Don't sweat it man, sometimes fish die. I'm pure catch and release and believe in it fully. But I don't beat myself up when a fish dies or I dont think it's gonna make it. Also, I release fish that are tongue hooked or bleeding bad. I don't keep em and grill them. If by some chance it can make it, that won't happen if I fillet it. And if it does die, contrary to what alot of people think, it's not wasted. There is a full food chain out there that will consume and recycle that fish. Not saying I float dead fish, but I will release a dying fish. Just the way I do it

On 5/4/2017 at 9:01 AM, BassNJake said:

I was pond fishing and gut hooked a smaller bass on a line thru swimbait. Since I dont eat fish, I left it for the turtles to eat.

When I went back the next day there was a half eaten bass and feathers everywhere. After I searched around a little more I found a dead bird of prey( my guess is a hawk) and my treble hook was caught in the beak and neck. I'm guessing all the feathers were from the last moments of that birds life struggling to remove my hook that killed 2 animals.

 

Now, if I cant get the hook out. I'll keep the fish.

The gut hook removal technique is to go through the gills and rotate the hook instead of cutting the line or ripping out the hook.

On 8/22/2016 at 9:14 AM, Josh Smith said:

I lost one for years ago. I gut hooked it on a Mann's Jelly Worm Texas rig. I tried to remove the hook and killed the fish. Now, I leave the hook I'd it's not in the lip.

Josh

How did you try removing the hook?

I keep a fillet knife and gallon freezer bags in the boat. For that reason or crappie or cats sandies. Fried fish is probably in my top 5 all time favorite eats. If you use dikes and cut from the gills to the spine while they're still alive. They will taste awesome. I like to do this on a stringer and then put in ice.