gut hooked bass....hook removal

[spetro]

If you gut hook a bass reach in through the gills with a needle nose pliers.  Grab the eyelet of the hook and pull it through the gill.  From there go through the mouth of the fish and gently pull the hook out.  Nine times out of ten it will be a success.

By pulling the hook through the gill....you're letting the curvature of the hook work in your favor.

[NitroPopPop]

    This is a great tip. I have done it a couple of times with great success.

[spetro]

This is a gentel procedure......time is critical.

[Steve_W]

Great Tip 
I used it last weekend and the fish swam away with no ill effects,I did it a little different,I brought the hook all the way out the gill and just cut the line,a few minutes to retie was well worth the release of a healthy fish.
My wife asked me what I was doing and I told her about the tip I read and she thought that was kool,and wanted to know if we had a section here about tips to keep your wife happy. I said everyone allready knows about taking your wife fishing every night after work

[Ron Fogelson]

I have used an shown others how to do it.  It is very easy to do and so much better then releasing a fish with a hook lodged in its gullet.

[lacab]

Great tip! Here is a link to an illustration of it.

http://www.in-fisherman.com/magazine/articles/if2806_HookRemoval/

[Swede]

Here's that link one more time

http://www.in-fisherman.com/magazine/articles/if2806_HookRemoval/

[nlareau]

Took me a couple of minutes first time I tried it, but it works.

[TheWhiteVixen]

Tried it today and it too worked for me

[Ron Fogelson]

We have talked about both of these in the past on different sections of the forum.  I wanted to add them here for everyone to see.  The links have photos so you can get a better idea of what to do.

Hope you don't have to use them, but if you do, maybe this will help you be better prepared.

Check out this link! http://www.surviveoutdoors.com/emergency/fishhookremoval.asp if you need to take a hook out of you or a firend.

Check out this link if you are looking to take a hook out of a fish. http://www.in-fisherman.com/magazine/articles/if2806_HookRemoval/index.html

[shaggycat]

I gut-hooked a fish yesterday morning and let me say, the technique on the in-fisherman website worked great!

[kman1898]

thanks

[UgLy_StiK]

usually when I hook a fish deep down its throat, ill bust out the pliers, but im a hack with them so it usually turns into a bloody mess.

[Swede]

Here is an updated link to the hook removal article referenced earlier:

http://www.in-fisherman.com/print/3560

[tsmith35]

Thanks for the updated link!

[coldfront]

we've all 'been there'...that 'gut-hooked' fish...and trying to get it out with a needle-nosed pliers...fish starts bleeding...we start feeling more and more 'sick' about it...

(it's one thing if  you're keeping those fish, another if you intend to release them alive and unharmed...)

I first ran across this in an in-fisherman magazine...Doug Stange had written up a great article on how those guys in Florida dealt with a problem when fishing shiners...

I have used this technique successfuly on trout, bluegill, cats...you name it...it works...


One modification I've made that I think is incredibly helpful...I use a stainless steel forceps, strait, not curved...it's smaller, it's slicker...and it's a lot more unobtrusive in going through the gills/gill rackers...plus you can grab the eye of the hook and it slips right throug the gills/arches as you reverse it...AND when you go back in through the mouth, it's a lot smaller tool to see around and can grab a smaller area on the hook...


when you use this technique on 'gut-hooked' fish...they just don't bleed...which always makes me wonder:  did the barb actually penetrate the esophageal wall or not?  It sure doesn't seem like it...

and that makes sense...as much as those bass swallow crayfish with some pretty sharp edges, you'd think they'd have evolved 'not' to perforate too easily...

[NateG]

I have used this technique with texas rigged hooks/ straight shanks, but what advice would you give for gut hooked fish on a joghead that can't fit through the gills/ rakers?  I run into this too often fishing smallies( everything's just a bit smaller in the head/ gill region) and I feel terrible.  But I release the fish with the jighead intact as it doesn't fit through the gills.  If pliers can't get it out easily I hate digging at them and potentially causing certain death.

[coldfront]

goliac,
I think the biggest obstacle is the weedguard?  it that's 'it'...then cutting the weedguard should work...

if you're going to cut the line and leave the jig in the fish...the jig is gone at any rate...

is this what you were asking?

[NateG]

goliac,
I think the biggest obstacle is the weedguard?  it that's 'it'...then cutting the weedguard should work...

if you're going to cut the line and leave the jig in the fish...the jig is gone at any rate...

is this what you were asking?

I'm talking about jigheads like a tube insert head.  I know there isn't much in the way of bulk there, but it often times is too thick to fit through the gills of the smallmouth.  I guess what I'm saying is that this is a tough method to use with smallies. 

The only thing I could possibly think of is trying to use wire cutters to cut the hook below the weight, and carry through with the procedure above, which should now work with the weight out of the way.  This may be a little time consuming however.

[coldfront]

lots of folks won't spend the time worrying about it...if  you want to (and folks who 'think' these things through often come up with new approaches that have lasting impact on all of us )...cutting the hook behind the head might work...although the fish is just a likely to swallow it at that point...

two hemostats 'might' work...but this would be an awful tough thing to do with just one person...I'd think 2 pairs of hands would work more easily..

good question...tough situation...excellent thing to think about/through and see if a solution can be found...if you come across one, please share...

[hockeyref]

guys i use this tip i also will cut the hook off a pull out. I learn that if the fish bleeds i kept a can of coke on the boat pour it down the fish mouth let it run were he is bleeding and it will stop. I did not believe it when it was told to me almost fell out of the boat when i tried it and it worked.