Gut hooked bass

[Vaughn]

Hi all,

Just curious how most out there handle "gut hooked" bass. I typically carry a pair of snips to cut as much of the hook as possible prior to release. However, I'm always curioius if the bass survive this ordeal. I've heard that most hooks dissolve after a few weeks-is this true? Every time I've had the unfortunate gut-hook release I can't help think the fish is doomed even with a small piece of hook left in there. Thoughts? Thanks

[snapitoff2002]

I have caught healthy fish with line coming out of their anus- connected to a hook. Caught fish with a hook coming out of their side, from the inside out. Some hooks never rust out. I think as long as the stomach can open up, it's all good. However, when I don't swing fast enough, or they just really want it and swallow it- I crimp the barb down, even if I have to force it back through so I can see it. If it's just a worm hook, you can crimp the barb, turn upside down towards the gills and push from there.

[StockOption]

Every fisherman should learn this technique for removing a hook from a deeply hooked fish:

http://www.in-fisherman.com/magazine/ar ... index.html

It works amazingly well, it's easy and I've used it successfully quite a few times, twice today in fact on two separate fish.

It's always a bonus when you can help a fish out that was let go with a hook in it's gullet.

[Vaughn]

Thanks StockOption- good article... I'll try that next time!

[lionkiller]

Senkos are the worst for this.....bass love 'em so much.

Good article. I used that technique several times on Sat. Only thing I do different is have a bit more care with the gills, as I've read articles that contradict what In_Fisherman says. I'd rather err on the conservative side where it might mean more fish in the water.

[StockOption]

Yesterday I unhooked a fish I caught on the shakey head and noticed a hook eye sticking out of it's gullet. Using this technique (and lion I agree be VERY careful around the gills) I was able to remove that hook and the 6" MMIII worm that was still attached to it This technique does work and I think the fish are far better off without a hook in um And on my boat I have a nice little collection of hooks I've removed from fish over the last several months. I do not think hooks "rust out" as fast as some folks may think and in fact may never "rust out".

[kopper_bass]

I try and do this technique most all the time; especially when i'm just going to immediately release the fish. It does work and the fish are surely better off without the hook in them.

But interestingly, here is what happened yesterday during the Fed tourney at Clear Lake. I caught a nice 3lber on a Sweet Beaver. I must have missed the initial bite as the fish had the beaver and hook stuck in the front of its gullet. Now the beaver and hook were in its mouth still, so it didnt swallow it all, but the 5/0 hook was clearly in and out and stuck good. Me pulling it out in any direction was not going to be good for the fish.

Since i was keeping the fish for weight, and i was on a quick bite, i didnt want to fuss with this fish right then and possibly kill it, so i quickly cut the line off and tossed her/him in the livewell to relax. (in hindsight, i should've removed the beaver - doh!)

Well, i constantly check my fish throughout the day, and she/he was doing fine, so i wasnt worried. Come weigh in time, i grabbed my 5 fish and put them in the bag, and low and behold at the bottom of the livewell is my hook with a beaver still attached.

So, here's my theory:
While i still truly believe in safely removing all hooks, i do tend to think that when fish are caught and up out of the water (which is where we always see them) they are tense, cant breathe, and tighten up all their muscles; including their gullet. Given the chance to relax, they can likely and easily remove these hooks themselves thru normal means by relaxing their gullet and dispensing the hooks with flushing water.

It certainly doesnt always work that way, but its something to consider! Maybe holding onto a deep caught fish for a few minutes to relax will naturally get that hook out?

What do you think?

Kopper_Bass

[StockOption]

Thanks for that kopper. That is an interesting point for sure.

It makes me recall a time this past spring when I had a small rat hit and hook himself on 2 of the 3 treble hooks on my LC Pointer 128. As I was picking the fish up by the line (it was 10lb test and this was a VERY small fish under a pound) my line snapped and the fish dropped back into the water and swam away with a lure stuck on his grill that was almost bigger than he was. I saw that fish a few times trying to shake that lure off and tried to net it twice. I hung around the area hoping the fish would surface due to exhaustion but alas and forlorn no such luck. Anyhow your post has given me some hope that that fish got rid of the lure and survived, I certainly hope it did. Stupid of me to try and land the fish by picking up the line, I try NOT to do that anymore but at times it cannot be avoided.

