The gill plate technique works great and almost every fish lives to tug another day. Master this technique and help promote our sport.

  I had the chance to go fishing this afternoon and I smashed the barbs down.  I hooked two small bass in the mouth and both times those hooks slid out nicely!  I think from now on I'm smashing down the hooks.  I remember last year (my first year of fishing) that I had problems pulling the hook out of the mouths of some bass because of the barb.  No more barbs for me!  I also am carrying some extra long, long nose pliers in case I do get another bass in the throat.  

I had the chance to go fishing this afternoon and I smashed the barbs down. I hooked two small bass in the mouth and both times those hooks slid out nicely! I think from now on I'm smashing down the hooks. I remember last year (my first year of fishing) that I had problems pulling the hook out of the mouths of some bass because of the barb. No more barbs for me! I also am carrying some extra long, long nose pliers in case I do get another bass in the throat.

Thats exactly what I do. You can get a pair of Channel Lock needle nose (6") at Home depot for about $12 and they work perfect, plus, they're made in the US.

I caught fish a number of times that already had hooks and a bit of line gut hooked. In most cases it was at a pond where a lot of kids fish with very light line and small hooks and the line breaks easy with a good bass. In every case I was able to get the hook out and release them to be caught again.

I would of taken it home to feed my kittens. I don't take many home. I'd rather take crappies.

I just purchased dykes and longer needle nose pliers to go with the 8" surgical pliers.

If you throat hook a bass the best thing to do is to cut the hook with your snips. 

 

After that you should be able to work the majority of the hook out. 

 

If the fish has a large hook get into its intestines it is surely dead. But if you're able to see the tip of the hook and you cut the hook you can pull the tip out the way it went in. 

 

But it's better to leave a tiny piece that is just a barb than the whole hook. 

 

If you want to avoid throat hooks when largemouth bass are spawning then use the larger hook. 

It better to just cut the line than to keep the fish out of the water too long.   In this case it’s been ten years since the fish was hooked.  😆

Currently out of stock.  This is a tool we used 65 years or so ago.  I purchased one 5-6 years ago as a gift for a next door neighbor that fished with bait.  Hook the line under the arc piece on the side.  Slide line down to the end and position in the 'U'.  Push tool down throat until it stops.  Pull trigger.  Fish immediately drops off and you still have a good hook left.

 

https://www.jannsnetcraft.com/032054033512

 

I do the same thing on all my worm hooks, smash the barb flat. Wish they'd sell 'em that way! A worm/worm hook will be swallowed very fast and unless the barb is flat the hook will rip a hole in the fish's throat when trying to remove it. With a flat barb, hook removal becomes so much easier with less damage to the fish. Just a matter of getting the right angle. Sometimes going between the gills is the only option to grab the backside of the hook...other than cutting the line...but who wants to do that? When you look between the gills, you can see the hook very close up. It's right there. It's easy to get at. Just be carful not to damage the gills. The hook slips right out from between the gills (if debarbed) and the line is then cut. Presto! Hook out/fish unharmed. Plastic worm fishing is a challenge because the timing is crucial for the setting the hook before the fish swallows the bait but even at that it's still very likely that the hook will catch the throat. I have yet to loose a fish with a barbless worm hook...that I know of. 99% of my fish come in.