Cutting line and improving survival of deeply hooked trout

[Mike]

Dave posted info on C&R techniques that lead to better survival of fish and one was to cut the line on deeply hooked fish rather than trying to extract the hook. Fish population surveys allowed me to frequently see positive results when this had been done, including and most frequently when surveying trout populations. Obviously, I didn’t see any that had died. It was fairly common to handle live, active, healthy appearing fish of many species that had either been cut free when deeply hooked or in rarer instances broken free while being reeled in. Not as common, but seen a few times, was a rusty hook exiting the vent, so some hooks even pass through fish. It’s possible that hooks may eventually rust out of fish mouths as well. The point (no pun intended) is that the technique works and should be added to anglers’ arsenals.

I would note that in over 40 yrs of fish population surveys, I don’t believe I ever found a lure in the mouth or other fish body part, except as tomgamber has now reminded me below, I found a few soft plastics in warmwater fish, usually “grubs.” I only found flies or bare j-hooks from bait anglers. Occasionally I even found a trout foul-hooked with a nymph, but I think a primary contributor to the frequency of fly/nymph occurrences and trout break-offs was the fact that I participated in a number of special reg area surveys.

As for my behavior upon handling such fish during surveys, I usually had a fin nipper in my hand and since I felt a bit sorry for the fish, I took time to trim the line back to near the jaw area and in some cases, when it was a larger specimen with a big gape (think largemouth bass) and not too stressed, to the hook eye.

 

[tomgamber]

I have found plastic but never flies. i have never found rust which suggests a recent hook.

 

[Tabasco-Joe]

Dave posted info on C&R techniques that lead to better survival of fish and one was to cut the line on deeply hooked fish rather than trying to extract the hook. Fish population surveys allowed me to frequently see positive results when this had been done, including and most frequently when surveying trout populations. Obviously, I didn’t see any that had died. It was fairly common to handle live, active, healthy appearing fish of many species that had either been cut free when deeply hooked or in rarer instances broken free while being reeled in. Not as common, but seen a few times, was a rusty hook exiting the vent, so some hooks even pass through fish. It’s possible that hooks may eventually rust out of fish mouths as well. The point (no pun intended) is that the technique works and should be added to anglers’ arsenals.

I would note that in over 40 yrs of fish population surveys, I don’t believe I ever found a lure in the mouth or other fish body part, except as tomgamber has now reminded me below, I found a few soft plastics in warmwater fish, usually “grubs.” I only found flies or bare j-hooks from bait anglers. Occasionally I even found a trout foul-hooked with a nymph, but I think a primary contributor to the frequency of fly/nymph occurrences and trout break-offs was the fact that I participated in a number of special reg area surveys.

As for my behavior upon handling such fish during surveys, I usually had a fin nipper in my hand and since I felt a bit sorry for the fish, I took time to trim the line back to near the jaw area and in some cases, when it was a larger specimen with a big gape (think largemouth bass) and not too stressed, to the hook eye.

Good to know Mike.

I have caught bass that had lures in their lips. I know these were breakoffs because it was my uncles farm pond, and it was usually one of us who lost the fish a few days before.

 

[Bamboozle]

I fish for a lot of different species using many different techniques including bait fishing and I release everything.

In addition to pinching down barbs, three things that have dramatically reduced problems when fishing bait so I don't have to cut the line are: circle hooks, extremely sharp Japanese bait hooks and European style hook disgorgers.

Circle Hooks - Learning how to use circle hooks is a great way to almost guarantee hooking a fish in the corner of its mouth & releasing it with almost no handling. The circle hooks I use are unfortunately discontinued, but they are Teflon coated bait holders and extremely sharp so they penetrate easily and quickly so I crank the reel handle immediately upon detecting a bite.​

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Super Sharp Japanese Bait Hooks - Last year I ditched the venerable Eagle Claw 181 baitholders I've been using my entire life for some Gamakatsu equivalents and the difference is amazing. Now I quickly set the hook at the slightest indication of a bite versus, "waiting for the bobber to go down." The result is lip hooked fish almost 100% of the time.​

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European Style Hook Disgorgers - They are a royal (pardon the pun) pain in the arse to get, but IF you can find them and learn how to use them, they beat the pants off hemostats or a Ketchum Release. That's because they are super slim, come in different sizes and can reach further down a fish's mouth. They are fantastic for getting any hook out that you can't just back out with your fingers.​

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Bottom line, sharp barbless hooks and quicker hook-sets, combined with having a couple Drennan or Preston Innovations disgorgers with me has pretty much eliminated the need to manhandle or cut off a deeply hooked fish.

FWIW - For decades, I've been using super sharp Japanese fly hooks and I set the hook almost instantly and barely ever have problems with deeply hooked fish so I should have figured this out a log time ago... 😉

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[6xAdams(Jones)]

Look out for hooks with an offset. (I recall this being the selling point for Eagle Claws when I was a kid.) It isn't prevalent for those of us using symmetrical lures like flies and nymphs, but around here (close to salt water) some circle hooks are sold with an offset - completely defeating the purpose of avoiding gut-hooking. Also... Some will argue, but trebles always do more damage than singles.

 

[wildtrout2]

Also... Some will argue, but trebles always do more damage than singles.

Makes perfect sense.

 

[HopBack]

I’ve actually caught trout with leaders and such hanging out of their mouths. I once caught a brook trout with a dry fly stuck in its back. I was able to remove it and that was one time a trout was glad to be caught.

 

[wildtrout2]

I’ve actually caught trout with leaders and such hanging out of their mouths. I once caught a brook trout with a dry fly stuck in its back. I was able to remove it and that was one time a trout was glad to be caught.

Way back when I fished for stockers, that was a fairly common occurance. But, I've yet to catch a wild trout (many hundreds) with any kind of foreign object, fly or leader, stuck to it.

