Regarding those deformed lakers, do you think that might be from whirling disease? Looks similar to some pictures I found on the internet. In any case, its probably a good idea to remove any deformed = potentially diseased fish from the lake.
One link among many: http://www.protectyourwaters.net/hitchhikers/others_whirling_disease.php
Adrien - thanks for the info on your catch and release technique. My handling skills are still pretty limited, so I don't even try and get a weight to reduce my handling of the fish. I just use the rubber net, get the fish in the "basket" and it will often spit the hook itself, otherwise I dehook it in the net, then get the best quick measurement I can with a tape measure. You're dead on about that "4 second" window. Its really true. Now when I know I'm going to release a fish no matter what I find myself racing to get it done, so I've learned to stage everything I need (pliers, dehooker, rubber net) before landing the fish to beat the clock.
On catch and release vs. keeping, I do both -- I'm a selective harvester. I absolutely enjoy nothing more than a meal of salmon or smoked togue that I catch and prepare myself. There are days I'm "full" and return all fish, and generally I don't play games trying to keep just the bigger ones; if I'm "hungry" I'll keep the first "keepers" and return all others afterwards regardless of size... This year this resulted in my releasing the biggest lakers I caught and several of the nicest salmon, hopefully to be found bigger and fatter next year. Interesting point raised by John S. about the 5+ salmon reaching the end of their lives...will factor this in to my harvest vs. release strategy next year.
Thanks to all on the board for sharing their know how. Looking forward to meeting you guys at the next gathering.
