Gut hooked, now what? Consensus?

[mxwrench]

Heres the deal, I deeply gut hooked a nice 4 lb LMB on Friday while using a 5/0 ewg hook. The hook was taking up most of the fished throat (blocking) so I attempted to remove the hook. I was able to go in through the gills and cut the hook in half with dykes, and then manipulate the hook out of the fishes throat by passing the hook the same way it went in.

Problem is, the fish died. I think I wasn't prepared to remove the hook, and had to search too long for the tool fight the wind to keep the boat from running ashore. The fish ended up dying due to exposure. I have done some extensive reading in the past and have come to the conclusion that leaving a hook in the fishes throat is in many times a bad idea, especially if it is a large hook that obstructs the throat enough that the fish would starve to death. But who is to say.

I was actually kind of bummed as I always c&r.

What are your thoughts on the subject?

Some people say cut the line at the hook and leave it as the hook will rust away in a matter of days/weeks and the fish will be fine.

Others say cut the line 18" outside the fishes mouth to leave a tag end, supposedly this is supposed to help keep the hook oriented so it wont block the fishes throat.

And finally, another camp says, take gut hooked fish home and eat them as they will probably die anyways.

I say, 1. plated and stainless hooks dont rust. 2.better to attempt removal if you have the tools, dexterity, and technique down.

Discuss:

[cutbait]

Kill it and toss it in the bushes with the rest of the carp

[fish-o-haulic]

Heres the deal, I deeply gut hooked a nice 4 lb LMB on Friday while using a 5/0 ewg hook. The hook was taking up most of the fished throat (blocking) so I attempted to remove the hook. I was able to go in through the gills and cut the hook in half with dykes, and then manipulate the hook out of the fishes throat by passing the hook the same way it went in.

Problem is, the fish died. I think I wasn't prepared to remove the hook, and had to search too long for the tool fight the wind to keep the boat from running ashore. The fish ended up dying due to exposure. I have done some extensive reading in the past and have come to the conclusion that leaving a hook in the fishes throat is in many times a bad idea, especially if it is a large hook that obstructs the throat enough that the fish would starve to death. But who is to say.

I was actually kind of bummed as I always c&r.

What are your thoughts on the subject?

Some people say cut the line at the hook and leave it as the hook will rust away in a matter of days/weeks and the fish will be fine.

Others say cut the line 18" outside the fishes mouth to leave a tag end, supposedly this is supposed to help keep the hook oriented so it wont block the fishes throat.

And finally, another camp says, take gut hooked fish home and eat them as they will probably die anyways.

I say, 1. plated and stainless hooks dont rust. 2.better to attempt removal if you have the tools, dexterity, and technique down.

Discuss:

way i see it nothing more you can do. did yuo take longnose plyers and try to pull the hook out? anyway i have a similar problem when unhooking small catfish or trout that i want to throwback so they can get bigger. i end up 1 taking gut hooked trout home because there just gonna die 2 let the catfish go because you could cut the head off one and theyll still live a while. for bass they kinda fall inbetween theyll most likely die shortly after but have a chance at living. again you did what you could.

[TheAsianGuy]

Sorry to say, but the survival rate for a gut hook, from all the years of studies with fishes, deep gut hook will kill the fishes, even with successful removal, with a 90% mortality after 2 hours. Shallow gut hook, chance is 40% survival, 60% death, which can be determined by the fish's swimming strength after 3 hours of detention in an area.

[Dr. MindBendo]

Always keep a set of needle nose pliers with you and learn the "through the gills" technique. I've been successful at removing every gut hook this way. I know It can be very disappointing when you know you could have saved a bass if you would have been better prepared to remove a gut hook.

[fish-o-haulic]

Always keep a set of needle nose pliers with you and learn the "through the gills" technique. I've been successful at removing every gut hook this way. I know It can be very disappointing when you know you could have saved a bass if you would have been better prepared to remove a gut hook.

though you removed the gut hook how do you know the bass lived later. you can gut hook a fish and pull the hook out and even watch it swim away but chances are they die later.

