Help on keepin um alive when hooked deep?

[TLBassin]

Today me and my fishin partner hit the lake for some practice and shapen our skills.  COnditions weren't the most favoriable but I still managed to catch fish on a Carolina-rig lizard.    

       Anyway, what I getting too is the  fact that the bass where just attacking the lizard and the line would just get heavy, no nibbling on it.  Today I hooked two nice ones deep in the mouth or what I call "goozle hooked".  One survived and the other one didnt.  If I were in a tourney I would just cut my line and leave the hook.  Does anyone have any advice about getting your hook back without killing the fish and is there a better way i can prevent the bass from swallowing the hook when they just attack it and get a hook set in the jaw instead?

[GobbleDog]

If I badly gut hook a bass during a tourney, I'll just cut the line and put them in the livewell.  BUT, if I'm going to release the fish, I ALWAYS remove the hook no matter what. There's a big debate about whether or not the fish has a better chance of living by leaving the hook in or cutting the line.

My educated guess is that most fish will die if you leave the hook in their gut and they're better off by removing it, even if you have to tear up the fish  a little. This isn't salt-water. That hook won't rust away in less than week. It'll probably take a year.  And I bet most bass can't keep catching bait and survive with that hook in their throats.

I recently read an article about this subject where some northern fish were electronically monitered after they had been gut hooked. The results basically agreed with what I had suspected. That contrary to popular belief, the majority of gut hooked fish will eventually die. But that was a northern fish, for bass who knows? I wish I knew what the REAL scientific answer was.

For the short term though, fish obviously have a much better chance of living through the weigh in by just cutting the line.

[Rebbasser]

I haven't tried this yet but it apparently works real well:

http://www.in-fisherman.com/magazine/articles/if2806_HookRemoval/

[D.Taylor]

I leave it in if im tourney fishing or not. If you can get on the hook with a pair of dikes cut all the excess as you can.

Also bass medics has a livewell treatment that supposedly if you put it on the injured area it works miricles so maybe you could look into that stuff.

Dusty

[GobbleDog]

I leave it in if im tourney fishing or not. If you can get on the hook with a pair of dikes cut all the excess as you can.

Sounds like you're talking about atucally cutting the hook itself?  I've never heard of anyone doing that. But it's probably the best thing for the fish, if you have a tool that can reach down into a bass's throat and quickly cut through metal.

[TLBassin]

Thanks for the help guys, if there is anymore input it will be greatly appreciated.

The article posted on this one by RebBasser works very well, I tried it today when I was fishing a senko in  a pond that my family owns and a bass got it way down in her.  I used the technique and the hook came right out like it said.

[jimskins]

when i was young and fishing a very small farm pond that was way overpopulated with everything and i gut hooked a bass that was decent size so i left the hook in and i managed to catch the same bass 3 times in 2 weeks after that and the hook was alwasy there and a few weeks later i cought him again and it was there but it had worked its way almost out so i took it the rest of the way out so i always say leave the hook in but then the other day in a tourny i left a hook in and the fish died in like 20 minutes so who knows

[Will]

The article link posted by Rebbasser works great for getting the hook out of fish safely, I have used it many times.

[GobbleDog]

gut hooked a bass that was decent size so i left the hook in and i managed to catch the same bass 3 times in 2 weeks after that and the hook was alwasy there and a few weeks later i cought him again and it was there but it had worked its way almost out

They made it 2 weeks. I wonder if they would have made it in over a year? I'm sure some do. And I would bet that a lot don't.  

I always remove the hook with my extra long needle nose pliers. They easily get the worst of the worst gut hooks out.

[cajun1]

If I'm tourney fishing, I leave the hook in...incidentally, I have caught several fish on Lake Fork with hooks already in their throats.  They seemed happy and healthy.  

If I'm just fishing for fun and the hooks point is exposed I cut the hook and then pull out both halves.  If it's not exposed, I just cut as much of the hook off as I can and let r go!

Rip-a-Lip,

Casey

[Raul]

If you can 't reach the hook to unhook the fish cut the line and leave the hook there, trying to unhook the fish is going to cause a lot more damage. If you can reach the hook but can 't unhook it cut the hook, it 's better to leave a piece of it.

The reason why the fish swallows the bait is because you 're giving the fish too much time to much on it, this can be caused:

1.- your line is slack ( when it 's windy is a good example ),

2.- your rod is not sensitive enough,

3.- you 're not watching your line,

4.- you haven 't developed the "feel" for the bait,

5.- just because your mind is in one place thosands of miles from your body.

All of them can be corrected:

1.- keep the line tight ( if it 's windy use a heavier sinker )

2.- use a stiffer rod and heavier line

3.- man this one doesn 't need much explanation

4.- the only way to develop the "feel" is by fishing ( not a bad solution, huh ?  ;D )

5.- hey I know that you 're out there relaxing but your mind should be in your body.

[GobbleDog]

trying to unhook the fish is going to cause a lot more damage.

I agree in the short term, removing the hook will kill more fish. But in the long term, I disagree.

[D.Taylor]

Raul

Although them tips will help reduce the number of fish that swallow your hook it, Youll never completely stop it all. Just depends on the mood of the fish and how hungry it is.

I have had them get crankbaits so deep its a danger to remove the hook. I  hook them as soon as they hit.

We have done this with baits before put them in the livewell and before the day is done your crankbait comes out. This is effective if they are hooked under the tongue where the gills converge.

[Raul]

I know buddy, I do get deep hooked fish, not every day but it happens frequently when it 's windy and I 'm fishing against the wind, the wind alone is enough to create the slack and when you feel the fish it 's already late.

[D.Taylor]

Worst bait for me deep hooking fish is a big worm in deep water.

Seems some days you got to let them eat it forever or you wont hook them and other days if you don't set right away they got it swallowed

[BassMaster]

tell you what you do... go to home depot and buy a pair of Klein red handle wire cutters... they make a blue handle pair, but they're heavy duty cutting pliers, made for cutting 4-6 gauge wire. i have a pair of the red handle ones and they are the best thing i've found when it comes to getting the hook out. if you have gut hooked them, those pliers will easily cut your hook. better to cut your hook off than let the fish die.  and NEVER leave a hook in it's mouth.  even if you cut the hook, don't even leave a little piece of it in there.  why don't you try to swallow a piece of a hook and see what happens to your stomach and intestines.  same thing will happen to a fish.  hooks weren't made to be digested.  they were made to catch fish and withstand being in water for a really long time.  just think of it like this, if a fish totally swallows your hook and is now in it's stomach, it will begin to digest the hook and will start to tear apart it's digestive system.  if it tries to throw up the hook, it will get hung on something and tear it apart too... the fish will probably die.

[TLBassin]

Raul,

on your suggestions, the conditions werent as favorible as I said, and the wind was blowing.  When I would hook up with my bass, I was using a steady retrive so they just came up and ate it I wasnt stopping it or anything.      Would the heavier sinker still work in this case even if it was a steady retrieve?

Thanks for the input everybody!

[GobbleDog]

NEVER leave a hook in it's mouth.

That's what I've been saying. But most people think the fish are better off by cutting the line.

In the saltwater, I would totally agree. The hook will rust out in less than a week. But in freshwater, it doesn't work. You have to remove that hook.