 

[HopBack]

Way back when I fished for stockers, that was a fairly common occurance. But, I've yet to catch a wild trout (many hundreds) with any kind of foreign object, fly or leader, stuck to it.

This was a wild brook trout in Colorado. It was a nice pool near a busy campground I stopped at.

 

[hockeyref]

Look out for hooks with an offset. (I recall this being the selling point for Eagle Claws when I was a kid.) It isn't prevalent for those of us using symmetrical lures like flies and nymphs, but around here (close to salt water) some circle hooks are sold with an offset - completely defeating the purpose of avoiding gut-hooking. Also... Some will argue, but trebles always do more damage than singles.

It makes sense at face value, but in all the years that I’ve fished lures with treble hooks I can count on one hand the number of times more that one of the three hooks had penetrated any part of the fish.

Not arguing, just one man’s experience over the past 50 or so years of fishing. (Now just wait until the next time I fish one….. karma will bite me in the ***.

 

[wildtrout2]

It makes sense at face value, but in all the years that I’ve fished lures with treble hooks I can count on one hand the number of times more that one of the three hooks had penetrated any part of the fish.

A couple years ago I fished a couple of FTA's spinners, which worked VERY well, and on numerous trout I hooked them with two of the three trebles. Often just one hook, but I still decided the best thing was to crimp the barbs. I did start losing some fish, but it was the right thing to do.

 

[Cougarbaby]

Back in the 70s or early 80s my buddy caught a stocked rainbow with the hook coming out its vent and the looped end of the string was in its mouth still ,those kind the of hooks that come pre strung .

 

[esocidae]

Ice fishing Lake Hamilton back in 2008, we got a 21” rainbow on a tip up with a 5” orange senko stuck halfway out of its cloaca.

 

[Mikey2006]

Look out for hooks with an offset. (I recall this being the selling point for Eagle Claws when I was a kid.) It isn't prevalent for those of us using symmetrical lures like flies and nymphs, but around here (close to salt water) some circle hooks are sold with an offset - completely defeating the purpose of avoiding gut-hooking. Also... Some will argue, but trebles always do more damage than singles.

I used to fish a lot at a local pond for bass, with a weightless senko, either Texas or wacky rigged on an offset worm hook. You are right about the offset hooks getting swallowed a lot. Back when I didn’t know what I was doing, I would gut hook bass very often, deep enough that the line had to be cut. It still happens to me now, though not as much since I can now detect bites better.

At that same pond, I’ve also caught fish with rusty hooks sticking out of them, it seems they have no problem passing the hooks through. This occurred several times and the hooks were identical to the ones I used. Cutting the line really does help, whenever I tried to remove a hook that was lodged in the throat the fish would likely be belly up on the surface within 10 minutes.

The frequent gut hooks were definitely part of what caused me to start almost exclusively fly fishing for trout, as I killed way too many fish beforehand. When I do find myself spin fishing for stocked trout, I always use a small float to suspend whatever lure or bait I’m using and to see the strikes right away. I went from gut hooking 50% of my fish to less than 5%, even when using powerbait or bread under a float. Seeing the strike and setting before they swallow it is what matters.

 

[5footfenwick]

Seeing the strike and setting before they swallow it is what matters.

I feel the same way. At least what matters most. Actively fishing and really paying attention and working on strike detection matters most. In terms of preventing deeply hooked fish.
I think preventing deep hooking by setting the hook as quickly as possible is what gives the best chances for survival. Putting in effort to avoid deeply hooking fish definitely can make a difference in your fish mortality rate.

What is everybody waiting for?

Hook sets are free, use them!

~5footfenwick

 

[Bamboozle]

A couple years ago I fished a couple of FTA's spinners, which worked VERY well, and on numerous trout I hooked them with two of the three trebles. Often just one hook, but I still decided the best thing was to crimp the barbs. I did start losing some fish, but it was the right thing to do.

When I was kid and only fished spinning tackle, I used to cut off two of the hook points on my spinners and other lures. I don't remember any issues with hooking fish and I got snagged WAY less.

A couple of years ago, I replaced all of the trebles on my existing hard baits, spoons & spinners to single hooks. There are MANY hook options out there specifically designed for the purpose.

In addition, companies like Mepps, Yakima Bait (Rooster Tail) & Rapala make single hook versions of many of their lures. You won't find them in Walmart or most other shops, but they are available and most high end Japanese hard baits come with just single hooks or single & treble hooks.

I feel the same way. At least what matters most. Actively fishing and really paying attention and working on strike detection matters most. In terms of preventing deeply hooked fish.
I think preventing deep hooking by setting the hook as quickly as possible is what gives the best chances for survival. Putting in effort to avoid deeply hooking fish definitely can make a difference in your fish mortality rate.

What is everybody waiting for?

Hook sets are free, use them!

~5footfenwick

Absolutely!!

It really goes back to how you were taught and IMHO if you are using super sharp hooks. When I was a kid fishing bait it was, "Let them pull the bobber ALL THE WAY under." That guidance was probably compensating for incompetence and the dull hooks of the day...

Now I use super sharp hooks and set the hook pretty much on a nibble and I have less misses and no gut hooks.

When I started with soft plastics it was, "Flip open the bail (or hit the fee spool button), let them run some line and mouth the bait." That guidance probably also had some origin in dumbness & dull hooks...

Then I started paying attention to the "bass pros" who NEVER do that and I bought super sharp "worm hooks" and my hook up ratio is the same or better with no deeply hooked fish.

The funny thing is, when I stated fly fishing it was, "Set the hook immediately or they will spit out your fly..."

Now if I miss a fish, I check to see if my hook is super sharp and adjust my timing...