Retrieve your Fishing Line

It is often not very obvious from the deck of the boat, but an irresponsible angler can have a dramatic impact on the gamefish environment. One item of concern is fishing line, whether it is monofilament, fluorocarbon, braid, or other types of line. Fishing line that is cut from the reel and left in the water can persist for years. This is especially true for fluorocarbon and some of the other more modern lines, which can resist breakdown for decades or more.

Discarded fishing line can impact fish directly by entangling them, especially the clear lines that a fish is unable to see. Even if fishing lines don’t directly entangle gamefish, the impacts of discarded lines on other species may affect gamefish indirectly because many of these other species are food for gamefish. Large amounts of line in one location, as have been removed from some heavily fished locations, can make areas of bottom uninhabitable unless the line is removed. These large clusters of line also become snags for lures and baits, which helps to add more line to the mess.

Fishing line left in mangroves and waterside trees kills birds. It's a terrible sight to see a dead bird hanging from fishing line tangled among branches.

Sometimes it isn’t possible to prevent the loss of a lot of fishing line, like when a fish breaks the line during a long run. But in many cases, simply being a conscientious angler can greatly reduce the amount of fishing line that clutters the gamefish world.

Hook selection can make a difference, too. Conventional wisdom is that hooks that will corrode from the gamefish’s mouth after a few weeks are best. The angler simply has to care for these hooks by rinsing them in freshwater to maintain their strength. And practicing your knots will reduce line breaks – which will help you land more fish and lose less line and tackle.