hook removal question

mjr · Post by **mjr** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 9:04 am

every once in a while i'll get a bite i didn't feel or i wont set the hook fast enough and fish will swallow the hook. my question is, what is the best method to remove a hook that has been swallowed by a bass? bleeding or not should i leave it in the fish? if so do i cut the line at the hook or do i leave a some line attached?

Bill K · Post by **Bill K** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 9:22 am

Many thoughts on this one and I am not sure which one is best. I personally, like to just cut the line at the hook and leave the hook in the fish. I feel he has the best chance of making it, that way, rather than try to dig the hook out and injure the fish further. Bill K

Randy Yeager · Post by **Randy Yeager** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 10:44 am

I rarely leave the hook in the fish. Carry a nice pair of chrome plated needlenose pliers and use it to carefully go through the gills to turn the hook around, the eye end of the hook can come back out the gills and carefully held with a finger. Once the hook is turned around, you can grab it through the mouth with the pliers and pluck it out. A lot of times, it will just fall out once you get it turned around.

I have about a 99% success rate of removing the hook without drawing any blood or damaging any gills.

Ken C. · Post by **Ken C.** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 11:17 am

This is a great visual of how to remove a swallowed hook. Work carefully and the fish will really be better off than if you leave it in.

Removing A Swallowed Hook

Try it - it really works well and is really quite easy!

tommypV2 · Post by **tommypV2** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 1:25 pm

This works very very well.
On fish with a larger hook size to mouth size ratio, it can be a challenge to flip that hook around with pliers - I find that it's easier if you cut the line up from the hook about eight inches or so, and thread the line down under the gill plate; use the tag end to help you flip the hook inside the mouth.

Ken C. · Post by **Ken C.** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 9:28 pm

Good Point, Tommy!

MrSkeeter · Post by **MrSkeeter** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 7:19 am

tommypV2 wrote:This works very very well.
On fish with a larger hook size to mouth size ratio, it can be a challenge to flip that hook around with pliers - I find that it's easier if you cut the line up from the hook about eight inches or so, and thread the line down under the gill plate; use the tag end to help you flip the hook inside the mouth.

Yeah, using regular plier will be tough, especially on spotted bass. However, I've found that the use of forecepts (Shimano, Berkely, Calcutta, and others) works great. I've not had to leave a hook in a fish since I've started to use these forcepts. I carry several in my boat and wear one on my belt (w/a retractable thingie).

basstamer · Post by **basstamer** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 10:51 am

I generally agree with Bill-I ALWAYS leave the hook in if I think there is ANY chance of me injuring the fish. I do like and will try the cutting the line up high and then running it through the gills but I gotta be honest I am NOT a fan of the In Fisherman way mentioned above...in my experience gills will blled if you look at them hard enough and the last thing I want to do is dig through them. I have always heard if you tear them gills up you've just killed the fish-true or no? I always want to do what is best for the fish ie:catch and release-am I doing more damage leaving the hooks in????
Scott

basstamer · Post by **basstamer** » Sun Jun 04, 2006 9:38 am

if you bring in a bleeding fish QUICKLY(IMMEDIEATLY) put her back in the water and hold her under for 30 seconds and she will stop bleeding! The water clots the blood-if you dont the fish will bleed out very quickly. I caught a 7+ hawg at Clear Lake (Heaven) and she was pouring when I got her in-she had swallowed my senko. I put her back in and held her under for about 45 seconds and walla-no more bleeding. I cut my line and released her and she swam right back into the bush I caught her in and I have no doubt she survived.

vinnybass · Post by **vinnybass** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 5:37 am

Keep one of these in your boat. http://www.dbarb.com/ If you can get at the barb end of the hook this will cut it off cleanly, then it will slide right out with no damage. If you can't get the barb you can use this to clip off as much of the hook as possible before releasing the fish.

ken · Post by **ken** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 8:09 pm

It has been shown that many of the new hooks just don't rust out like people think. The fish gets in bad shape before it finally rusts out. I usually cut the line and grab the shaft of the hook with long needle nose pliers and push the hook down into the stomache and leave it, therefore keeping the throat clear for the fish to feed. The latest way of turning the hook around seems to work very well but I'm still a little concerned about the gills. Ken