[dockboy]

I don't buy the mortality rates on gut hooked bass or trout for that matter. I have C&R'ed several fish with previous fisherman's hooks still inside the fish's throat, including several trout with broken line coming out of the gullet and all. Exposure is the biggest issue. I think more people kill gut hooked fish exposing them in the attempt to remove the hook. And a 5/0 EWG WILL rust, just not at the rate a non-plated hook will.
The best thing you can with a gut hooked bass like that is to stick it in the livewell (if you have one) and then add some Rejuvenade or Please Release Me in the well to clam the fish down. Give it some time, let the fish regain its strength, and then try the through-the-gills method. Main thing is not to damage the gills by overhandling, as the damage caused by handling a fish's gills too much will cause hemorraging and most likely death.
It sucks to lose a good fish to something like an accidental gut hooking, but it happens. Best thing you can do is take it home at that point and do it some justice in the pan.

[fish-o-haulic]

I don't buy the mortality rates on gut hooked bass or trout for that matter. I have C&R'ed several fish with previous fisherman's hooks still inside the fish's throat, including several trout with broken line coming out of the gullet and all. Exposure is the biggest issue. I think more people kill gut hooked fish exposing them in the attempt to remove the hook. And a 5/0 EWG WILL rust, just not at the rate a non-plated hook will.
The best thing you can with a gut hooked bass like that is to stick it in the livewell (if you have one) and then add some Rejuvenade or Please Release Me in the well to clam the fish down. Give it some time, let the fish regain its strength, and then try the through-the-gills method. Main thing is not to damage the gills by overhandling, as the damage caused by handling a fish's gills too much will cause hemorraging and most likely death.
It sucks to lose a good fish to something like an accidental gut hooking, but it happens. Best thing you can do is take it home at that point and do it some justice in the pan.

trout dont live when gut hooked. at least hatchery trout dont. they dont even live when hooked in the mouth. Now catfish are survivors, you can have a catfish crapping out the hook pretty much and he'll live.

[dockboy]

Dude its exposure time. I have landed several gut hooked trout that had the previous angler's line coming out of the stomach, hook still attached. Those fish were gut hooked and either broke off or were released without excess handling, and lived on to continue eating. If you cut the line quickly and don't handle the fish a bunch, it will likely live. Biggest mistake people make in releasing trout is to remove the slime coat and put their fingers in the gills, squeeze the fish hard, just improper handling in general. Not handling the fish if possible is a good way to assure your trout will live after being released.

[Dr. MindBendo]

though you removed the gut hook how do you know the bass lived later. you can gut hook a fish and pull the hook out and even watch it swim away but chances are they die later.

That is something you and I will never know.... I prefer removing a gut hook from a LMB then releasing it. I think it has a much better chance at living if I do this. Trout on the other hand die very easily. I don't bother removing gut hooked trout because I rarely fish for them and when I do I usually keep them.

[fish-o-haulic]

Dude its exposure time. I have landed several gut hooked trout that had the previous angler's line coming out of the stomach, hook still attached. Those fish were gut hooked and either broke off or were released without excess handling, and lived on to continue eating. If you cut the line quickly and don't handle the fish a bunch, it will likely live. Biggest mistake people make in releasing trout is to remove the slime coat and put their fingers in the gills, squeeze the fish hard, just improper handling in general. Not handling the fish if possible is a good way to assure your trout will live after being released.

do you fish stockers. because i dont like to eat trout but i know if you handled them to much they die so it got to the point that i would just hold them over the water by my line then pull the hook out if they were lip hooke which for me is like 2% of the time and then they fall in the water swim off kinda funny and then float back to me five mins later, and dont even get me started on trout that were throat hooked or deeper. ive had some stockers live like alpers in my experience live most of the time. but dfg stocked especially dont excuse me cant live for nothing. trout from private hatcheries have a better chance at living in my experience but not by much. But compared to dfg stockers its privater hatchery trout do way better in the living department.

