Bass Fishing Forum - Westernbass.com

I have a question i hope some people here can answer, so i like to use lighter line & from time to time i lose a bigger fish, what happens to the bait & hook after i break off. Do those fish eventually dislodge the bait/lure & hook & spit the bait out or swallow it? I just know today i had a good one hooked up & it looked to have choked the bait, & Snap!
Thanks in advance.....

I don't think there is a simple answer to that question. Everything that you mention can happen. Hooks rust and will eventually break, but it takes a long time. A few times, I've caught a fish that had a second lure in it's mouth. Unfortunately, sometimes the fish die. I have snagged a broken line/lost lure a couple of times and there was a dead fish with the hook/lure still in it's mouth.

I snagged a trout at Del Valle that had the hook and line hanging out its ***. It was trailing the hook like a fighter jet ready to land on and aircraft carrier. I pulled the rest of the line out and released it. So, a lot can happen when a fish breaks you off. That trout was able to pass the hook luckily.

Resolve the broken line problem. Breaking off bass shouldn't be an issue when bass fishing.
Define your tackle, reel,line, knot used and we can make a few suggestions to help you.
A percentage of bass don't survive after being caught even after releasing them intentionally.
Some bass die from eating discarded soft plastics because they can't digest it.
Tom

I caught a 4.6lber on a spinnerbait once and it had some line coming out it' s arse , I carefully pulled on the line and a 4/0 hook with a brush hog eventually came out . The hook WAS NOT rusted at all , I suspect the hook had been in that bass 2-4 days . Bass seemed totally fine when I released it .