netted them again, and put them in to round 12' diameter 3' deep tank. I kid you not, 2 days later they were eating. And within the week they would see us standing over the tank and come to us o be fed.
Of the 13 collected 12 survived. The 1 that died had been gill hook and came in bleeding. But I think it still lived a week. Mike

[chris138]

Originally Posted by taggermike

As 2 whales said, YT are hardy.

Years ago I worked for the Hubba Institute.

We collected YT for brood stock. We fished off the Dolphin sports boat out of Islandia.
As I recall we landed 13 fish in the 15-20 lb range. We used big long handed soft nets to lift the fish, laid them on a damp towel to unhook them, then put them in the bait tank. The YT rolled over on to their backs and laid on the bottom just gilling gently.

Back at the dock we netted them again, ran them up to our tank truck, drove the short way to SeaWorld, netted them again, and put them in to round 12' diameter 3' deep tank. I kid you not, 2 days later they were eating. And within the week they would see us standing over the tank and come to us o be fed.
Of the 13 collected 12 survived. The 1 that died had been gill hook and came in bleeding. But I think it still lived a week. Mike

That is a rad story thanks for sharing.

[FullFlavorPike]

Meanwhile a 'dine can't live for more than thirty-eight seconds in my bait tank...

Jacks must just be hardy like that. "Spanish" macs are related to yt, and they are little survivors, too.

[dos ballenas]

Originally Posted by chris138

LOL Greg Andrew lurking in the sonar cone?!

I would love to have the opportunity to tag fish. I feel like it would be even more incentive to release more fish.

The one and only....

Releasing is always a good feeling. I wish we had funds and time to keep tagging yellows. Sadly those days are over for now. One of the fish I tagged in La Jolla was recaptured over a year later.... in La Jolla. Just saying.

[dos ballenas]

Originally Posted by taggermike

Great video and well done with the release.
A few asked about handling and lipping YT. Basically YT have no teeth. They have a sand paper feeling similar to large mouth bass. They do have strong jaws but can't hurt you. Their gill plates aren't sharp either.
Like all jacks they have 2 small, but sharp, spines tight in front of their anal fin.

YT are easy fish to release and have an extremely high survival rate.

I wouldn't go so far as to say their mouths can't hurt you. I have a nice scar to prove it! A big "green" yellow can lock down on your thumb... and if it decides to spin when locked on it's like 60 grit sandpaper and will leave you a nice red bare patch on your thumb. That said a played out (fought for over 5 minutes) and tired yellowtail will probably just sit there trying to breath. Best to leave the fish in the water and not try to grab it. Just take your pliers and remove the hook as it sits there... this is easy to do from a kayak.

Yes they are easy to release. Just make sure there are no dogs around when you release them or they won't last long!

I stopped giving fish to my neighbors years ago.... I used to give people fresh caught fish. That was until I learned that 90% of those people just threw the fish in their freezers and would forget about it until it was freezer burned and then toss it out.... lame!

[ronbo613]

We released more yellowtail than we kept. By the time kayak fishing season rolled around we usually had a freezer full of albacore and the occasional bluefin. No need to kill another fish. Also, cleaning a couple hundred pounds of albacore did not leave much enthusiasm for cleaning any more fish...

[5-20]

I've lipped a 100-130 lb BSB before to get a jig stuck way down its throat but I was pretty sure that'd be harmless enough. Just wasn't sure about YT. Cool. I like having some fish in the freezer every now and then but there are many times when I just want to fish for fun and really don't want to mess with bringing fish back home and knowing this will make it easier for me to release some of these YT.

[goldenglory18]

Originally Posted by 5-20

I've lipped a 100-130 lb BSB before to get a jig stuck way down its throat but I was pretty sure that'd be harmless enough. Just wasn't sure about YT. Cool. I like having some fish in the freezer every now and then but there are many times when I just want to fish for fun and really don't want to mess with bringing fish back home and knowing this will make it easier for me to release some of these YT.

+1

I fish for sport and thrill, not for food...(but I'm not against a legal catch either)....

[RK]

Owyn is that a boogie board under the spray guard?

[dos ballenas]

Originally Posted by RK

Owyn is that a boogie board under the spray guard?

Yes sir it is. For emergency purposes... poor mans life raft

[Goose1993]

I'm not sure the difference in biology between tuna and YT. But check this article out. All 57 tuna caught and released survived. And if anything I feel that YT would be more hardy as they can withstand greater fluctuations in water temp. So maybe they'd be able to pull oxygen better from the water once they're 'catching their breath' after a fight? Idk

http://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/gon...e-tuna-fishing

Nice release though!

[ceviche eater]

good job!

[LJ H2Oman]

You did a good job capturing that underwater video.

[taggermike]

2 whales. I hear you about people not appreciating and wasting fish you give them. My circle of fish recipients is small and loves fresh fish. My sisters in-law will come and pick it up on her lunch break so she can cook it that night. Mike