[fish-o-haulic]

That is something you and I will never know.... I prefer removing a gut hook from a LMB then releasing it. I think it has a much better chance at living if I do this. Trout on the other hand die very easily. I don't bother removing gut hooked trout because I rarely fish for them and when I do I usually keep them.

I generally dont fish for trout either thats y when i do fish for them they die no matter what so i keep them eat them or after there dead, cut them up and use them as striper bait. because trout kinda piss me off i only fish for them because all the places to fish that are within 10-30 mins of where i live cept the duct are all trout lakes. And i dont have time any more to fish big lakes castaic and pyramid for striper good fighting cats and occasional lmb (if and only if im in the mood for lmb which is almost never considering i havent fished for them in like 5 years and could barely catch them when i did fish for them) anymore.

[bsp]

I generally dont fish for trout either thats y when i do fish for them they die no matter what so i keep them eat them or after there dead, cut them up and use them as striper bait.

Using live or dead trout for bait means... major poacher points!

[fish-o-haulic]

Using live or dead trout for bait means... major poacher points!

I dont know i figured it wouldnt matter since they were already dead, its like the same thing as using chovies or mackerel. I dont purposely kill them for bait its just if im bout to fry them then i cut some of em up and use as bait. I never found anything saying i couldnt. And if it is poaching theres so many people on here with different ideas of poaching, to where its like y fish if every method some uses is poaching or they think in there opinoin is wrong. If the law says its ok then ill do it to catch fish. I spend to much on a license every year to not do whats in my legal right to catch fish.

[bsp]

Except the law forbids you from using trout for bait... live or dead....

[fish-o-haulic]

Except the law forbids you from using trout for bait... live or dead....

Ok then i wont use them. I dont even do it any more because the few times i did do it people thot i was catching them out of another part of the lake and fishing with them for stripers. I may have mixed up the law between here and texas because i fish texas alot and the state rules and regs on fishing are way more lenionant than here. Because of all the time ive spent there people here have accused me of being a poacher being i generally use every method i can to catch fish. And in doing so i dont break the law but i do tend to push it so far to the point if i push it any further i would be breaking it. Because i have some of the worse luck fishing in California. And the best luck in the south. And nevada i fish laughlin nevada bullhead city Arizona area quite a bit too.

[kirkboat]

i caught a lightning at corona tues.5/3 that had a leader from a previous release or break off that disappeared into its throat...when was the last date that lightnings were stocked?

[dockboy]

Yeah dude, I fish stockers. I fish all types of trout, including STATE stocked waters in the Eastern Sierra, not just the private hatchery fish like the Lassen Fish Farm trout at the Fin or Alpers trout. I have caught hundreds of DFG stockers, and very few have come back to me dead after being released. I don't take trout out of the water, wild or hatchery, and wet my hands before touching a fish if needed. The Fin makes you keep your trout no matter what, so I have lots of good trout in the freezer, and see no reason to keep fish anywhere else. But I don't chase the stock truck either, so if you are talking confused trout stuck on the ramp and just out of the truck, no, I don't fish stockers. Fish that come straight out of the truck die because of the shock in environment change combined with being caught. Give them a day in the water (provided the cormorants and poachers haven't killed them all off), and they will often release just fine. I think most people believe the little red de-hookers are the right tool, yet I see more dead fish as the result of the de-hooker than a quick release on a cut gut-hooked fish.

[fish-o-haulic]

Yeah dude, I fish stockers. I fish all types of trout, including STATE stocked waters in the Eastern Sierra, not just the private hatchery fish like the Lassen Fish Farm trout at the Fin or Alpers trout. I have caught hundreds of DFG stockers, and very few have come back to me dead after being released. I don't take trout out of the water, wild or hatchery, and wet my hands before touching a fish if needed. The Fin makes you keep your trout no matter what, so I have lots of good trout in the freezer, and see no reason to keep fish anywhere else. But I don't chase the stock truck either, so if you are talking confused trout stuck on the ramp and just out of the truck, no, I don't fish stockers. Fish that come straight out of the truck die because of the shock in environment change combined with being caught. Give them a day in the water (provided the cormorants and poachers haven't killed them all off), and they will often release just fine. I think most people believe the little red de-hookers are the right tool, yet I see more dead fish as the result of the de-hooker than a quick release on a cut gut-hooked fish.

