RayburnGuy Posted February 2, 2015 Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 This is something I should have shared a long time ago. Hopefully most of you will already know how to do this, but for those of you that don't please read and put into practice as it will save a lot of fish that are otherwise destined to die from blood loss due to physical damage. I've only used this on bass, but feel sure it would apply to other species as well. For the most part I'm a catch and release fishermen only occasionally keeping a very few smaller fish for the table. Until I learned this simple trick it always pained me to see a fish that I was planning on releasing struggling to live no matter how long you to "revive" it. A gut hooked fish can suffer a good deal of physical harm if the hook isn't removed properly no matter how careful you are. Here is what you need to do to get the hook out without doing damage to the fish. The first thing you need to do is cut your line about a foot up the line from your hook. This will give you enough play to then pass the line through the fish's gills. If the point of the hook is closest to the right side of the throat then you pass the line through the gills on the right side of the fish. If the point is closest to the left side then pass it through the gills on the left side. Once you have the line pulled through the appropriate set of gills just tighten it up enough to turn the line tie of the hook in that direction. Keeping steady pressure you then use a pair of needle nose pliers to grab the bend of the hook as close as possible to the point without forcing the pliers down the fish's throat. You may have to use slight pressure to get the barb loose, but this can usually be done by pushing the hook in the direction of the barb. Just make sure to use light pressure when making any movements as the hook will usually come out much easier than what one would think. This does take a little extra time, but to anyone that practices catch and release that shouldn't be much of a problem. Just remember the fish you release alive today may well live long enough to become the trophy your kids or grand kids catches one day. thanks for reading, Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsworms Posted February 2, 2015 Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 Great read, Ben. Thanks for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted February 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 My pleasure Al. I read about this many, many years ago and thought it was the cat's pajamas after trying it. With as many people as I've fished with over the years very few of them had heard about it. The thing that struck me as odd is that I've only read/heard about it the one time. You would think that as much as the pro circuits, and fishing shows, talk about catch and release they would mention it from time to time. Ben 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Braided Line Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 Catch and release on Bass...........absolutely. Fish a lot of local "T`s" and you know , that`s what you do. Falls into the category of." recycle the resource." Gut hook . Your method of removal certainly gives Mr Bass a better chance for survival. If I think the "gut hook" is to severe and it does happen. I just cut the line as close as possible to the hook . No damage done what so ever. This way also gives Mr Bass a better chance for survival. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 Good stuff..Thanks Ben..Nathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsworms Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 Question on this one..... I've been told that if the line is cut near the hook, the hook will eventually rust out. I wonder just how true this is? Anyone have experience with this? I've had to leave the hook in a few times and always felt horrible about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjs Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 Leaving the hook in... According to a musky study the fish lives in the short term, but die after a year or so. Recommendations to leave the hook in appear to be based on short term studies. This was in In-Fisherman I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted February 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 (edited) Thanks Nate. I used to leave the hook in the fish's gullet until I learned how to do the method described above Al. I've actually seen mono hanging out the vent before and have heard of the rusted hook protruding from the vent, but have not personally seen this so I can't vouch for it. It's my personal opinion that a fish will suffer much less injury and stress by removing the hook if done properly. I have no surveys or studies to back up my opinion, but have seen quite a few fish swim away unharmed without losing a drop of blood and have on some occasions came back to fish the same area the following day and not seen any dead fish. I have also seen fish turn belly up as soon as they are released after improperly removing the hook. Until you actually try this you won't believe how easy the hook comes out with no blood loss. Some tournament anglers may think this takes too long, but I don't fish tournaments and for me it was always about having respect for the fish and the hope of coming back one day to catch the fish after it had reached double digits. If anyone thinks this process takes too long just think of it as needing to retie your knot which is most likely to be the case after a fish swallows a bait that deep. Ben p.s. After thinking about what Braided Line said cutting the line might be the better alternative if the hook is so deep that you can't see the bend of the hook. As long as I can see the bend of the hook the method described above will work. This is where we have to make a judgement call. We can't save all of them, but we can sure try. Edited February 4, 2015 by RayburnGuy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted February 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 Hey guys, I just viewed a couple videos on YouTube that show how to remove the hook from a gut hooked fish. While these videos don't use the exact method I described the principle is the same. You have to rotate the hook to do this. They just used a different method to rotate the hook. Not sure how to imbed videos in a post so just click on the link below and it will carry you to a list of videos on how to do this. Thanks for taking an interest in this everyone. Ben https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=gut+hooked+fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsworms Posted February 4, 2015 Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 Thanks again, Ben. Great stuff, as usual. I know there have been times when I've had no other option than to cut the line. This season, I'll be sure to give your method a try! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted February 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 Glad to help Al. If folks will give this a try I think they'll see how easy it is and know that they may be saving one that has the genes to become a true trophy. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted February 5, 2015 Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 http://everything-smallmouth.com/gut-hooked-fish-removal/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhersh Posted February 5, 2015 Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 (edited) I have used this method for several years now and it works great. Thanks Ben for reminding all of us. Edited February 5, 2015 by rhersh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted February 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 I have used this method for several years now and it works great. Thanks Ben for reminding all of us. Glad to Rhersh. I figured a bunch of you guys would know about this, but surprisingly few of the fishermen I talk to face to face have ever heard about it. Anyway, it doesn't hurt to be reminded about it every now and then. Especially when your memory sucks as bad as mine does. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
