Had my first accidental bass kill. How do i prevent this from happening again?

[Andy95]

I got into fishing June 2020. I have been seriously enjoying all my time out on my local lake. For a while I mainly just used a spinning rod and stuck with a drop shot or wacky rigged worms. I just bought my first baitcaster (an slx combo) and just started using the texas rig. I caught a few bass and the hook always went in the top part of the bass's mouth. Yesterday I detected another bite and set the hook. When I lifted the fish out of the water i could see he was bleeding from the gill area. My hook point had turned down and went in between the fish's gills and body. A family member had grabbed my long nosed pliers from my backpack so I didn't have the pliers with me and it took me a good probably 5 minutes to get the hook out. I kept the fish in the water but it probably died from loosing a lot of blood, it was bleeding a lot or me stressing it out trying to dislodge the hook.

Anyways it died. I never had that happen before and as silly as it sounds it made me actually leave the lake because I felt so bad. I know that sounds dumb because fishing is literally stabbing a fish in the mouth and taking it out the water lol. My question is, is there anything I could have done to make the hook not point down? Or is this just part of fishing and it's going to happen at times? Never had this happen with the other rigs. Even the first couple of bass i caught on the texas rig got hooked correctly. I also don't feel I took too long to set the hook because I moved the rod up as soon as a felt something hit it. I am still learning though. Thanks

[Dens228]

Unfortunately it's going to happen. 

[Born 2 fish]

If it’s just a hook cut the line and release the fish.

[MN Fisher]

It's gonna happen occasionally - only way to totally avoid it is to not fish. Just deal with it and move on.

[billmac]

It's hard to avoid this, but if you think the fish is sure to die, clean and eat it.

[RDB]

9 minutes ago, Andy95 said:

Anyways it died. I never had that happen before and as silly as it sounds it made me actually leave the lake because I felt so bad.

Unfortunately it happens.  The more worrisome thing would be not caring at all...shows you respect the sport.  Handle the best you can and accept that occasionally one will die. 

[TriStateBassin106]

It happens, I've had plenty of fish who probably died after being released back into the water, sometimes I couldn't just get a hook out or I couldn't let it bleed anymore. But a good part is I've also probably saved a lot of fish from a possible death aswell. I saved multiple fish from deep hooks and stuck soft plastics in their mouth. Mind you these fish already had this in their mouths when they decided to bite my lures. 

 

Bass that end up dying is just part of the sport sadly. It can be prevented most times but never fully cured. 

[Andy95]

29 minutes ago, billmac said:

It's hard to avoid this, but if you think the fish is sure to die, clean and eat it.

I saw a guy fishing with his kids and they were using bait so I walked up to him and asked if he was fishing to keep and eat, said yeah so I offered asked him if he wanted the bass i caught and took it. You're right i did not want to waste. Though it's lake pleasant in Arizona. I'm sure an eagle would have scoped it out of the water.

[WRB]

A bass needs to be in water to breath. A simple rule to remember the time out of water is about the same time you can be underwater. Try to hold your breath for a minute, that the time bass needs to be back in the water.

It’s up to you to be prepared before going fishing with the needed tools.

Tom

[Andy95]

1 hour ago, WRB said:

A bass needs to be in water to breath. A simple rule to remember the time out of water is about the same time you can be underwater. Try to hold your breath for a minute, that the time bass needs to be back in the water.

It’s up to you to be prepared before going fishing with the needed tools.

Tom

I kept taking him in and out of the water or trying to take the hook out with the fish in the water. The hook was just wedged in real good. Pliers would have taken care of it. Not sure if the fish would have died anyways because it was bleeding excessively. But was my fault for not checking for my pliers. Thanks

[WRB]

Bass don’t have very much blood to lose and gills are very high in blood content to oxygenate it. Tongue  and heart wounds can kill bass, brain wound from a hook is death but gill wounds may not be necessarily fatal unless the hook tears it severely. 

Consider this about 3% of the bass we catch do not survive being caught and handled.

All we can do is respect the fish and handle it with care and you did.

Tom

  

[Bubba 460]

A tough hook-up happens sometimes, happens to everyone. I have gotten pretty good at getting tough hooks out and saving an otherwise lost bass. Have the tools with you to deal with it. For me it seems like maybe 2 bass out of 50 bass caught are badly hooked that could cause them damage or even death if you are not prepared for the situation. 

 

1~ Pliers

2 ~ long neck hook remover

3 ~Locking forceps

 

These tools will handle 99% of hooks needed to be removed. If the fish is not going to make it, take it home and eat it or give it to someone that will. All so, know how to remove a hook from yourself. What's really fun it to have a hook in you AND the fish at the same time!.. another level there and 10,000 bonus points ~ Oh, just kidding about the last photo

[garroyo130]

Like everyone's said, its gonna happen. Next time just give it a proper burial in a frying pan.

[MN Fisher]

Just now, garroyo130 said:

Next time just give it a proper burial in a frying pan.

