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Old 02-07-10, 10:51 AM   #1
Jrob78
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Default Gut hook removal

I know this has been posted before but with spring right around the corner I thought we could all use a refresher. Please review and learn this method, you will release a few more fish unharmed and will feel so much better about it. There is absolutely no need to ever cut your line and let a fish go with a giant worm hook in its throat!!!

http://fishingsuccess.net/Pages/Gut%20Hook.html

I always use my needle nose instead of my fingers but basically the exact same method as illustrated. Go in behind the last gill plates and grab the hook. It will be easy to tell which direction it needs to turn. Flip the hook straight over and the point will almost always pop out with zero resistance. Reach back in through the mouth and pull out the hook. It really is that simple. Never cut your line on a gut hooked bass, it just isn't necessary. Despite what you've been told that fish probably isn't going to survive long enough for the hook to rust out.
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Old 02-07-10, 11:38 AM   #2
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Originally Posted by Jrob78 View Post
Despite what you've been told that fish probably isn't going to survive long enough for the hook to rust out.
Not to argue but do you have any information to back up this statement? I only ask because I have cut my line for years and never seen any mortality rate resulting from this. And I have caught a lot of fish that have a hook down their throat where someone has cut their line, the hook was starting to rust and the fish looked to be doing well.
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Old 02-07-10, 11:58 AM   #3
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Good stuff.Thanks for the info.
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Old 02-07-10, 12:38 PM   #4
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Quote:
Not to argue but do you have any information to back up this statement? I only ask because I have cut my line for years and never seen any mortality rate resulting from this. And I have caught a lot of fish that have a hook down their throat where someone has cut their line, the hook was starting to rust and the fish looked to be doing well.
I have as much info to back up my statement as you do to back up yours.
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I have cut my line for years and never seen any mortality rate resulting from this.
How would you know, you release the fish right? Not trying to start a argument but common sense tells me that a fish has a much better chance of survival if it doesn't have a 5/0 worm hook stuck in its throat. Get a high quality ewg worm hook and set it in a cup of water and see how long it takes to rust in two. I doubt a bass can eat with a hook lodged in its gullet. This method isn't hard to learn and the peace of mind you get from painlessly removing a hook is worth the effort. I don't feel good about making an animal suffer, even if it is just a fish. Why not take the hook out if you can?
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Old 02-07-10, 05:27 PM   #5
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I have actually caught fish where a 5/0 EWG gamagatsu was sticking out of the fish's rectum and the only thing phisically wrong with that fish was the anus which was a little swollen. I have caught this exact fish about 4 or 5 more times since then so I think that the fish is either invulnerable or is just lucky the hook point didn't perforate the bowl or damage internal organs. BTW the fish in question came out of one of my ponds and has a pretty unique marking on one of it's pectoral fins so it is easy to ID as the same fish.
I have the picture somewhere so I will post it when I find it.

But back on topic I use that technique when removing any hook that threatens either the gills or the gullet. It works well but is definitley not flawless. The best way to keep a fish from swallowing a hook is to not give it the chance to work the hook that far down.
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Old 02-07-10, 05:52 PM   #6
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The technique is definitely not flawless and doesn't always work but I think it's still better than not trying. Sometimes the damage has already been done.
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Old 02-07-10, 06:11 PM   #7
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The technique is definitely not flawless and doesn't always work but I think it's still better than not trying. Sometimes the damage has already been done.

Yea that's what I was saying. We are all going to have fish die on us. It's a necessary evil that I would rather not have to deal with.
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Old 02-07-10, 06:16 PM   #8
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Yea that's what I was saying. We are all going to have fish die on us. It's a necessary evil that I would rather not have to deal with.
Yeah, I knew what you meant, I guess I was really just agreeing with you. I just hate thinking about people simply cutting their line. I used to be guilty of it and I feel so much better when the through the gill trick works and I see the fish swim off no worse for the wear.
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Old 02-07-10, 10:03 PM   #9
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I got this type hook remover-pistol type or T-type doesn't matter. You can grab the hook better than you can with pliers and avoid the gill area completely:


Deep hook a small fish and you can't use the gill method-not enough room.
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Old 02-08-10, 12:01 AM   #10
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I've gone behind the last gill a lot and it has worked very well. I did a test with water in a cup and threw in a Gammy EWG hook. I had to add water a couple times but after 6+ weeks the hook looked the same as when I put it in so I gave up on my experiment. Some say there are acids that make the hook rust faster when in a fish but I don't take the chance.
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Old 02-08-10, 12:19 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bender View Post
I've gone behind the last gill a lot and it has worked very well. I did a test with water in a cup and threw in a Gammy EWG hook. I had to add water a couple times but after 6+ weeks the hook looked the same as when I put it in so I gave up on my experiment. Some say there are acids that make the hook rust faster when in a fish but I don't take the chance.
Was the water you used from the tap or from a different water source?

I've seen those hook removers but haven't ever used one. I see several pros using them now so they must work pretty good.
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Old 02-08-10, 12:43 AM   #12
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I like the look of that hook, I might have to pick one up.

If the acids in the stomach of a bass won't completely rust a hook I doubt the acids in their mouths will either.
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Old 02-08-10, 12:46 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jrob78 View Post
I have as much info to back up my statement as you do to back up yours.

