Fish Swallow Hook

[the captain]

How are you supposed to get the hook out of a fishes throat without hurting/killing it or cutting the hook. I know your not supposed to cut the hook so I try not to. I also know that there was another thread on here about this last year but I can't find it now and I forget how to.

[Mobydick]

Captain, cut the line as close to the hook as possible. The fish will take care of the rest. If you can't revive the fish, then you should keep em.

You should have put this is the general forums.

[GobbleDog]

Old school thinking has always been to cut the line, but in freshwater that hook ain't rusting out for a year or two.  It seems to me the bass has a much better chance of surviving in the LONG TERM by removing the hook, even if it's badly guthooked.  How's he going to eat with a hook lodged in this throat for a year?  He's going to die eventually!  A few bass might be able to survive that way, but I'd bet the majority of them don't.

Now with saltwater, that hook will be gone in less than a week so I have no problems cutting it.

Of course I'm just shooting from the hip here... I don't have any scientific proof backing me up.

[garry77]

I always thought the digestive juices(for lack of a better term) dissolved the hook in a few short days.I always cut the line and leave it in there.

   

[GobbleDog]

A quick Google search found this article.  It's about gut-hooked Musky, but I'd assume bass would probably show similar results:

In 1998, a radio telemetry study was done on the Chippewa Flowage, whereby 47 muskies were caught, tagged with externally mounted radio transmitters, and then released. Among other goals of the study, I saw this as an excellent opportunity to finally get a definitive answer to the single hook sucker mortality question. Out of 9 muskies which were gut hooked in this study group, we were able to confirm that at least half of the fish had died; but because the batteries on the transmitters ran out by spring, the degree of delayed mortality couldn't be fully explored on those fish.

After this study ended, the urgency to more deeply explore this issue was realized and funding was secured from Muskies, Inc (the Hayward Lakes and South of the Border Chapters) to do a gut hooked musky study on the Chippewa Flowage.... solely to find out what percentage of fish were dying from single hook sucker rigs. After all, a substantial contingent of musky men were still using this method throughout the musky range and it was high time we found out just how bad single hooks really were.

Between October 20th and November 21st of 1999, 14 muskies ranging between 33" and 47 1/2" in length were caught on these "swallow rigs" and "transmitted" so that they could be tracked the following spring. Shockingly, we didn't even have to wait very long to begin seeing the the death toll mount. Two muskies had died of hook injury to the throat during the tagging process and two others were later discovered dead.... washed up on shore.

Once tracking began in the spring 2000, it wasn't long before all the remaining muskies were located using a radio receiver and their exact location pin pointed. At that point it was simply a matter of repeatedly going back to each musky's locations pin pointed location to check if they had either swum off...or were lying dead on the lake bottom. We soon discovered that most of the study muskies had died - two of which were actually spotted with an underwater video "fishfinder" Two of the study muskies were actually swimming around through July though. How great it would be to actually see these fish - just to be able to examine them. Ironically, it turned out that both of these muskies were caught on hook and line, photographed, and then released by anglers. In talking with them and studying the photos of these fish, it is clear to see that these muskies were not healthy. In fact, they were both dying a slow death. These fish were both much thinner then normal and - sure enough - it wasn't long before delayed mortality ended up killing them.... bringing the total death count to 100% of the 14 study muskies which had been gut hooked the fall before.

http://www.chippewaflowage.com/sucker_study.html

:-?

[fishizzle]

I always thought the digestive juices(for lack of a better term) dissolved the hook in a few short days.I always cut the line and leave it in there.

You're right from what I've read

3-4 days go

You should also cut the hook as short as possible if you can

Never yank a hook thats in the throat

[Perfect Hook Set]

Some post in this thread may help, skim through ALL posts

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1189202496/0

How are you supposed to get the hook out of a fishes throat without hurting/killing it or cutting the hook. I know your not supposed to cut the hook so I try not to. I also know that there was another thread on here about this last year but I can't find it now and I forget how to.

"without cutting the hook"

Cut the line right away to remove all tension from the hook

Grab needle nose pliers

Press the barb down FLAT

Try to slide the hook out

"Cutting the hook"

Cut the line right away to remove all tension from the hook

Cut right under (before) the barb - I also try to cut right under the hooks eye hole

Once that is done the hook usually slips out if not at lease there is less hook to hurt the fish

The quicker and more gently this is done the better chance the fish as of surviving

Never just toss a "hurt" fish or one who fought hard/for a a while.

Always lip the fish

Set the fish in the water and rock the fish forward and back until it tugs away

[jrhennecke]

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

This is the article you are looking for and is the best article I have found for removing a hook.

[George Welcome]

The article was written for In Fishermen: It works 99% of the time - if not see leaving the hook below.

