Author Topic: Releasing a fish with a hook or lure in it  (Read 1831 times)

ItsmeitsmeitsJSG

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Releasing a fish with a hook or lure in it
« on: Feb 26, 2018, 08:32 AM »
I'm a C&R kinda guy, and this weekend I hooked a small laker and couldnt get the hook out. I know supervisor is on here so so maybe this is a good question for him but I'd also like to hear other opinions. If you gut hook or hook a fish in the gills with a hook or lure and have to leave it in there what are the odds of survival? Does the hook location matter, I.E a fish hooked in the lip vs hooked deeper in it's mouth. If it's bleeding  does that mean it's probably gonna die? Thoughts and Opinions would be appreciated

Offline five fathoms

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Re: Releasing a fish with a hook or lure in it
« Reply #1 on: Feb 26, 2018, 09:29 AM »
 My experience from this weekend:
 Earlier this month, I had caught a smallmouth on a tip-up, and it had taken the shiner nearly all the way down the hatch. The hook was in its gullet, with no way to remove it without causing fatal damage. I clipped the line a half inch above the hook and released the fish. This Saturday, I revisited the same lake and fished in approximately the same spot. After the 3rd or 4th time my shallowest tip-up went off, I haul in a smallie. When I open its yap to unhook it, there's my old hook with its stub of line peeking out of its gullet. By all appearances, the fish was healthy, and willing and possibly able to feed.
 Last season, I caught a perch with a rusty hook stuck near its anus. It was unclear if it had passed the hook through its tract, or whether it had been hooked there. Either way, it was alive and kicking.
 I suspect that fish are hardier in the winter, with their reduced metabolism and all. If any of you keep fish for the table, you've noticed that they may stay alive nearly all day even out of the water. So it's not a stretch to believe that they can take some angler-inflicted damage and still survive.

Offline SHaRPS

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Re: Releasing a fish with a hook or lure in it
« Reply #2 on: Feb 26, 2018, 09:41 AM »
I think it depends on species as well. Salmon and trout being the most sensitive. Bass and pickerel being the hardiest. Perch falling right between. Then you also have certain species than can die if pulled from the depths.
Just add water.

Offline zwiggles

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Re: Releasing a fish with a hook or lure in it
« Reply #3 on: Feb 26, 2018, 10:34 AM »
If it’s a single hook and it’s deep, just cut the line as close as you can. Many people have reported catching rainbows with multiple hooks in them from repvious run ins with an angler. If it’s a jig/lure and it’s deep, and a legal sized fish I would keep it. If it’s not legal you don’t have much choice.

Warm water fish are much hardier then Cold water fish. Depth and species also has a lot to do with it. A prego perch from 30+ ft probably isn’t going to survive any ways if you let it go. A laker however from down deep has a much better chance of “getting back down”. Lots of varying factors.

Just try to make the best call you can.

Offline Coffin Dodger

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Re: Releasing a fish with a hook or lure in it
« Reply #4 on: Feb 26, 2018, 10:59 AM »
Caught an open water brown a year or two ago. It was a racer.
Had 2" of a 9" rubber worm stuck out of it's mouth with 6" of snelled mono beyond that. I was releasing that day, so I carefully eased on the mono.
That worm slid out as slick as you can guess.

Moral: the hook end rotted off in the fishes mouth, but the plastic worm was causing it to starve to death without intervention.

Offline desmobob

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Re: Releasing a fish with a hook or lure in it
« Reply #5 on: Feb 26, 2018, 11:09 AM »
Look online for references on hooked fish mortality.  Most sources say a hook will rust/dissolve out of a fish in a matter of a few days.  Where they are hooked is the key to their odds of surviving.  Injested plastic baits cause problems for fish; apparently more so than hooks left in the fish.

Tight lines,
Bob

Offline merk42

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Re: Releasing a fish with a hook or lure in it
« Reply #6 on: Feb 26, 2018, 11:18 AM »
I've caught 4 browns with rubber bass baits in their stomachs.. all were without hooks. So it appears that they can rid themselves of the metal, but not the rubber... In an 18 in brown I recently removed a 4" rubber bait...