How would you know, you release the fish right? Not trying to start a argument but common sense tells me that a fish has a much better chance of survival if it doesn't have a 5/0 worm hook stuck in its throat. Get a high quality ewg worm hook and set it in a cup of water and see how long it takes to rust in two. I doubt a bass can eat with a hook lodged in its gullet. This method isn't hard to learn and the peace of mind you get from painlessly removing a hook is worth the effort. I don't feel good about making an animal suffer, even if it is just a fish. Why not take the hook out if you can?
First off I wasn't asking for a smart comment, I was seriously wondering if you had some facts about this other than you think it is better. Secondly, true that a quality hook will last a long time in water before it will rust. However a fish puts off a certain chemical that will help speed up the rusting process of the hook. I am not saying that this method doesn't work, I have done it before myself and been successful with it at times and unsuccessful with it at other times.

You asked how do I know if the fish survived since I released the fish. In my younger days when I did a lot of pond fishing I don't recall ever seeing a dead fish that I released with a hook in it's throat, not saying none of them died but if it was a total loss then I would think I would have seen a few of them die from it over the years. And like you said sometimes you kill the fish by using the behind the gill method, would that dead fish have been better off if you just cut the line?

Again I am not looking for an arguement because I use this method too at times and think it works well a lot of the time. All I was wondering is if you did some sort of experiement or had some sort of apples to apples comparison between using this method and just cutting the line.
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Old 02-08-10, 01:08 AM   #14
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Quote:
First off I wasn't asking for a smart comment, I was seriously wondering if you had some facts about this other than you think it is better.
Let me first apologize if I came off as a smart ***, that wasn't my intent. My point was this, you said you have been cutting your line for years and had never seen fish die because of it. If you release a fish and it swims around for weeks and finally dies because it can't eat, how would you really know? I fish ponds all the time too and never see dead fish of any kind. I would imagine that predators of some kind eat the fish or they simply sink to the bottom never to be seen again.

Quote:
All I was wondering is if you did some sort of experiement or had some sort of apples to apples comparison between using this method and just cutting the line.
I don't think this is something you can quantify with any type of experiment, not unless you have a giant fish habitat that you can monitor. To me common sense says that a fish has a better chance of survival without a hook stuck in its throat. Yes sometimes they do die but I don't know if it's from removing the hook or the fact that they were hooked deep to begin with.
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Old 02-08-10, 01:13 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jrob78 View Post
I don't think this is something you can quantify with any type of experiment, not unless you have a giant fish habitat that you can monitor. To me common sense says that a fish has a better chance of survival without a hook stuck in its throat. Yes sometimes they do die but I don't know if it's from removing the hook or the fact that they were hooked deep to begin with.

Hmm, I like the idea of this experiment. I have to design and carry out a biological experiment and it looks like I have just found my idea.
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Old 02-08-10, 01:36 AM   #16
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Hmm, I like the idea of this experiment. I have to design and carry out a biological experiment and it looks like I have just found my idea.
Maybe you can settle this debate once and for all!!
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Old 02-08-10, 09:23 AM   #17
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I just used tap water since I was too lazy to get lake water. It would be good to have an actual scientific study to try to match pH levels, etc.
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Old 02-08-10, 04:29 PM   #18
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FYI. This is an issue that is important to me. Naturally I want to do the right thing. Because of that I've read quite a few articles, some of them in scienctific journals, about dealing with gut hooked fish. From what I can gather the science and environmental community is pretty much split on whether it is better to remove the hook or cut it off. One thing that all seem to agree on is if you plan to cut it off, leave at least 18" of line trailing on it. Apparently the floating line helps keep the hook tucked against the fish's throat so as to impede less its ability to swallow and absorb food. I have added a link here to a short article that refers to specific scientific research and does endorse hook removal.

http://southhoustonbassclub.com/Docu...t%20Hooked.htm

Of course there is a lot we can do to avoid gut hooking in the first place. The first is to not use live bait. The second is to use circle hooks which are more likely to end up where they belong, in the lip or jaw. Using barbless hooks or debarbing hooks is also a good practice. And you know what, if you really think you're a hot shot angler or want to be then fishing barbless will certainly improve your skills.

My 2 cents.
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Old 02-08-10, 05:30 PM   #19
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Very interesting read Dr.G! I would never have thought that leaving line attached to the hook would be better than cutting it off at the hook. I've also never given barbless hooks too much thought but I can definitely see how they would improve the survival chances of a deeply hooked fish, might be worth a try.
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Old 02-08-10, 09:32 PM   #20
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I'm straddlin' the fence on this one. If possible, I'd rather remove the hook but at the same time, I'd be worried of damaging the gills
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Old 02-08-10, 11:01 PM   #21
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Ok lets look at this from another angle... with all these kids getting their tongue and lip pierced, do they eat just fine?

I have pulled fish of all sorts with a hook already in their lip or gullet. There was one decent sized bass (around 14-15") that had 4 hooks in its gullet on a lake that has a keeper limit of 18", at least 2 of the hooks looked partially corroded/broken down.... I have always learned to just cut the line and let the fish keep it, considering they only live for so many years, the hook shouldn't affect their life to much.
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Old 02-09-10, 05:08 PM   #22
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I recommend this article by Dr. Ralph Manns for all too read on the damage caused by leaving hooks in bass.
http://www.bassdozer.com/articles/ma...k_in_out.shtml
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Old 02-09-10, 05:52 PM   #23
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That is a great article, very direct and informative. It's always nice to see a theory backed with actual research data
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