Tools For Gut Hooked Bass

[surfer]

Here are the two tools to help any bass survive a gut hooking.  The first one I am sure is not new to most of you.  Plain old Needle Nose Pliers (NNP).  Unless all the bass you catch are big enough to put your whole hand in their mouth you will need these at some point.  The second is a pair of cutters I lucked upon in an Auto Zone or Discount Auto Parts.  They can cut through a hook with ease and are as long as the standard NNP.  Sometimes you just can't get that gut hook out without tearing up the bass so you have to leave the hook in and let him go.  These cutters add the option of cutting your hook in half and pulling it through.

The very first week I had gotten the cutters I gut hooked a bass on a Shad Rap.  He must have inhaled it because one of the hooks of the back treble was in his gut.  No problem.  I tried for 10 seconds with NNP with no hope and then used the cutters to cut one hook off of the treble and the bass was back in the water in about 30 seconds total.  I continued to fish the Shad Rap with the treble minus a hook.  

I had never gut hooked a bass with a treble before and I don't know how I would have handled that without the cutters.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

My favorite are the Rapala pliers with the "O" ring tips.  The "beak" type tip allows you to follow the shank and turn the hook before trying to extract it.

The loop in the middle which creates the spring action, also doubles as a control stabilizer.  Your middle finger goes in the loop allowing them to hang on that one finger which leaves the outside fingers free to just manipulate the hook.  (hope that makes sense)

I also advise adding a leash with a float

[Guest the_muddy_man]

This is the single best tool for badly gut hooked fish I have ever used

[senko_77]

My favorite are the Rapala pliers with the "O" ring tips. The "beak" type tip allows you to follow the shank and turn the hook before trying to extract it.

The loop in the middle which creates the spring action, also doubles as a control stabilizer. Your middle finger goes in the loop allowing them to hang on that one finger which leaves the outside fingers free to just manipulate the hook. (hope that makes sense)

I also advise adding a leash with a float

I second these.  Everytime I've fished with LBH, he's proved to me how affective they are.

[Guest ncbass24]

Good one Muddy.  ;D

[RoLo]

Those diagonal wire-cutters pictured on top have saved the lives of many fish (cut the hook fore & aft, pull out the segment).

You can usually tell when a fish is going to make it.

When there's heavy bleeding &/or serious damage, I agree with Muddy_Man's skillet.

Roger

[surfer]

I will keep those Rapalas in mind for when my blue NNP take a swim.  So far i have had 0 casualties and still dont know what bass tasts like.  

[grid]

i'M GLAD THIS WAS POSTED.  IN THE PAST 2 WEEKS FISHING PLASTIC WORM TEXAS RIGGED I HAVE HAD 4 SWALLOW THE HOOK.  MAKES ME HAVE A BAD DAY.

[.ghoti.]

If you're using today's plastics, you're gonna guthook a few fish. Particularly with heavily salted or scented/flavored baits. Here's the easiest way to remove that hook.

1. you'll need a few feet of slack line, so put down the rod after you've stripped off a couple of yards.

2. stuff a wad of line into the fish's mouth.

3. you have your thumb in the fish's mouth, so use a spare finger to hold open one gill plate.

4. reach up through the gill plate and pull a yard or so of the line down through taking care not to get your pliers into the gills.

5. put your foot on the line running up through the gill plate.

6. slowly raise the fish to tighten the line. this will rotate the hook to place the point and barb pointing down into the gullet.

7. grab the rotated hook at the back bend and pull it out placing a bit of sideways pressure opposite the barb.

This works every time, after you've had a little practice. the only tricky part is how much line to pull through the gill plate. You want enough to allow you to step on the line, but not so much that you can't see down into the mouth after you've raised the fish far enough to rotate the hook.

Remember to cut off the hook and re-tie after this procedure. You've probably damaged the line.

Cheers,

GK

[surfer]

Nice procedure ghoti.  I will remember that next time I am trying to remove the hook.  Below are two procedures I use in order of what I try first.  I think I will put the string out the gill procedure as my second procedure.  The second technique below is what I have had to do when it's deep.

1. Pulling the hook forward then pushing it out of the lowest gill if it will reach.  Take into acount barb position and direction of pressure applied.  I think it makes sense when you try it.

2. Pushing the hook deeper till I hear the barb release from whatever it's hooked in.  Again take into acount barb position and direction of pressure applied to help get unhooked.  At this point the hook and the tip of my pliers are past the throat, but the hook it's in anything.  I then tilt the hook so the wire edge is pressing against the outside of the bass and the point of the hook is centered with the throat.  Mind you I can't see the hook I am visualizing it inside the bass's stomach.  Then I slowly pull it forward and pray I don't rehook him.  I was shocked the first time I tried this as it worked.  So far I am 8 out of 8 with this technique. The action of a circle hook made me think of this.

[mlofsted]

Surfer has the only solution right on. You have two options when you gut hook a bass; take him home and cook him, or cut the hook. These cutters look better than the standard pair I use. Mine take a lot of strength to cut through these hooks, and sometines it's all I can do to cut it. I find it much easier to use the cutters by carefully going into the fishes mouth through the gills. You can get a much better angle on the hook. When you cut the hook, one pice comes out still attached to the line, and then you use the NNP's to simply remove the barb end from the fish. No damage, and the fish is happy as heck.

This is the only safe way in my opinion.

[mdgreco191]

I thought if a fish was gut hooked it was done for.  Even if you cut the hook and completely remove it the fish still has one or two holes left in it's stomach.  I don't know about yall, but I don't think I would live to long with holes in my stomach! ;D

[Garnet]

Those offset sidecutters are great. They allow you to see what you are cutting.

Never fish without them.

Garnet