Either way it's a judgement call. Always do what you think is best for the fish and gives the fish its best chance to fight another day

[DeltaDan]

My rule of thumb- Mostly for Stripers .......... If they are gut hooked or have a bleeding gill. -- Just eat it and enjoy with a nice romain salad, bbq Papaya's and/or Asparagus with bbq taters with sour cream.


Course you may have to supliment your catch with some from the local market- Can't ever go wrong with Halibut.

[350V RGR]

StockOption,

Thanks for showing us that write up. I have been using a differnt way for years. But from what I have just read it doesnt add another hole in the mouth like my way does. (did) I will try this out.

What I was doing, is first cutting the hook below the eye with wire cutters. Then grab the hook with pliers and turning the hook so the point would come out somewere next to the throut. then grab the point with another set of pliers and just pull the rest of the hook out.

It would put a hole though a fishes mouth but the hook would be gone. I hate leaving a hook in a fishes mouth, If I gut hook a fish then I deserve to lose that hook.

I really do care about the fish I catch and I also think Bass are pretty darn tough. If a Bass can kill a crawdad and eat blue gills. Then it should be able to recover from a hole in the mouth. There is no way that eatting dads and gill dont ever go as planned and sometime can cause a hole in ones mouth. So thats why I can except me putten a hole in a mouth to get a hook out.

But like I have always said. this site has given me ALOT of good info. I like this way you just hipped me to, this way is way better then bringing a hook back through. Thank again!!!

[DeltaDan]

KK- I gotta come clean here............


So I am a sinner............. everyone here knows that


The last holidays I marinated and bbq'ed up some servings of duck breast for our main course.







kk- I knew "some" were from some ring neck ducksand mabey a spoon or two......(we has mouths to feed...) as the rest were teal, mallard (my dad got) and sprig.


Well I served my MIL the spoon or the ring neck "apparently"........ I can't quite remember as it was on the left side of the grill. ..........


The waistful son-of-a-gun never even finished it !!

[Andy Giannini]

Check out Cabela's for a hook remover shaped like a big "F".

What the tool does, is slide down the line and reverse rotates out the hook. Its difficult to describe, but it can slide right in the fish gullet down to where the hook bends and uses the hook to easily remove itself. You don't have to reach through gills with hemostats and conduct fish surgery unless you want to. Slide down the line, squeeze handle, done, the hook is removed.

I first discovered the "ZAK" tool for splitshoting, it works on the same principle for smaller hooks. It is a little plastic gun looking thing, you can buy at Wal Mart. It is THE thing to have when Bluegill fishing. You do need to know which way the hook is pointing in the fish. The hook eye is an easy way to identify hook disposition, slide the tool down the line, pull the trigger and the hook is out. The Zak tool will wear out after some use it will split the plastic eventually. But they are cheap, buy a couple. The best thing about using one is kids fishing with you. They are easily upset if the fish swallows a hook, and will start asking if that fish is gonna die etc. With a remover it is easy, the hook pops right out, and the fish swims away.

The Zak tool is only for splitshots and little hooks. For big Senko hooks check out the tool in Cabela's that looks like a big metal "F". Rapala has one too, but it needs some modification to work properly so I don't recommend it. Avoid EWG hooks, they don't reverse rotate out as well.

More than .02 A.G.

Every once in awhile a bass flip jig will end up in a bad spot on a fish. You can tell if its gonna be tough on the fish to remove. Bend the barb down, or if its around the eye for example I just cut the hook and barb off. Then the jig is easy to remove. Most guys will be in shock to hear dykes cut through a big flip jig. But its a great way to impress on others your high regard for for the fish.

[MrSkeeter]

Guys,

I've not left a hook inside of a fish in several years. Please do away with the pliers and buy one of these hemostats. The 6" or 6.5" ones are about the right length.

The pliers are too thick and chunky to effectively work around a gut hooked fish. But these hemostats are narrow and strong enough to remove just about all hooks even if you cannot see the eye of the hook. Here's how I use them.

Put a little pressure on the line and expose the eye or as much of the shank of the hook as possible. Then using the hemostats, slide it down the shank as far down as you can and clamp onto the hook. Now twist and pull ... you'll know which direction to twist from the orientation of the eye of the hook. Sometimes if the fish is small and the hook is deeply implanted, you may have to work a little longer, but I've not left a hook inside of a fish since using these instead of pliers.

