Fish care starts in the tackle shop, where you should arm yourself with the essential items of equipment in order to protect your catch as best you can while it's out of it's natural environment. Here is a list of the basic requirements, or you could say a “shopping list” for any angler that cares about fish welfare:

TOP TIP! Anything that will come into contact with the fish MUST be wet; unhooking mat, weigh sling, your hands etc, in order to protect the protective mucus on the fish's body from being removed.

1. Barbless hooks. They leave minimum damage in the way of hook holds and are removed much easier.
2. A suitable sized landing net. Large enough to land the biggest fish in the venue.
3. An unhooking mat. A must if you intend to fish for large Carp, Tench, Barbel, Pike etc.
4. Forceps or disgorgers. To suit your hook size.
5. Antiseptic treatment. “Medi Carp” or similar.
6. Respect for ALL fish. Not something you can buy, but you should have the greatest respect for ALL the fish you catch and do you very best to return them to their home in the condition they came to you in, or better.

Before your baited hooks are cast out, do yourself and the fish a favour - set up your landing net and find a suitable flat, grassy (if possible) area for your unhooking mat, close to your swim but far enough away to give you room to move once the fish as been landed. Get your weigh sling, scales and camera ready.

A step-by-step guide to safely landing and returning fish

When you hook "that big 'un", take time and care when playing. Try not to bully the fish too much this can cause large hook holds and damage the fish's mouth permanently. We have all seen pictures of Carp caught with massively deformed mouths, caused mostly by anglers. Once the fish has been played out to the point were you feel it can be landed, have your landing net to hand, sink the net, carefully draw the fish over the net with it's nose towards the spreader block and carefully lift the net. Hey pesto! Fish safely in the net!

Now lift the NET (not the pole, it's sure to break!) and carefully lift the fish and net and walk steadly to your unhooking mat being careful not to knock the fish on any bank-side dangers, wooden platforms, tackle boxes, bank sticks etc, and gently place your capture onto a wet unhooking mat. On the mat, locate the hook hold and carefully remove the hook using a suitable disgorger or forceps. Most of the time, when using barbless hooks, the hook will have removed itself in the net once the pressure on the line has been released.

At this point find the hook hold (hopefully around the mouth area), take a dry towel, gently dry the area of the hook hold and apply antiseptic solution such as Nash Medi Carp, being careful not to let any of the liquid antiseptic treatment go too far into the mouth. Although this will not harm the fish it may upset it's stomach.

Then take a minute to check the fish over for any signs of damage such as bleeding, missing scales, split fins, old hooks & rig, parasites etc. If any are found, carefully dry the immediate area, remove any foreign bodies found and treat the area in the same way as the hook hold with antiseptic solution. Treating hook holds and other damage to the fish will help prevent infection and aid the healing of the wounds.

Wet down the weigh sling and carefully transfer the fish from mat to sling, always keeping the fish over the mat and close to the ground. In the event of the fish kicking and the grip on the fish being lost it will only drop a minimal distance and onto the soft mat below. Once the fish is in the sling, check to see that all fins are flat to it's body to prevent them being broken when lifted for the weigh in, and then gently lift the sling just enough to clear the mat and read the weight of your catch. Then place the fish back on the mat keeping it covered with the wet sling.

Now it's time for photos. Gently open up the sling, and with belly side towards you, slide one hand from mouth to pectoral fin, and place a few fingers each side, with the other hand slide your hand from tail to anal fin and place two finger each side. Then lift and tilt the fish to show the full side of the fish. Try to avoid lifting the fish too high. If it kicks and you lose grip it will drop a minimum distance back onto the mat.

Once you have weighed and photographed your catch, return it to the sling a then find an area of bank which has easy access and is snag/weed free to release the fish. Support the fish with your hands in the sling for as long as it takes until the fish has recovered. Make sure that it has a good flow of water to it's mouth and that the gills are not constricted. When the fish is ready it will kick to indicate that it has recovered and is ready to go. Check to make sure it's got it's bearings and isn't going to crash into a platform leg or reeds in the margins.

Now be pleased with yourself! You've caught a good fish and safely returned it to it's home with minimal upset and damage. Get your tackle sorted, and chuck out another bait, then get your stuff ready for the next whoppa to tug your line!

I hope this piece has got you thinking about fish care and that you will put the above practices into action the next time you fish. Look after the fish you catch and they will be there for you when they are even bigger and will be fine lookers for all to catch for a very long time. Thanks for reading, tight lines and big 'uns. Paul Jolliffe.