Broiler - always under the broiler.

[TheBasslayer]

It may feel pretty sad, but it happens. A few Bass and my 1st Trout ever sadly died after I caught, and the Trout died because I didn't know Trout were so fragile. But it happens.

[king fisher]

The only way to never kill a fish, is don't catch any fish.  Sometimes they get hooked in a way that no matter what you do they wont survive.  You did what you could to safety release the bass.  Don't let it keep you from continuing to catch bass.

     I believe, ( I admit with no scientific evidence simply personal observation), the biggest factor in catch and release mortality is time out of the water due to photographs.  I firmly believe cameras, kill as many fish as the frying pan.  I'm not saying don't take pictures of your fish, just remember a fish can't breath out of the water.  Either practice sensible, responsible catch and release, or have a fish fry. Bass are good to eat.  A couple in the frying pan, is better than a dead bass in the water. 

[the reel ess]

Our passion is sticking fish with hooks for the enjoyment of it. You either have to live with the fact a few will die or stop fishing. Of course, you do your best if you're a good steward. But you can eat the fish. If you're concerned it will bleed out, but you're not sure, you can release it. If it dies another fish or turtle will profit from its loss. We can't be part of nature without leaving a little of our footprint on it. The worst I ever felt about it was thinking I may have killed a 5+lb bass. I asked my buddy who fishes that place more than I do if he ever saw it floating or washed up and he said "Don't worry about it. This place is full of 5-6-7 lb. bass. You won't miss one."

[the reel ess]

On 4/21/2021 at 11:42 AM, king fisher said:

The only way to never kill a fish, is don't catch any fish.  Sometimes they get hooked in a way that no matter what you do they wont survive.  You did what you could to safety release the bass.  Don't let it keep you from continuing to catch bass.

     I believe, ( I admit with no scientific evidence simply personal observation), the biggest factor in catch and release mortality is time out of the water due to photographs.  I firmly believe cameras, kill as many fish as the frying pan.  I'm not saying don't take pictures of your fish, just remember a fish can't breath out of the water.  Either practice sensible, responsible catch and release, or have a fish fry. Bass are good to eat.  A couple in the frying pan, is better than a dead bass in the water. 

I think I've killed fewer bass since I've been kayak fishing. For one, you don't boat flip them. I usually don't even net them. When I catch a big one and want a photo, I get it unhooked and hold it with gills in the water with my left hand as I fish my phone out with my right hand. Then I take it out, snap a few and get it right back in the drink. I like to take that moment and watch it swim away before I start fishing again. It's a good feeling.

[LCG]

6 hours ago, the reel ess said:

I think I've killed fewer bass since I've been kayak fishing. For one, you don't boat flip them. I usually don't even net them. When I catch a big one and want a photo, I get it unhooked and hold it with gills in the water with my left hand as I fish my phone out with my right hand. Then I take it out, snap a few and get it right back in the drink. I like to take that moment and watch it swim away before I start fishing again. It's a good feeling.

I do something similar when kayak fishing. I keep a pair of plastic lip grippers with elastic paracord tied to both the grippers and the kayak. Keeps hooks from getting into my hands and keeps the fish safer and in the water longer. Win / win and we get play again hopefully in the future. 

[TnRiver46]

I’ve been known to kill them on purpose, surely that’s worse than an accident 

[MN Fisher]

5 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I’ve been known to kill them on purpose, surely that’s worse than an accident 

You too, huh.

 

Guess I'm in good company then.

[MassYak85]

Gut hooks can be easily removed most of the time. There's techniques to maneuver the hook to pop free father easily. You can look them up on YouTube there's some good videos. Gill hooks, unfortunately are almost entirely unavoidable (don't use belly stinger hooks on larger baits if you can help it which helps). Just do the best you can and release ASAP. But some will die its just part of the sport. My PB was gill hooked and while I didn't do a ton of damage getting the hook out it did bleed a lot. I don't know of it died or not.

[geo g]

Lots of videos on the internet on how to remove the deep hooked fish safely.   I do it occasionally, and it works the vast majority of the time.  It's simple if you have the right tools always available.  I have caught several bass that have recovered from some previous severe gill injuries.  They are pretty tough creatures, living in a tough environment.   Don't feel to bad if one dies.  The few that don't make it will feed the food chain of the lake.  Turtles, gators, birds, otters and other fish will love you for it!

[txchaser]

If this isn't already a BR article, it should be. The only times it hasn't worked for me is on fish that are too small. Sometimes you need to push the hook away from the barb side like you would if you were pulling it out of your leg - mostly so the barb doesn't do damage on the way out. 

[ErieCan]

Cut the line and put the bass in the live well. Check if blood is pumping out while in the water. If not, it's going to be ok. Bring wire clippers with you next time. If it happens again, cut the barc end out and slide the hook out or if you can't cut ass much of the hook off as you can and release.