Thanks for sharing the article...
"Accidentally hooked small rockfish are easy to release with the right technique. I’ll rig an upside-down barbless hook on my line just above the sinker, and then use this extra hook to “pull down” and release the little ones at depth. Once underwater about 60 feet or so, they will be able to swim off of the barbless hook and back to the deep unharmed."
I've used a similar technique to release:
My technique is to clip (think swivel clip) a hook to one of the two torpedo sinker eyes. I cut the barb and sharp end tip of the hook off with wire cutters (needle nose pliers) so it is completely dull. The hook is inverted - facing the opposite way to send the fish down. I put the hook in fish mouth and it is not even piercing the jaw. The weight of the sinker brings the fish down and if you keep the sinker dropping fast and steady the fish will not come off. About 50+ (100+ mo bettah) feet down just stop the line and the fish is released (happy ending...).
Way cheaper than a fish release, no need to pack the fish release in our space-restricted yaks, and something we should all take the time to do.
Tight lines...
