UK Coarse
Fish care
Wet hands, a mat, barbless where the rules say so, and the fish back in the water before you reach for a better photo. Heatwave welfare is part of the method.
beginner
Have a mat wet before the fish is in the net. Wet hands. Barbless or micro-barbed as the card says. Unhook in the net or on the mat — not on the grass, not on a keepnet zipper. A carp in a heatwave is a welfare problem, not a trophy delay. Don’t sack fish. Don’t hold them over hard ground. Photographs are optional; returning the fish is not. Barbel especially: keep them in the water in the net until they kick, then support them in the current.
improver
Pike, zander and big perch have teeth. A wire trace is not optional. Long forceps, side-cutters, a proper mat, and wet hands. Unhook in the net if you can. Never lift a pike by the gill rakers. Warm-water pike fishing kills fish. If the water is up and they’re spawning or exhausted, leave them. Trebles come out with patience, not a yank. If you can’t unhook it safely, you shouldn’t have cast.
Predator unhooking is also on the pike and zander journeys. Barbel in a heatwave is on barbel fishing.