Im not talking the ones strait out off the truck i dont do that, that stupid and kinda pointless. the only trout i have problems with releasing are rainbows. Brown trout not at all lake trout not at all. Like i said i have succesfully released rainbows just not many. And i know that little red dehooker is BS more fish do die with it, i only use it when my hook is down in a fish like its throat, but not so far down to where i cant get it unless i cut it out. Know what i mean. But again i dont really fish trout that much, i mainly go after the things that eat them like striper.

[dockboy]

Must be personal bad luck then. Even though I fish often for browns in the Sierra, I catch plenty of rainbows still, many of which are fresh or holdover stockers. Never had an issue with rainbows going belly up unless it was in my early days when a dry towel and big ol' needle nose were the release tools of choice. And then again, I don't fish stripers but bass, mostly because I like the technicality of bassin. Flylining frozen chovies or dines for me is just not enough excitement, and as much as I love throwing topwater, I'm just as happy to catch a 4lb largie on the top as I am a 10lb striper. Not to say stripers aren't technical fish; they very much are if you want to catch them consistently. They just don't get the juices flowing for me like bass and trout do.

[TheAsianGuy]

Good approach. I normally cut my line, at the swivel, put the fishes in the mesh basket that's sits in the cool shaded water for about 2 hours, and attempt to remove the hooks before heading out, or I would keep the fishes in the basket to release later if they are strong and well hours later, to ensure they live for future capture. Gentle removal, especially in the water if possible, is the key. I normally use the Arc Dehooker to release them using a single hook, without the barb. If I capture trouts with treble, I keep, regardless of size. I see kids and adults using trebles, either lipping or gutting, gently remove the hook using pliers within one minute, and killed them pretty much 2 minutes later when they struggled to swim after release. Basses are a bit tougher, but wrong hooks will kill them pretty much the same.



The best thing you can with a gut hooked bass like that is to stick it in the livewell (if you have one) and then add some Rejuvenade or Please Release Me in the well to clam the fish down. Give it some time, let the fish regain its strength, and then try the through-the-gills method. Main thing is not to damage the gills by overhandling, as the damage caused by handling a fish's gills too much will cause hemorraging and most likely death.

[Frequent Flyer]

ive caught plenty of trout at city parks with leaders and a treble stickin out. i think the thing is to not tire them to death and then quickly and gently eithr remove or cut the line without them being out of the water for an extended period of time and without being mis-handled

[Thisfool]

not sure if any one said this kinda stoped reading after the convo turned to trout which every one noes if you look at funny they die.

but any way wouldn't barbless hooks fix this problem i mean if every one is as c&r as they claim and want to be as genital as possible why not only use barbless hooks unless you enter a turnny. dont even have to go buy then just crimp down the barbs on the hooks you already own. not trying to criticize just saying i don't think it would be to big of a deal if the hook was barbless and a lil extra effort was put in on a revive.

but back to your question at hand if the fish isnt going to make it might as well honor the fish and eat it. fishing only became a sport recently it was always a means to put food on the table, so if you accidentally kill a fish or mortal wound it while fishing for sport why not honor its life by taking substance from it

[Frequent Flyer]

u cld also try circle hooks. but i usually just crimp down the barbs on slay days

[DockRat]

Last friday out of Newport the crew released a couple Cow Cod that didn't make and floated away until some seal finds it. Illegal to keep. It was a shame seeing these 8 pound Cod float away.

Eat it and it's not a waste.

