fish........pain???

[javelinbill]

do fish feel pain when hooked?? ive heard they do and ive heard they dont. just wondering.......bill

[senko]

I've heard that fish do not feel pain or fear. Try searching on this site. I think it's been brought up before...

[pignjig]

J-Bill- That's the question of the ages. There are many studies that show fish do not feel pain like humans. It is, however, madness and self-deception to think they don't feel anything. Consider that the catfish uses its mouth to "taste" before it eats something. There has to be a lot of nerve endings in there. I asked a veterinarian friend of mine what he thought and he explained it this way- A bass' brain is about the size of a peanut, unshelled. They don't have the capacity to feel "pain". They do feel "discomfort" and that triggers the struggle to dislodge the hook. They feel the same thing when a bluegill sticks them with its dorsal. It's instinct. Add on some invisible force pulling them against their will and you've got one confused, peanut brained, water-dwelling Virginia ham on your hands.

Worry not, but bless you for even thinking about it.

Just 2 cents...

-Pig

[bassnman30]

Does it hurt when you get a haircut ? Does it hurt when you get your nails cut ?

[fishin' fool]

I would like to think fish don't feel pain, but that would almost go against evolution and how all animals and humans developed. Animals and humans feel pain to let us know we are in trouble/being hurt. With out the sensation of pain we could touch a hot stove and not relize it until our flesh and muscle is burnt so bad it can't be repaired. But since we feel pain, once we touch the stove we quickly remove our hand so it doesn't burn anymore.
But with fish, alot of their prey have defense mechanisms that should cause some pain or discomfort when taken into their mouths. Since fish grab and eat with their mouths, they may have less nerve endings in their mouths to offset the pain form a bluegills spinny dorsal fin rays. But the next time you hook a bass in the mouth (doesn't have to be in the throat) and you're having trouble removing the hook, watch the bass's pectoral and pevic fins as you stuggle to remove the hook and tell me what you see. I have noticed their fins move alot, it may not be out of discomfort, but I have noticed this more when the hooks is harder to get out. I'll have to look at my Icthyology book and see if it has anything about fish and pain and get back to ya.....

[flfireman]

If you want a real unbiased opinion go to the PETA website. They have pages of certified research done by insanely intelligent people. I almost felt stupid just reading the words of these great people. If that doesn't work...go fish, that's what I did.

[tnfisherman]

i wouldnt go on PETA's website if i was a dying.. i hate PETA!!!!

[pignjig]

FF- Cool. Looking forward to what you find out.

Flfireman- That's clever. Well done, sir. I knew a real PETA dude in college in the '80s who had a book on the abuses of fishing. They're still using the same photos of bass mortality after tournaments that were taken in the '70s. The advances in livewell technology, water additives, angler education, the use of ice, catch and release, etc. have greatly cut down on mortality. Yet, they still persist with the mantra...

-Pig

[lowrider]

saw something on tv, study showed that effect of catching a bass raised it's heart rate a little but the fish was back to normal after 1 hour.

[basstech]

I think anything with nerve endings will feel something, but don't know that a fishes brain is developed enough to process the information like a humans brain.

[Snake2715]

I just seen something where they numbed the mouths of the fish, and watched the fish(in tanks) bump their mouths on the ground dirt and rocks until the numbness went away.
So at least I think that proves they do have a sense of feeling in their mouths.

[bothomas]

Who cares if they feel pain or not? Have you ever gone a single day without some sort of pain? I know I haven't. You might not be as dumb as me though. Either way, I believe in catch and release, and taking care of your fish during a tournament, but I'm not gonna stop fishing to save them the pain they go through every day. you ever try eating a live crawfish? like I said, you might not be as dumb as me.