Dehooking

[jax]

I was fishing with a T-rig worm this weekend and caught a bass that swallowed the hook. I'm still trying to get a feel for a worm. I didn't set my hook in time. I was fishing a pond where I cannot keep the fish. I couldn't figure out how to get the hook out without hurting the fish. It was down deep.  How do get hooks out that are down that deep? While I was pondering how to get the hook out I decided to put the bass back in the water so it could breathe. Somehow it snapped my line and solved the problem for me.

Does the ARC dehooker that is advertised on this site help? Is there something better?

I know I should have set my hook sooner but I didn't want to screw up and lose the fish. I didn't realize how hard it would be to remove without damaging the fish. Actually I never thought about that happening. I never had a fish swallow the whole bait before. Should I have set my hook harder?

Sorry for the newb questions but I can't find anything on this searching. I can't stand to hurt a fish that I am going to release.

[NewScreenNameAdvised]

While it is best to not let them swallow it...sometimes it just happens.

I have not found a tool or method for getting deeply hooked/swallowed hooks out.  

A fish biologist told me to just cut the line as close to the hook as possible and let the fish go.  He said that hook would work it's way out or the fish would pass it with no or very minimal damage.  He said it is worst to rip it out of there.

If you can get the hook out without causing damage or ripping out it's throat, that is better.

[roadwarrior]

Study this procedure until it is firmly embedded in your mind.

This will work for you 99% of the time:

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1128002349/22#22

8-)

[harshman]

The method Rw posted is by far the best way to remove a deep hook. I have used this several times and it works very effectivly.

I don't agree with cutting the line and letting them go, I'm not sure how a hook would "pass" through a fish with minimal damage. I know it wouldn't pass through me easily. I have even caught a few in the past with hooks hanging out their rear end and looked like it was going no get out any time soon. But I guess if you think you are going to kill the fish by trying to remove the hook then at least cutting the line would give it a fighting chance.

just my two cents

Harshman

[jax]

Thanks for the info. I printed it off to take with me! Next time I'll hopefully set the hook faster.

[Beamer2]

RW - Great post thanks for that.  Hopefully that illustration will give some confidence to those who need it when taking deep hooks out.  

Keep in mind fish do heal just like us.  However, with that being said, you still need to be careful.  Keep in mind the gullet and gills when dehooking.  If you damage the gullet the fish can't eat, if you damage the gills it can't breath.  The gills are fragile, not as fragile as are often portrayed, but you don't want to be messing with them.  I hate seeing guys gill a fish and then put it back.  They are basically like the Aveoli in our lungs and you know how sensative they are, and they take oxygen out of air, much harder in water.  

Also regarding the hook passing without any issues. He probably ment that the hook has a good chance of becoming dislodged and fall out of its mouth at some point.  The hook will never pass through without damaging it in some way, especially considering how small its anus is, ouch.  

The tecnique RW posted will work just don't be afraid to use a little force.  You will get the hang of it.  Bass are very resilient and will overcome more than you think.  How many times have you seen bass that are pretty beat up, especially the hogs.

Just my $.02.

[J Francho]

I don't agree with cutting the line and letting them go

Absolutely correct in my experience.  This year alone, I have caught three LMB with large worm hooks embedded in their craw.  The fish were thin, one even emaciated, but all bit and bit hard suggesting they were hungry.  Other fish caught were in good condition, exhibiting the normal fatness/thinness depending on time of year.  

This says to me that the fish were healthy and hungry and wanted to eat, but could not due to the 4/0 hook stuck in their throat.  

In every instance, it was no problem to remove the hooks as detailed above or in one instance, it was simply lodged in there with no hook point or barb penetration, which must have been a break off.  

The other two cases were obvious cut the line jobs, as the hook still had line that was trimmed perfectly at the mouth.

[Bassnajr]

I have been using the "through the gills" de-hooking method for several weeks. GREAT!!! No dead fish no hurt fish. Once you get past thinking you are going to kill the fish by going through the gills it's all good!!   I also switched to the Octopus-circle hooks....made a big difference in fewer gut hooks.

Alan

[rondef]

RW I agree with that procedure 100% and have taught it to quite a few people.  This procedure works great and I have never had to leave a hook inside a bass since I first read that procedure months ago.  I even caught one bass with a hook in it and I removed that before releasing the bass.  

[Lambo6]

Works great actually tried it out today for the first time worked like a charm ,sumtimes they just suck em down

[Rich K]

I use RW method a lot! Fishing weightless senkos in the wind makes it hard to feel the bite. One other suggestion I have that works for me is to cut leaving about 6 inches. I tuck the lose end of the line through the gill plates and use that to pull the hook eye through the gills. Makes it a little easier than trying to force the hook eye through with your fingers.