I see no reason why a quick picture cant be taken, as long as the fish is released.Difference between taking a picture with a foulhooked fish and a bumper kissed buck is that 90% of the time a foulhooked fish will survive if released properly.Also if you fish the same stretch of water in the future you may hook into that same fish again, and you can compare photos to see growth changes.

There's probably nothing quite like the disappointment of foul-hooking a big fish, especially if it's one you've been busting your butt to catch. My "first" permit was foul-hooked. Of course I didn't realize it until after 15 minutes of dancing around and burbling to myself. I took a picture and even considered "counting" it (I was young). Now the picture is just a reminder of what it was like when I cared about numbers, but I can still feel the twinge of disappointment of that catch.

One of the F&S blogs had this topic not too long ago and I admitted that I had once done this. I foul hooked a sturgeon on the Delaware on a freezing day a year and a half ago. Having never in my life expected to catch such a thing I took a photo. I'm not bragging about foul hooking a fish, but it's a memory. No apologies. I was throwing a sabiki rig for herring to turn around for striper at the time. I was shocked. Regarding foul hooking as "snagging" is also a stretch to me. Foul hooking is unintentionally hooking a fish in an other than desirable or illegal fashion. Snagging is throwing something to be intentionally used as a grappling hook to pierce the body of an uninterested fish. We've all fouled a few fish, the majority of mine I believe took a swipe at a presentation and missed, and in the swirl caught an appendage or gill plate on something I wanted them to inhale. I can honestly say I've never kept such a fish, but if it was a species first for me or of a size that seemed remarkable and conditions weren't unfavorable for it's survival, yeah, I might snap another picture. I'd then be forthcoming about what happened.

I'd call out a friend who did that, but not a stranger. I watched a stranger do this on a foul hooked Lake Erie steelhead two weekends ago - after fighting it for a ridiculous amount of time and getting ZERO help from his friends landing the fish - and all I could do was roll my eyes. From overheard conversation I could tell he was new at fishing for those fish (which makes it all the more obnoxious that his friends didn't help), so it was probably a big deal for him.

To each their own, but given that photographs are the modern equivalent (for many fly fisherman) of a fish mount, I think it's silly to photograph a foul hooked fish. like you said - that isn't an accomplishment, it's an accident.

yrs-
Evan!

Maybe you guys have more experience with wildlife encounters than I do. I consider any encounter something to be treasured. Hit deer, foul hooked fish, or a previously wounded ringneck being able to get close up to a magnificent animal should be enjoyed. I would take the pic. I'd also be honest about the encounter....well I might embelish a little bit it is fishing after all.

First let's call it what it is, a foul hook is just fancy for "snag". I would take a picture with a snagged fish given that it was not intentional. This summer a big cutthroat missed my fly but I thought he had it and i set the hook. Turns out that I snagged his dorsal fin I landed him snapped a picture and let him go.

Foul hooked in the pectoral fin? I wouldn't take a photo of it, unless it was so large that some DFG folks would like to see proof such a big fish exists in a fishery.

That being said, when I was starting out nymphing with droppers I was slow on the strike and the fish would be foul hooked with the dropper. Snapping a photo of this is acceptable - you presented the fly well enough to fool a trout, but were slow on the strike. Most of the time this foul hook is just outside the mouth though.

Take a quick picture and let it go. I dont think the issue is taking the picture so much as what you do with the picture be honest and let everyone know it was a good fish but it was false hooked.

How does a guide educate their clients about their so-called "goof" (your words) when they foul-hook a fish by giving them the condescending rhetoric you shared in your blog? And what exactly is there to learn from a foul-hookup?

As for taking pictures, I doubt most anglers would want a photo. But for novices or other people who don't get many chances on the water, it might serve as a nice reminder of their trip. I'm certainly not going to judge their perspective of a photo.

I'm with the 'photo the fish' crowd. However, I believe there should be a "*" beside it's shot. We really have no control of a fish swimming past our offering. And to say it happens less to good anglers... how do you figure. We have no control! I'm all for honesty in fishing, but... what about those great fish stories. Let everyone know you had a great fight, a beautiful fish, but the punch line is... it was foul hooked so I kissed it and set it fee.

If it happens, it happens. Only if its a very colorful or large fish would I photograph it.