Swallowing the hook

[Dee]

OK All, I have a question for you…

Does leaving the hook in the fish mouth damage the fish in the long run? I understand that sometimes it is impossible to remove the hook, such as if the hook is swallowed and with game fishing, but can this also harm fish?

Removing the hook can cause organ damage, but leaving it in there can also impend the fish's feeding....

Also, some people say its best to cut the line as close to the hook possible, others say to leave some line as there is less chance the hook will become imbedded.

What do you all think?

Post edited by: Dee, at: 2007/05/21 12:06

[ellicat]

This is a common question. Hooks supposedly rust out fairly quickly. Fish have a very strong gullet and also are able to regurgitate/dislodge things pretty well.

Leaving more line on after the decision to leave the hook serves no purpose but could possibly add risk.

At the end of the day if you can't remove a hook safely the fish has a greater chance of survival if the hook is left in and it is released than it does if it's in your esky.

[Dazzamcgee]

Well as long as your hooks ain't stainless steel the fish will be OK as other quality hooks will rust out in about 2 weeks or less. First to rust out is the point and barb this will occur after just a couple of days.

I think cutting the line as close as possible to the hook is the best way to go as it reduces the overall size of the foreign object and also wouldn't hinder the fishes eating habit. If the fish has fully swallowed the hook into its stomach the samething will happen to the hook and the fish will be ok as I have seen a good size snapper with a set of 4/0 gang hooks being passed........

[sharker]

Was out fishing with a mate from work and he caught an estuary cod of about 55cms. When he went to gut it he found about 10cm of heavy line coming from its poo shoot and just inside him was a wide gap 4/0 hook. It hadnt rusted at all and still had the red colouring on it...

I bet that fish was wishing the last person that caught him had removed the hook!!

[Angus]

Dee i would have to conclude from my epxeriences it has to be evaluated case by case.

I have seen gut hook fished float immediately upon release. But i have also caught a bream at noosa that had at least 4 hooks in it (not inclusing mine). Some seriously corroded some not at all. It certainly had not effected it easting habits!

I actually felt bad to eat him as he ahd obviously been through a lot

Also different brands of hooks are going to be different.

Angus

[Dee]

I guess circle hooks or lures would be the best to use, as the fish is less likely to be gut hooked. Or if using a hook use a barbless hooks as they are easier and quicker to remove and result in less damage.

[Terry H]

Quoting Geoff Wilson from a post on Fishnet. The topic at hand was releasing sharks (larger ones) but I've also seen the smaller sharks, like 3ft with multiple hooks in them.

I would have thought that taking measures to remove the hook would have been a priority.

Considering the age of some of the longliners hooks I have found in a variety of sharks over the year, they seem to have little or no chance of ever ridding themselves of them.

Unfortunately, the often repeated misinformation that fish soon get rid of hooks has the majority of punters believing this to be true when it is not.

Post edited by: TerryH, at: 2007/05/21 16:12

[Dee]

Ok, but sometimes you have no choice, I mean what do u do, try and remove the hook and probably damage the organs or just release it. The most humane thing might be to just put it in the esky, but of course you can’t do it if it is undersized/oversized.

Me, I think I will just cut the hook off and release the fish, hook and all and hope for the best.

[Gazza]

Terry I agree with you I met Geoff many years ago We were both members of Belarine light game and sportsfishing club and he would come to all the comps and record the facts I actually appear in one of his books Fishing Geelong and Belarine penisula with a olde mate of mine Doug

Geoff is a very clued up bloke and knows his stuff

here is a question to ask yourself I remeber when we used to buy stainless hooks cause it was annoying that normal hooks were rusty after one trip how many rusty hook do you have in your tackle box ????? I dont have any

maybe worth a trial find a spot put some differnt brand hooks in the water and check how quik they deteriate my guess is a LONG time

Gaz

[Angus]

Dee my personal opinion of this topic is that one should do there best to release the fish. However if a fish dies, well it sucks but such is life.

I have seen plenty of threads with people getting all up in arms about hurting fish/sharks on release. I think there is no gaurunteed way to ensure releasing a fish 100% healthy. Its a risk as fishermen we take. We can do our best but we have to acknowledge that occasionally one will not make it.

Angus

[Angus]

Terry: Also in regards to Geoffs quote, there are certainly some hooks that will dissolve quickly despite what he has said.

It only makes sense that long liners (the culprits he refers to) would use the longest lasting hooks for cost effeciency.

Not having a go at Geoff either as i highly respect the guy. Just making a point.

Angus

[Terry H]

I have heard some hooks rust quickly.

However I've also seen a lot of hooks that haven't rusted. The question is, how many people actually use these hooks which are suppose to quickly rust out?

One possibility is that, you could take some cutters along with you that are capable of cutting the hooks. Providing the fishes mouth isn't too small, you should be able to safely remove just about all hooks

[Dazzamcgee]

I use Jarvis Walker hooks 99c a packet they rust out damn quick. That is why I use them, cheap and there is no harm to fish if I get snapped off or gut hook one also I never use the same hook twice so really they are a good buy.....