From The Nenagh Guardian Sept.2008

Killaloe angler's appeal on fish care

Killaloe angler Herman Molenaar struck it lucky recently when he landed a massive pike over 20lbs while fishing on Lough Derg.

Herman, who runs a business bringing visiting anglers out to fish on the lake, has appealed to anglers to be responsible about handling pike when they catch.

All fishing clubs around the lake now fish for pike on a catch-and-release basis after fears a number of years ago that the population of the species was in decline.

Anglers taking part in official fishing competitions on Lough Derg now weigh their pike at designed weighing points before releasing them back into the water.

However, Herman says that some anglers are not being responsible in the way they handle the pike they catch.
"Catch and release is a good thing, but I also see dead pike on weighing points." Herman told The Guardian this week.

He suggests that the prizes are so lucrative in some competitions that anglers who catch fish are not waiting around long enough to fully revive their pike and some end up dead.

Herman, who also runs a fishing tackle shop in Killaloe, says all anglers should have a landing mat in the boat so that pike don't get injured when being unhooked before their release back into the lake.

A man with many years experience in pike fishing, he has appealed to all anglers to use a long pliers

to remove hooks and to have a cutter in their boats to cut hooks if they get caught in the gills of the fish. "The gills are a very important organ for the survival of pike and hooks should be cut away even if they are near the gills," he said.

Finally, he has appealed to anglers to return fish to the water gently. "Don't throw pike back in the water. Put it gently back and hold it by the tail and move the fish in the water so the water can run through its gills so that it can get oxygen and stay around for a minute to ensure that it swims away."

Herman added: "In competitions I see so many pike struggling with their bellies up. They are left too weak to turn up the right way and swim away".

By Peter Gleeson

Een extra opmerking van Herman:

"Na de publicatie van dit artikel in The Guardian Nenagh, kreeg ik veel reacties.
Ik wil graag verduidelijken dat ik natuurlijk veel hengelaars zie die goed zorgen voor hun gevangen snoeken en veel tijd besteden om de vis zo veel mogelijk te steunen, soms bijna of het hun baby's zijn, zodat ze rustig weg kunnen zwemmen op hun eigen krachten.
Het is mij ook weleens gebeurd dat ik een mooie snoek aan de haak sloeg en dat zelfs na alle goede zorg en er zo lang bij blijvend als nodig, de snoek ongelukkigerwijs toch is overleden.

Dat is gewoon pech!

Sommige snoeken zijn zwakker dan anderen, en in dat geval kan je echt niets doen behalve dan een potje huilen. "

Herman