However some mis-information: the hook will dissolve quickly - wrong!

Cut the line close to the hook - wrong!: leave about 6" of line outside the mouth. this will help to keep the shank straight rather than jamming in the throat.

Further facts can be read about this in many places on the internet.

[garry77]

So essentially the best method is to set the hook before they get a chance to swallow it?

[Jake.]

So essentially the best method is to set the hook before they get a chance to swallow it?

Exactly.  

[Bassin_Fin@tic]

So essentially the best method is to set the hook before they get a chance to swallow it?

Exactly.

Unless you get one of those senko fish that you dont ever even feel. Man they have a bad habit of slurping those and swallowing them. :-/

The question I got is:What is anyones take on a gill hooked fish? You know when you pierce part of the gill tissue and they instantly spurt blood all over the place.It is unavoidable sometimes when using trebles,and thats exactly why I quit using the sure set hooks.

[garry77]

In my experience anytime I hooked a fish and it lost bloodand I threw it back,I was chasing it down with the net because it usually turned belly up.So now if it bleeds I try and give it to somebody who'll eat it.

[Perfect Hook Set]

My buddy is a master at the technique in the link

He doesn't use pliers though

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

This is the article you are looking for and is the best article I have found for removing a hook.

[ThePvAngler]

I just recently found myself gut hooking a few bass, it seems that i have to wait more than 2 seconds during the spawn. Has anyone else noticed this?

I just hate seeing a nice bass bleed and not swim off. Thats why i used the 2 second rule and set the hook after those seconds.

[NBR]

There is a tool called a "Barb-it" that has cutters so you put it in the fishes mouth down the line until you contact the hook then cut the hook with the tool. It also has magnets so the hook pieces come out of the fish.

[Bassman2144]

I havent tried this method with bass but when I do so pan fishing and a bluegill swallows the hook, I take a skinney stick and put it down the fishes throat, grab the line and stick and spin the stick around and around in tiny circles.  Doesn't seem to hurt the fish, because I have released fish after doing this and they were fine.

[Crestliner2008]

Why not remove the barb on your hooks?

[Raul]

You ain 't gonna go broke if you have to sacrifice a hook bu cutting it.

Modern hooks are not like the old hooks the people talk about when those recommendations of cutting the line and leaving the hook to rust away were written, modern hooks will take a very long time before they even begin to rust on the surface, let alone rusting and dissolving away.

[GobbleDog]

Why not remove the barb on your hooks?

Why not fish without hooks altogether?  

[GatorTom]

I usually remove the hook when I fillet the fish.   ;D

[TommyBass]

Honestly I dont know how you can let a hook get so far down into a bass' stomach that you can't see it. Its only my opinion but usually thats caused by the fisherman, not the bass. I think we need to focus more on prevention, ie not using certain fishing techniques, rather then thinking of ways to solve the problem after it happens.  Ive fished for 15 years and rarely do I use any technique that increases those odds and I rarely have a hook anwhere below the tongue. Techniques I am speaking of include certain carolina rigs, excessively small lures, etc.  It is important to not let the fish take the lure too long, Id rather miss the fish then deal with a swallowed bait, waiting too long is selfish and disrespectful the bass. All this aside, being its really another topic, I'll tell you what I do to get them out (if hook is even remotely visible).

More then likely the eye of the hook will be facing up.  CAREFULLY take a pair of thin and long needle nose pliars and go in between the back gill plate and the last gill NOT THE FRONT.  This allows a better point of leverage.  Being as careful as possible to not touch the gill, grab the hook as low as possible and turn it 180 degress so that the eye is facing down and the point of the hook points toward the stomach.  Then give it a semi stiff jerk out, being careful to not pull too hard. Throat tissue on a bass is fairly tough and after 2 or 3 workings 9 out of 10 times it will come out.  I know its risky going by the gills but i swear this technique works really well, and if done right cause much less damage to the fish then going through the mouth and pulling it around in the wrong directions. This almost always works for me, and I can only remember resorting to cutting the line once.  If there is excessive amounts of bleeding, especially from the gills, it is almost always better to just keep the bass.  Bass as a species are generally weak and dont survive trama / large blood lose readily like other species such as catfish.

[TommyBass]

Ok I just typed this same message and sent it, but it messed up some how and went to a different post... but anyways... glen posted a link to visual pictures that show the technique im speaking about, if more fisherman used that technique bass would be much better off.  Anways... sorry for doubling up on that glen, didnt see it before.

[HorseEmIn]

I caught a 17 in. bass last year and when I cleaned him, he had 02 worm hook coming out his back side.  When I cut him open, he also had a lg. jighead hook in his stomach.  So much for digestive juices. I suggest cutting the line and hope for the best.