Citizen science data suggest that a novel rig improves landing rate and reduces injury and handling time in recreational angling with artificial lures in Baltic pike (Esox lucius)

Abstract

The optimal terminal gear in hook-and-line recreational fishing maximizes landing rates and minimizes injury to the fish because some fish will be released after capture. We designed a novel rig configuration in artificial lure fishing for top predators and examined its effectiveness in angling for Baltic northern pike (Esox lucius ) using a citizen science approach based on observational data collected from volunteer anglers in the field. The novel rig included two changes to traditional rig designs common to artificial lure angling.First, hooks were mounted in a way giving better hook exposure and eliminating lever-arm effects from the lure to the hooks once a fish is hooked. This construction allowed the second change, being a shift to hooks 4-5 sizes smaller than those used on traditional hook mounts. We analysed observational data collected by volunteer anglers using either the novel rig or a standard rig mount in two types of artificial lures (softbait and hardbait) of the same size (about 17 cm). Using N = 768 pike contacts as input data, we showed the landing rates of pike targeted with artificial lures significantly and substantially increased from 45 % with normal-rigs to 85 % when the same lure types were fished with the novel rig configuration. Lure type and water temperature had no effects on landing rates.Moreover, hardbaits on normal-rigs produced significantly more injury, bleeding and elevated unhooking time compared to fish captured on hardbaits with release-rigs. We conclude that simple changes to traditional hook sizes and mounts in lure fishing may benefit both anglers and the fishes that are to be released and that citizen science projects with volunteer anglers are able to provide good data in proof-of-concept studies. The optimal terminal gear in hook-and-line recreational fishing maximizes landing rates and 22 minimizes injury to the fish because some fish will be released after capture. We designed a 23 novel rig configuration in artificial lure fishing for top predators and examined its effectiveness 24 in angling for Baltic northern pike (Esox lucius) using a citizen science approach based on 25 observational data collected from volunteer anglers in the field. The novel rig included two 26 changes to traditional rig designs common to artificial lure angling. First, hooks were mounted 27 in a way giving better hook exposure and eliminating lever-arm effects from the lure to the 28 hooks once a fish is hooked. This construction allowed the second change, being a shift to 29 hooks 4-5 sizes smaller than those used on traditional hook mounts. We analysed observational 30 data collected by volunteer anglers using either the novel rig or a standard rig mount in two 31 types of artificial lures (softbait and hardbait) of the same size (about 17 cm). Using N = 768 32 pike contacts as input data, we showed the landing rates of pike targeted with artificial lures 33 significantly and substantially increased from 45 % with normal-rigs to 85 % when the same lure 34 types were fished with the nove...