Gadget Makes It Easy To Let Go

Mike Runje, a veteran Spokane fly-fisher, has experimented for years to design the perfect tool for gently removing the hook from live trout so they can be released unharmed.

Now he thinks he has it.

The Runje Fish Releaser is a reasonably simple bend of wire and foam that’s taken 10 years to evolve.

Unlike more expensive mass-produced models, the Runje releaser floats. Instructions tell you how to lock the wire loop onto your leader, slide it down to the bend of a barbless hook and release the fish with a lift.

The releaser is particularly useful to anglers using float tubes. It virtually eliminates the need to handle a fish or remove it from the water. This helps increase the likelihood the fish will survive to be caught another day.

The releaser is being sold at Spokane-area fishing shops.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo