Hook Rot

How long does it take for a 9/0 or 10/0 hook to dissolve in a flatheads mouth/throat? Just curious if anyone has tested it out to actually see.

I have no idea how one could ethically test that.

Has a hook company or anybody for that matter ever proven that hooks do rot away?

I’ve always thought that hook rot was a myth that people kept up to feel better about themselves.

Not exactly oranges to oranges, but I’ve caught flats with rusty #2 walleye (?) hooks in them. I haven’ a clue how long they were in the fish but the did appear to be dissolving. I was more concerned about keeping my fingers out of them though.

I’m with RB….. the big hooks would take some time to dissolve. I will make every attempt to remove the hook short of killing the fish…. And cut the line as an absolute last resort.

A wirecutter can be used to cut off any and all hook portions that are visible would seem to be the ticket. Similar to what the muskie guys carry. The smaller portion of hook remaining would seem to be better IMHO.

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I have no idea how one could ethically test that.

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Get a pail of river water, throw the hook in there and see what happens is about all I can think of. Just wonder how that affects the fish and if it would be better to rip it out or not.

I’ve always been lead to believe that as long as the hook doesn’t impede them eating that it’ll probably be ok. The only thing that seems to fit that description is treble hooks and most of us already don’t use them.

I keep a side cutter on board in case I have to leave one, but I use it rarely. If the hook gets to their stomach the acid in there will degrade the metal pretty quick. A big gammi 10/0 will take a lot longer than a smaller one but it will degrade too.

I’ll do a mini-experiment with some HCl at a pH of about 1.1 or so. That’s a good approximation of human stomach pH, but I don’t know the pH of a catfish’s stomach. If nothing else, it’ll be interesting. I’ll post some results.

We have someone that can do anything!

I’ll see if I can find out the ph.

2 to 4 or 7 to 9 depending on what part of the digestive track you’re looking.

And it should be more potent as the water warms. a Control of the same hooks in water would be appropriate I would think.

C’mon now, I have a life

I’ll try this:

I will use 10/0 Kahle and 10/0 Gamakatsu hooks.

One of each in water, one of each in 0.1N HCl, which is about pH 1.1 or so. This is a bit more acidic than what BK’s research suggests, but it will give us the worst-case scenario. If that acid eats the hooks really quickly (I have my doubts), I will try out some less concentrated HCl with a bit higher pH.

This will be very interesting.

1.1 is pretty darn acidic… The human stomach is generally above 2.. Probably between 2 and 4. Maybe higher depending on how many tumms I’ve had. (Do catfish eat tumms?)

I doubt a catfish would be under 2, but what do I know.

Will make a good experiment, anyway…

Regarding the basic ph that BK suggested… Higher in the GI tract (stomach) the ph is low to kill bacteria in food, breakdown food, etc.. The ph then gets more basic further into the intestines. This is how enteric coated aspirin (et al) work.. They don’t disintigrate/absorb in the low ph of the stomach… They are specificaly coated to make it through the stomach to the higher ph regions of the gut and then dissolve, causing less stomach irritation, etc.

Please throw a 5/0 Eagle Claw Kahle hook in there too. It’s also really easy to dilute your solution to a better approximation of the cat stomach, but a lower pH will let the experiment be faster if you’re mainly concerned with hook comparisons.

As for leaving hooks in – I cut the hook and use a pliers to poke the point through and remove the rest when I can reach.

Often a gut-hooked fish is barely hooked at all – you can fully evert the stomach up into the throat of the fish and generally find that the hook isn’t buried even up to the barb. It’s not as traumatic as it sounds, and I believe it’s better for the fish to get that hook out of there.

Sure it will dissolve, but it may take a year. Their stomachs are very tough, but you bullhead users think about the last time you had a fish swallow your bullhead – when you get it to the boat, you can feel the bully still thrashing in the belly of the beast. Flatheads eat a lot of big baits and swallow them whole – if there’s a big hook in there making tears and sending possible infection into the abdominal cavity of the fish every time it eats, that’s bad! They can probably make it through having a hole or two poked in them by a bullhead spine or a hook once, but not holes and tears every time they eat.

Fascinating stuff. Medics, scientists and catfish experts…
brainstorming……on swallowed hooks.
Looking forward to some results.

Damit JIM!! Im a Catfisherman not a doctor!!

I would imagine their stomachs are pretty acidic considering they dissolve those bully skulls and carp bones and scales.

This has turned into a very interesting post indeed. Can’t wait for the results, Thanks!

Hook rot??????