Drunk largemouth

6 bass fillets. Suggest no more than ¾ inch thick (2 for you)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Paprika

¼ cup finely chopped onion

1/4 c butter

2 tablespoons flour

1 can plus 2 cups of your favorite beer

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 cloves, whole

1 tablespoon lemon juice


Sprinkle fish fillets with 1 teaspoon salt, the pepper, and some paprika.

In a skillet, cook onion in butter ‘till tender.

Stir in flour; cook and stir to a golden brown.

Stir in the 2 cups of beer.

Continue stirring until the mixture just begins to bubble.

Add sugar and clove.

Place the fish fillets in the pan.

Cover the skillet and cook SLOWLY for about 12 to 15 minutes on low heat until the fish gets flaky.

While the bass is cooking, drink the can of beer and relax a bit.


Remove the bass and arrange on a large plate.

Into the sauce that remains in the skillet, add the lemon juice.

Stir until mixed well and pour over the bass.

Serve with white rice, if you want. Each bass fillet is a serving.

Call 5 friends over and show them what you have accomplished!

These are just a couple of suggestions on cooking largemouth bass. Bass can be broiled, steamed, smoked or breaded, and deep fried as well. Try it a few different ways to see which you like best.

As always, Bon Appétit!
DR

[dockboy]

but any way wouldn't barbless hooks fix this problem i mean if every one is as c&r as they claim and want to be as genital as possible why not only use barbless hooks unless you enter a turnny. dont even have to go buy then just crimp down the barbs on the hooks you already own. not trying to criticize just saying i don't think it would be to big of a deal if the hook was barbless and a lil extra effort was put in on a revive.

Bass aren't trout. 95% of bass you will catch are lip hooked. If you are fishing live bait, any fish you hook may get gut-hooked. But its pretty rare for bass to eat an artificial like they will live bait. Most bassers use only artificials most of the time they fish for bass, and IMO making your hooks barbless is really quite a big hassle over a very small percentage of fish. I think one can say most gut-hooked fish are the result of bait (PB, cralwers, shad, craws, whatever your choice may be). Even with trout, the percentage of deep or gut hooked fish you get on lures versus bait is almost insignificant. Not to say barbless doesn't work. I replace my trout lure trebles with either single or treble Owners with the barb removed depending on where I'll be fishing. Yes you lose more fish, but its also much easier to release any fish, especially the smaller models you don't want to take out of the water.

[flores_j]

Were you using barbless hooks? Because using barbless hooks makes removal much easier than using a barb if you're concerned for the wellbeingof C&R fish. Although this is going to make it easier for the fish to spit the hook, I believe it makes the challenge of landing the fish that much greater as well as lowering the chances of killing the fish when in situations like the one you experienced. I've gut hooked a couple fish lately and I usually haven't had much pain removing filed hooks.

[Bassnman Mike]

When fishing plastics, from time to time I have found myself asleep at the reel and ended up gut hooking bass but I'm prepared and very rarely have killed any bass. While I do ruin hooks with my process the bass usually survives.

In my boat I carry a pair of side cutters, which are readily available. In the event that I do gut hook one I just reach down to the hook, either through the mouth or the gills, cut off the barb with the side cutters and then just slide out the hook. I then put them on detention in “The Box” for several hours, add “Please Release Me” and continue to fish.

After several hours I check on him and they are almost always screaming and kicking to get out. The only drawback I can think of is when I release him along ways from where I caught him is he might be thinking “Where in the heck am I”

[laserbrn]

Great topic,

I have gut hooked a few bass in the past and I'd say it was about 50/50 on removing the hook from the gut. I know I killed a few bass, but I like to think they lived on with the hook in there. I now don't fish live bait for bass as it's not worth them swalling my freakin' hook! I personally have eated bass and think it tastes like crap so I don't take them home. I'd rather give the a guy/gal a fighting chance.

I generally fish stripers and I don't give a **** if they swallow my hook. They can swallow my entire hook, die stripers, die!

[phishin phool]

hey kirk, where was the report? lol. :)
i caught a lightning at corona tues.5/3 that had a leader from a previous release or break off that disappeared into its throat...when was the last date that lightnings were stocked?