Hook mortality/immortality

What is the best way to deal with a gut/gill hooked fish? Cut the line or try your best to get it out?

Good post topic. I don’t know if there’s a right answer…seems like a case by case decision. What I do know is last year I had a 26″ eye devour a blade and she was already bleeding heavy when I got her in the boat from several of the hooks that were lodged in her gills. I decided to try extraction….and being a catch and release area…I think the eagles ate well that day. Felt like crap for the rest of the week.

JP

In most cases do your best to get it out. I am sure someone will chime in on the best ways to accomplish it. I think most recent studies have shown when you cut the line mortality is very high.

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What is the best way to deal with a gut/gill hooked fish? Cut the line or try your best to get it out?

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This is what I practice (But to each his or her own)if I have a gut or gullet hooked fish I cut the line on a jig. If I was to use a crank bait or blade bait, I would cut out the bait with good “side cutters” and leave the hooks to eventually dissolve as fish have very strong stomach acids. Just my perspective.

Unfortunately this happens way to often when fishing plastic baits for Bass. What I usually try to do is to cut the hook with a large side cutters. I then go in really carefully thru the gills with a Crochet Hook ( Ok, let me here it )and pull on the barb side of the hook. This usually pulls the hook free.. Otherwise I cut the line leaving 5 or 6″ hanging out. I’ve heard mixed reviews about rather or not modern hooks with disolve or not. I always hate when it happens but if you fish enough it is bound to happen sooner or later.

In many cases a good hook removal tool makes a lot of difference. A short pair of needle nose many times just don’t do the job.

A couple other options that haven’t been mentioned are:

Use barbless hooks or pinch them down right away.

or

Pinch the barb down with a long needle nose and you should be able to remove the hook without further damage.

I have cut the line on lindy hooks before but I really prefer to remove the hook if I feel I can do so without killing the fish, if it means pinching the barb or actually cutting the hook so be it, if I cut the line the hook is gone and I need to retie just the same as if I cut the hook to get it out.

Here is a very effective way to get a hook out, for example if you can see some of the shank sticking out in the bottom of the throat, insert your forceps through the farthest gill back, clamp on hook and simply rotate forceps and amzingly the hook will rotate right out. You have to see to believe, it is unreal on how well this works. This works best with single octupus style hooks, as far as trebles go side cutting them off flush is probably the best method… Try it!!

Thanks guys… A family member of mine caught a 28″ walleye and gut hooked it. So they cut the line and left the hook. I’ve always wondered what is the best approach; since I’ve tried my hardest to get em’ out and sometimes caused fish to bleed and other times left the hook. Glad to get these responses… now I know to give it my best shot and last resort cut the hook. Especially, with some of your guys tactics I will be better prepared next time.

Bend the barbs down, hooks get a lot easier to get out.

Al