Offline NHGunowner

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Re: Releasing a fish with a hook or lure in it
« Reply #7 on: Feb 28, 2018, 05:25 AM »
I caught a little tiny pickerel a few years ago, from heavily fished Steven's pond in Manchester. He had 2 hooks in him already, and mine was deep, so he went back down with a 3rd...
I have read the catch and release info, what else can you do but hope it's correct.
Nearly all my small non-kept cusk go down with a hook, they always bury it.

Offline NHGunowner

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Re: Releasing a fish with a hook or lure in it
« Reply #8 on: Feb 28, 2018, 05:31 AM »
If any of you keep fish for the table, you've noticed that they may stay alive nearly all day even out of the water. So it's not a stretch to believe that they can take some angler-inflicted damage and still survive.
As a member of the "6 hours old caught fish just jumped off the countertop" club, I can attest.

Offline JIGGIN-

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Re: Releasing a fish with a hook or lure in it
« Reply #9 on: Feb 28, 2018, 08:58 AM »
Personally id rather cut my line close to the hook than try to get it out with pliers. Hooks are easy to replace and put on.

Last weekend I released at least 30 lakers with hooks in their mouths. On some i was able to get out easily but if there were any questions, i'd simply cut the line as close to the hook as possible. All trout were released and swam away to fight another day.

Offline wshnIwsfshn

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Re: Releasing a fish with a hook or lure in it
« Reply #10 on: Mar 02, 2018, 08:00 PM »
If it’s caught in it’s gullit you can turn the hook shank down with a pair of pliers it should pop right out do not t all the time sometimes you have to go thru the gills

Offline rdhammah

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Re: Releasing a fish with a hook or lure in it
« Reply #11 on: Mar 02, 2018, 08:23 PM »
I will try to go through the gills with a pr of curved forceps. I have removed gullet hooked fish with minimum amount of bleeding. If I don't think it can be removed and I do not plan on taking it home, I cut the hook off.
 

Offline DConICE

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Re: Releasing a fish with a hook or lure in it
« Reply #12 on: Mar 02, 2018, 08:41 PM »

Started carrying a pair of side cutters in my tackle bag - if I can't get it out without causing more harm than if I can reach it with the cutters I'll cut off as much of the hook as possible.. figure the less I leave the better chance it has of dealing with it.  I have caught healthy fish with hooks in them also... so they do seem to manage and continue to feed.

Offline IcePhishing4Fun

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Re: Releasing a fish with a hook or lure in it
« Reply #13 on: Mar 03, 2018, 06:49 AM »
I caught a small pickerel this year that had my hook and 2 other shiners and 1 hook in its mouth. I played dentist and removed all that stuff and let it go to swim another day. Fish were aggressive that day, I would catch one, reset the dead shiner walk back to bait bucket and get a new shiner only to turn around to find my flag had gone up again because the fish were eating the dead bait.

Last spring I caught a nice 3 pound bass with a poking out of its butt, so this fish might have broke someone off and managed to swallow and digest the hook, but it got stuck whilst trying to poop it out... I pulled it out, I am sure that fish lived.

Did you kill that fish you gullet hooked?
=1m32s
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Offline DR.SPECKLER

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Re: Releasing a fish with a hook or lure in it
« Reply #14 on: Mar 03, 2018, 07:19 AM »
that vid with the hook in clean drinking water is not a good test imo.theres many different elements in lake or river water that will make the hook rust and dissolve pretty fast.i found a huge snag in a river that contained 176 lures in it.almost all of them had no hooks and most even had rusted stainless split rings.these lures ranged from old to new.i think the nickel plated hooks don't rust as fast but ive had hooks rust in my tackle box when it got rained  on just a little bit.

Offline IcePhishing4Fun

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Re: Releasing a fish with a hook or lure in it
« Reply #15 on: Mar 03, 2018, 07:24 AM »
that vid with the hook in clean drinking water is not a good test imo.

Yeah that's why the link skips the water bottle test.
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