Do the hooks hurt the fish?

[stilldontlikeyou]

Ok, so my wife has been asking me questions, and I need a answer to tell her.  When she watches me fish and I catch one she feels bad about me hooking them in the lip because she thinks its causing "horrible pain" to the fish, and the holes the hooks sometimes create near the lips grow back right?

I remember reading somewhere fish don't have a lot of feeling near the mouth area and the hooks don't cause nothing more than discomfort, and the membrane(?) material that rips from the hooks grow back.   But she's not taking my word for it.  Anyone know for sure??

[Av8tr]

Can't be any worse than a pierced ear, tongue, etc.

[CJ]

Ofcourse it hurts!Why do you think Jimmy Houston is always "kissing it and making it better"!

[Bassn Blvd]

Ofcourse it hurts!Why do you think Jimmy Houston is always "kissing it and making it better"!

I thought he was just trying to get a piece of "bass"......

[Gatorbassman]

We don't know for sure. But we do know that fish have not developed the part of the brain known for feeling pain.

[Long Mike]

Tell your wife that the fish feels almost nothing with the hook-set.  Getting its azz jerked out of the water is another thing altogether. ;D ;D ;D

[Jimzee]

Tell your wife that the fish feels almost nothing with the hook-set. Getting its azz jerked out of the water is another thing altogether. ;D ;D ;D

The first good laugh I've had all day!!! ;D ;D ;D

[Catt]

It's either a hook or filet knife  

[justfishin]

I can see where this is going and you need to go seek a divorce lawyer immediatly !!!!, lol. ;D

[dman]

I was wondering this myself the other day and was curious how long after being caught would they wait to eat again?  If i just caught a real hungry fish and it wasnt an ugly deep hookset would he just go out and grab a minnow if one swam by him? or would he be waiting a few hours, days?

[justfishin]

Ok, so my wife has been asking me questions, and I need a answer to tell her. When she watches me fish and I catch one she feels bad about me hooking them in the lip because she thinks its causing "horrible pain" to the fish

 Dude, you need to seek a divorce lawyer immediatly,lol. ;D

[jwo1124]

For anyone worried about fish not feeding for a long time after they are hooked or caught...Last week I was fishing, and after the buzzbait bite turned off, I started using th elive shiners I had bought. I was freelining them, and one of the fish must swallowed the bait before swimming off because I hooked him in the throat. I cut the line hoping the hook would get digest(I heard such cases made which I hope is true) I placed the small bass back in the water and a few casts later I caught the same exact fish with the hook still in it's throat. Obviously this fish was not in pain at all, or damaged enough to not feed. Bass swallow crawfish and spiny finned sunfish and perch, so it makes sense that there mouths and throats would not contain a lot of nerve endings or else it would hurt them just to eat. Take your wife to an expensive safood restaurant for a nice piece of fish or lobster, than ask her if she thinks the fish felt pain as it air drowned or if the lobster felt pain when it was dropped into boiling water for its last swim. That should zip her lips for awhile...on that subject at least  

[Daniel My Brother]

Ask the fish if it hurts. If he says "yes" then stop fishing.

Otherwise I think you're ok.

[Lucky Craft Man]

Here's a great article to read on the subject:

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art34031.asp

Now after reading that with all the scientific evidence presented, I think its clear fish feel great pain  ;D

[slomoe]

Here's a great article to read on the subject:

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art34031.asp

Now after reading that with all the scientific evidence presented, I think its clear fish feel great pain ;D

thats great.  ;D

Honestly, I think that fish have nerves, and when you hook a fish it stimulates a fish, telling it that its in danger. Pain is a human definition of when nerves send signals to the brain.

[Tokyo Tony]

Well judging by her picture she sure isn't starving, and I don't believe her when she says she wouldn't eat food if it had hooks in it.  Aren't buddhists all about moderation?

Anyway, fish don't feel pain as we know it.  Pain is something inextricably tied to our perception, to our human point of view, and we have no way of knowing what a fish feels when it's hooked because there's no way we can separate ourselves from our point of view.  Basically, we can't ever know what a fish feels when hooked because we're not fish.  I would think the experience for a fish is at least not awesome, but as for exactly what it feels, we can't really ever understand.  All we can do is try not to do damage to them and hope they're all right.

[Tokyo Tony]

Interesting read if you like philosophy, and it's related to the question of whether a bass feels pain.

http://members.aol.com/NeoNoetics/Nagel_Bat.html

[Masshole Mike]

a funny little quote from that article...

I remember reeling in a fish that had swallowed the hook, I didn't know that at the time and when I pulled the hook out I pulled out the fishes inside. The fish was still alive. Tell me now, would that hurt? I think having my stomach pulled out threw my mouth would hurt, no matter how small my brain is.

how hard did she yank on that hook that it pulled the fish's guts out through it's mouth? i've gut hooked my fair share of fish and not once have i ever pulled one's insides out, nor have i ever even heard of that happening.

[George Welcome]

A staple of the Bhuddist diet in SE Asia is fish - the guy that wrote that article was a peta-bhuddist.

Pain is a human thing - do some animals feel pain? Yep. Do fish feel pain? Highly unlikely.

Next time you catch a sunny try swallowing it whole and later tell me about the pain you encountered. Bass do it daily.

[BassHunter69]

Tell your wife that the fish feels almost nothing with the hook-set. Getting its azz jerked out of the water is another thing altogether. ;D ;D ;D

The first good laugh I've had all day!!! ;D ;D ;D

same here jim  ;D ;D ;D ;D long mike strikes again  ;D ;D ;D ;D

[JCrzy4Bass]

You ever watch that movie There's Something About Mary ? Enough said lol....

But on a serious note. I don't think we are hurting the bass at all, I figure we are just helping them remove that hook that somehow mysteriously got into their mouths. Now who would do such a thing???

[Bass Smacker]

NO!!..... Well not like we do. They know something is wrong and they need to get away. Hense the fight.

Think about it if i put a meat hook though your jaw and yanked on it would you fight like a fish.

No you would go where ever I lead you untill I let you go or you got the hook out. All it takes is a little reasning and a understanding that fish are not people nor do they think or feel like people ..

 Say no to PETA

[BassHunter69]

NO!!..... Well not like we do. They know something is wrong and they need to get away. Hense the fight.

Think about it if i put a meat hook though your jaw and yanked on it would you fight like a fish.

No you would go where ever I lead you untill I let you go or you got the hook out. All it takes is a little reasning and a understanding that fish are not people nor do they think or feel like people ..

Say no to PETA

does that include:

people eatting tasty animals? (aka Peta)

[Cory20]

The fish fight when you pull on them.  They're not that concerned otherwise.  

[BassHunter69]

what is this a peta discussion   ;D ;D ;D ;D

man you guy seriously need to go fish'n