The Physical Feat of Landing, Handling, and releasing our Fish with care

For the budding new angler or those who tend to hit the water with guides or buddies more often than not, you may be in for a bit of a surprise when first realizing that netting your own fish can wind up being the greatest feat of the day. While we’ve been fortunate in more recent years to have excellent organizations like Keep Fish Wet leading the charge in safe fish handling education, implementing the methodology just might greet you with a few unexpected asks from your physical self. Executed with ease and maybe even taken for granted by some, plenty surely find that there’s more to it than meets the eye while navigating a solid landing, handling, and release. Here’s the lowdown on some of the physical elements that help to pull off a solid landing and release, along with a few tips that you can implement into your daily life to help keep your body moving well while you care for your fishy friends.

1: Shoulder Mobility- It should go without saying that we utilize a fair amount of shoulder mobility while we cast. What may be a little less obvious is the extent to which we typically need to move our rod handling arm into shoulder flexion(arm high above the head) while netting our own fish. Maintaining well moving shoulders is essential, most notably while netting and landing our fish. TRY: Shoulder CARs(controlled articular rotations) are one of the best ways to go about building and maintaining range of motion and control within the shoulder girdle. With the option of executing shoulder CARs from a variety of positions(seated, standing, tall kneeling, or in a quadruped position), incorporating a quick set of controlled rotations daily will help to keep this joint complex moving well.

2: Reaching- With the lift of our rod comes an even longer reach with our net handling limb. Reaching requires coordination between the shoulder blade, shoulder capsule, entire arm, and it tends to incorporate a certain degree of spinal mobility as well. Keeping all of the above in at least decent working order will suit us well on the water and within our regular daily life activities. TRY: A great way to stack some movements together is to incorporate single arm or two armed reaches into a variety of seated positions while on the floor. Try sitting cross legged and reaching forward, overhead, and from side to side, and repeat with the opposite leg in front. Other floor sitting positions to explore include both legs stretched out ahead, straddled legs, and any type of squat. Feel free to place a yoga block, bolster, or blanket/pillows underneath your seat to help make floor sitting more accessible. Bonus points for adding in some trunk rotation to keep your spinal health on the up and up, too.

3: Grip Strength- And I’m not talking about death gripping your fish. Please don’t. While some may choose to use a hands-free release, it’s oftentimes ideal to have a rubber net handy. While over-gripping is generally unnecessary, maintaining healthy hands and wrists goes a very long way while we’re managing the many moving parts that is releasing our fish(and definitely supports many other areas where fly angling is concerned). Even just the act of hanging onto our net handle can be a bit of a project if our hands aren’t quite up for the task. TRY: Similar to your shoulder CARs that we went over above, daily wrist rotations through your full range of motion is a great way to keep wrists mobile. The idea behind the controlled articular rotations is that they’re executed slowly and methodically. Try three rotations moving clockwise, followed by three moving counter-clockwise. Squeeze a tennis ball in your palm while doing them to add in some grip strength work.

4: Lower Body Mobility- Perhaps one of the greater challenges for many is the ability to get low enough to the water to remove your fly and release your fish, all while keeping your fish wet. A lack of mobility in your ankles, knees, and hips can pose some challenges. I typically find that my best course of action while keeping my fish submerged during a netting and release is to lower into some degree of a squat. A healthy and mobile lower body can be really helpful in these circumstances, and can also contribute to checking water temperatures when needed, too. TRY: Incorporating some floor sitting into your daily routine is a fantastic and kinda unsuspecting way to help build and maintain a certain level of lower body mobility. It requires us to regularly shift our hips, knees, ankles, and pelvis throughout a variety of angles while we change positions, resulting in spending more time within diverse orientations. Feel free to sit on top of blankets or cushions if accessing the floor feels difficult on its own, and if you feel that you’ll need a little extra aid to get back up again, sitting next to a piece of furniture or something that’s stable can be useful. If sitting on the floor is a no-go for you, try regularly changing the way that you sit in chairs or on the couch. Bend and straighten your knees and hips in a variety of ways, and add some ankle CARs into the mix while you’re at it, too. Aim to spend at least 30 minutes a day on the floor if you’re able.

5: Balance & Proprioception- We’re reaching, pivoting, squatting, and gripping. Frequently all taking place while standing inside of a moving body of water. Within the chaos and victory of the moment, don’t forget that you still need to keep your feet beneath you. Being able to remain steady within movement is the very definition of stability. Balance and spatial awareness are key.  TRY: A super simple way to work on overall balance is to incorporate some sustained single leg balancing into your daily life. While just standing on one leg is a great way to begin, as you become more comfortable add in some movement to give your body the opportunity to respond and re-stabilize within an unstable environment. I love to explore some swings with my lifted leg, reaches with my arms, and even some hip hinges down towards the ground, all while balancing on one foot. Don’t be shy about using a wall or other stable surface for some support while you progressively increase your balance abilities over time.

Surprisingly enough, safely handling your fish while returning them to the water may actually leave you with all sorts of unexpected and unintentional mobility gains. Keep those rod tips lifting and your squats plenty low! Likewise, if you’re looking for motivation to work on some of your movement and mobility capacity while off of the water, becoming a more ethical and mindful angler seems to be as good a reason as any. Your joints and your fisheries will surely thank you.