We've all heard the old theory of when a fish gets a hook deep, one option is to leave it and it will eventually rust out and won't be a bother to the fish.

What about red hooks, they are just basically anodized brass...brass doesn't rust or corrode like steel...so then the fish has to live with a hook for the rest of its life if you leave it in...

It's a double edged sword...try removing it...might kill the fish...leave it in and it doesn't corrode or rust out...fish might not be able to feed normally...dies...

Never leave a hook in a fish if you can get it out.

Someone on here had a hellava water to remove throat hooks. He had illustrations of how to reach through the gills and roll the hook forward and then reach down the mouth and pull the hook search the forums and you should find it. I have already successfully removed a couple that were really deep using his method.

I've seen it...it's tough to do on Dinks...

barbless

 

 

oe

I've seen it...it's tough to do on Dinks...

I do it all the time with forceps, even works with bluegills. 

 

I guess for me personally, I'd rather bleed out than starve to death. I'm getting the hook out every time. If you can see the point of the hook the other option is to cut the hook shank with wire cutters then grab the point of the hook with pliers and pull the hook the rest of the way through. 

All my hooks are now barbless, yet occasionally I still have difficulty removing a hook from deep in the throat of a bass. If that happens (and it is very infrequently), I get the hook out - period. It's fallacious in my opinion, to believe that leaving the hook in will increase the bass's chances of survival, by "dissolving" or rusting away. Won't happen, not in that bass's lifetime. That's a fact.

 

When I do remove the hook, the odds of that bass recovering is "slightly" increased. So what? If it dies, it will not go to waste. Nature wastes nothing. Turtles, predatory birds and/or fish, will utilize the unfortunate fish. And if the fish is of decent size, I'll bring it home for my table.

 

Final point, quality red hooks are usually gold plated prior to apply the dye to turn them that final color. Which you are correct in believing they will not dissolve as quickly as plain bronze.  

Modern day hooks are not going to dissolve away, "bronze" hooks are not bronze they are steel and last as much as blued steel or anodized steel. If you can´t remove the hook ( I highly recomend you purchase a Mayo-Hegar needle holder of around 20 cm in length to manipulate the hook, it´s a much more powerful grabbing instrument than a hemostat, a regular one will cost you around 10-20 dollars ) cut the hook as close as you can to the gap.

Do not just cut the line! If this is the only thing you ever learn from Bass Resource, please practice and master this technique.....

 

1) With the hook in the gullet, note which side of the fish's mouth the hook shank is toward. Note: For illustration sake, the line is eliminated here in steps 2 through 5. In reality, the line stays connected as this technique is performed.



(2) With a finger or two, reach in through the last gill arch on that side of the fish and push and pull down on the hookeye so the hook turns and . . .




(3) rolls out below the gill toward the side of the fish. At that point, amazingly, the hook, barb and all, almost always pops free from its hold in the fish's gullet.




(4) Reach into the fish's mouth and grip the bend in the hook (which is now up) and . . .



     
(5) lift it free. If the fish's mouth is too small to reach in with your hand, use a needle-nose pliers to grip the hook bend.




What needs to be emphasized is how resilient a fish's gills actually are -- far from being the fragile organs often suggest by some sources. And the occasional bleeding fish? Does it have to be kept? Just get the fish back into the water as soon as possible and, more often than not, the bleeding stops.

 

Jeff

I agree, learn this! I caught my first ever senko bass yesterday and he swallowed it before I knew he was on the line. Used this technique after seeing it here and I got the hook out with no bleeding. He was small so I had to use needle nose pliers but it worked

A shallower hook will pass through the fish. I have a pond with very picky Florida strain bass in it. The only way I can catch better fish 6lbs+ is to use a live bream. I let the bass completely swallow the bream with a 4/0 EWG and then reel them in. Once landed, I just cut the line and let em go. More than once I have caught a fish with a hook passing through.

***atic I bet there is a better way to catch those bass

A shallower hook will pass through the fish. I have a pond with very picky Florida strain bass in it. The only way I can catch better fish 6lbs+ is to use a live bream. I let the bass completely swallow the bream with a 4/0 EWG and then reel them in. Once landed, I just cut the line and let em go. More than once I have caught a fish with a hook passing through.

Ever tried a circle hook instead? The bass can hold them for about as long as they want and should still get hooked in the corner of the mouth with a circle hook, doesn't take a big hook either. 

A shallower hook will pass through the fish. I have a pond with very picky Florida strain bass in it. The only way I can catch better fish 6lbs+ is to use a live bream. I let the bass completely swallow the bream with a 4/0 EWG and then reel them in. Once landed, I just cut the line and let em go. More than once I have caught a fish with a hook passing through.

That seems pretty irresponsible to me.