Shimano, Calcutta, Berkeley sold these in the past ... Though of late, I've not seen too many of them except for the Berkeley ones and they're a bit expensive. The link above is nearly the same at a much cheaper price.

[Otay Michael]

[quote="MrSkeeter"]Guys,

I've not left a hook inside of a fish in several years. Please do away with the pliers and buy one of these hemostats. The 6" or 6.5" ones are about the right length.

The pliers are too thick and chunky to effectively work around a gut hooked fish. But these hemostats are narrow and strong enough to remove just about all hooks even if you cannot see the eye of the hook. Here's how I use them.

Put a little pressure on the line and expose the eye or as much of the shank of the hook as possible. Then using the hemostats, slide it down the shank as far down as you can and clamp onto the hook. Now twist and pull ... you'll know which direction to twist from the orientation of the eye of the hook. Sometimes if the fish is small and the hook is deeply implanted, you may have to work a little longer, but I've not left a hook inside of a fish since using these instead of pliers."

***********************
Mr Skeeter, using hemostats instead of pliers is not going to help it live after your twist and pulll technique. You are still just tearing a big ol hole in it's stomach and guts by doing that.

Please go and look at the proper/ non-invasive way to remove it with that link posted by option furter up.

http://www.in-fisherman.com/magazine/ar ... index.html

It's not that hard to learn and it is definitely not going to end up killing the bass like your method most likely will. (Just because it swims away does not mean it's going to live after having torn it's inside up). Believe me, the future bass you catch will thank you for it.

[Joe W.]

I read this in-fisherman article a while back and tried it a bunch of times since then with no luck at all. I have never had a barb just "pop free" from the gullet like the article makes it seem. It just doesn't work for me. The only times I have been able to get the hook out is if the fish is hooked in and out of the gullt with the barb exposed. Those I can cut and pull the hook out. If I can't get to the barb, it's not coming out, at least not without harm done to the fish.

Looking at the in-fisherman article, I cannot see why the barb would just pop free.

[kopper_bass]

Joe,
This does work, but i understand your point and issue with the results you'vew gotten. sometimes it doesnt work as easily as expected.

Here's though why and how it should work. Its the same principal for removing a hook from your finger, if you ever get the bad end of that deal.

When you turn the hook and apply downward pressure, you are now using the hook to block the flesh from grabbing the barb because the hook on the outside edge is pushing open the hole. (this is caused by you threading the line out the gills and easily pulling down). Once you have the hook turned and and have slight tension on the string, you can then grab the hook with pliers and pull it straight out without catching the gullet with the barb. i find its easiest to do this when the fish is lying on the deck vs. trying to hold it in my hands.

As i mentioned, this is the same thing you do when pulling a hook out of your finger. if you dont slightly pull down on the hook to elongate the hole with the outer edge of the hook, then the barb is sure to catch and you wont have success.

Hope this helps explain it some to you.

Fish_On,

Kopper_Bass

[Joe W.]

Maybe it's the hooks I use. I mostly use the EWG's. I just read in another post that it's harder to get the barb to rotate out on those?

I see now why it should work, you have the point of the hook basically holding the hole open which allows the barb enough room to slip through without catching. I am all for anything that will help the survival rate of the bass I catch so I am going to keep trying this until I figure it out.

[kopper_bass]

Joe,
Yeah, excellent point i forgot to also highlight.
As someone else mentioned, the EWG's dont do it quite as well as say a dropshot hook, wackyrig, or straight shank hook. thats because of the sharp bend at the hook end on the EWG. It doesnt exert that same outward push until it truly gets turned.

Give it a try on the other hooks and i think you'll find it easier and successful.

Kopper_Bass

[Joe W.]

Thanks for the info! I always feel really bad when I have to leave a hook in a fish, so I'm happy to learn anything that will help with this.

[Salcone]

I posted a similar post months ago and got the same recommended technique...it has worked marvelously for me and I thank whoever gave me the info as I have not had any trouble since.

I do bend the barbs down on my worm hooks (if I think of it) and am surprised how fewer fish I lose than I thought I would. Of course, I don't make my living landing fish so I don't mind when one releases himself once in a while. I would recommend to anyone who fishes recreationally and intends to release all fish caught to bend down the barbs on their hooks.

-Salcone