Liklihood Of Surviving

[CrazedL.IFisherman]

I know they say if you cut as much of the hook out as possible then the hook will rot out in 24-48 hours. And this i do believe, im not arguing that one. On one fishing trip my father and his friend had been arguing my friend and I.  Anyhow we felt if an entire lure had been left in the bass' mouth for instance an entire heddon crazy crawler, wouldnt this most likely kill the fish caused by any means. Examples would be an entire lure with hooks not rusting out immediately, or the fish dying of starvation before the lure and hooks rusted away, and lastly if the bass tried getting it out which they often do, wouldn't this destroy their entire mouth by ripping the lure off in thick timber and logs or weeds? I personally feel this is very dangerous scenario for the fish but always wanted to hear what others think about this topic

[Guest ouachitabassangler]

The hooks on a lure lodged in the mouth would take many weeks or months to dissolve. They go much quicker in the stomach where there is a strong hydrocloric acid to work on hooks. I'd say the chances of dislodging the lure would be pretty good considering how many times I've had a lure completely inside a bass mouth and have it spit it out  > If the lure doesn't pop out the bass would weaken soon and die from starvation, unable to feed. I've never seen it happen. A bass would be better off swallowing it. Once the hardware dissolves they can upchuck things like that.

Jim

[George Welcome]

I don't know who "they" is, but "they" is way off base. Hooks take a considerable period of time to be eliminated from a bass. Amazingly however, they are able to continue to eat in most cases.

In the event where a lure breaks off: Seldom is the lure embedded in such a manner that the fish will not cast the bait, or rub the bait off.

[Shad_Master]

Last year I was fishing at my local pond at night and caught a small  bass just as it was getting too dark to see good.  He was hooked in the gullet, so I cut the line and put him back rather than trying to get it out and risking more damage.  Two days later I was fishing in the same spot and caught a fish that still had my hook in his gullet (I could tell cause of the Power Pro still attached to the hook) I was able to get the old hook out rather easily and he swam off to be caught again.  Obviously having the hook in his mouth did not stop him from feeding and it looked like the area around the hook had started to scar over making it easier to get it out than normal.

[Matt Fly]

I think cheap hooks takes awhile.    Just think about the quality hooks being sold.

[Other.]

Any hook in a fishes mouth you should be able to get out. Worse comes to worse you might have to cut the barb off but you can always replease the hooks. If i do happen to hook a fish badly like in the guy i would rather leave the hook in there and belive that the hook will disolve.

[Hale]

Worse comes to worse you might have to cut the barb off

I have to agree with this point. I see so many times fisherman just being lazy by cutting the line and hoping the hook disolves quick enough. We spend thousands of dollars every year on new gear, tackle, etc. Buy yourself some 5 dollar dikes and cut the barb. In the instances where the barb cant be reached, at least cut the hook down as far as you can so there is not as much for the fish to swallow or dissolve.

Its easy, just requires a little initiative!

[jtbassman]

I broke off my best spinnerbait on a pond fish one day, came back a couple days later and caught the same fish on a jerkbait, got my lucky blade back.  I've had the same thing happen numerous times with worm hooks, but catching that fish with my blade still in his mouth proves that a fish will eat so long as he can open his mouth.

[Chug Bug]

How many of you have actually seen a dead fish floating with a lure in it's mouth?  Be it boat or shore fishing, I've seen plenty of floating bass.  Never seen one with a lure in it's mouth.  Bass are resourceful.  They get them out.

[Guest ouachitabassangler]

A side hobby of mine is walking shore picking up lures. I figure I have at least 300 good crankbaits needing minimum hardware to put back in service, and lots more in pretty bad shape needing sanding, painting, and considerable hardware. I've picked up many from under fish skeletons, especially stripers washed ashore. When cleaning fish I recover baits, sinkers, sometimes even re-usable hooks from mouth to stomach. It's something the C&R anglers won't experience    

Finding them like that speaks to me of a common cause, probably starvation or some other cause related to damages or interference from a lodged bait. But I agree in most cases a bass is able to get rid of a lure.

Jim