Got one deep in the gut...And gills 2024
kiteman reply :
He swallowed my senko. I felt a twitch in the line but there are a lot of small ones out there that do this all the time and never get hooked, and when I set the hook it usually ends up flying right at me and gets all tangled. So I wait for a better sign he has the lure. Anyway after the twitch there was nothing, no line movement, no more twitches...Few moments later the line moved sideways slowly so I set the hook.
Good size fish, 2.5lbs or so, as soon as he came in I saw he was bleeding. The hook was in his gut and out through a lower Gill. I thought ah crap, he's going to die. Stuck my fish pliars up the other side under the back Gill and flipped up the hook and got it out almost immediately. I hurried to the water (was on a bank) and held him there for about 20 seconds when he started moving away. The front of the pond is really vegetation heavy and he didn't go far before he was stuck in think algea. I have him 20 seconds and decided I needed to pick him up and take him to an area further done with few weeds. Well when I went to grab him he jumped out of the water into the shore area. Exposed I went to grab him again then he jumped again and dove into the thick stuff. He was gone. I stayed there fishing for about an hour and never saw him float up, so a good chance he'll live? Also I remember pretty quick after in the water, he seemed to stop bleeding. Hope he lives to fight another day! What do you guys think?
WRB reply :
Circle hooks.
Tom
OkobojiEagle reply :
As a meal it's not wasted...
oe
Raul reply :
S*t happens, dear bass meet mrs frying pan, sit and enjoy.
kiteman reply :
Its too late for consumption.
I've heard of them living through this trauma, and I thought I would try to let it live. It seemed so, but I don't know the likelihood of them living after a gut and gill hook? I will add after the hook was out it did not appear the gill was damaged at all. A little flesh was on the hook, but I think it was part of the throat.
A5BLASTER reply :
If you hooked the gut and gill and it was bleeding it is dead under that grass.
MassYak85 reply :
I've had a couple fish get hooked that way when wacky rigging. There seems to be a major vein that runs through the area right between the gills and the gut and it bleeds a lot. I always get them back in the water ASAP and they've all swam off fine but I'm not sure how well they're able to heal from those kind of wounds quick enough to be okay. If it's not looking good and I'm able to, I take them home and eat them.
kiteman reply :
On 3/31/2017 at 11:47 AM, MassYak85 said:I've had a couple fish get hooked that way when wacky rigging. There seems to be a major vein that runs through the area right between the gills and the gut and it bleeds a lot. I always get them back in the water ASAP and they've all swam off fine but I'm not sure how well they're able to heal from those kind of wounds quick enough to be okay. If it's not looking good and I'm able to, I take them home and eat them.
Yeah it was a wacky rig here as well.
Crestliner2008 reply :
He'll be just fine. Not sure if you were Tx rigging or wacky, but if the latter, try using a circle hook instead. Not totally fool proof, but a significant number of your lands will have lip hooked fish.
TOXIC reply :
Carry a can of Mountain Dew and pour it in the mouth and over the bleeding gill. It works.
Subaqua Adinterim reply :
Crimp your barb down. Stuff does happen, however, you increase your odds of a good outcome (fish living) with no barb. Yes, you will have some fish jump and throw the hook; so what, you're just fishing for fun. I get it, for some having the fish stay on no matter what is the ultimate for them. I don't see it that way, and it appears you don't either by the concern you displayed in your post.
Best of Luck to you.
2tall79 reply :
Around here, we'd call that dinner. 
Yeajray231 reply :
Carry some side cutting pliers , push the barb out and clip it. Then it comes right out.
If I get a tick in my line I'm setting the hook. I fish alot of weightless plastics and letting them fall on slack line is crucial alot of the time. So when I see a tick i reel and set.
Team9nine reply :
It's fishing - you have to accept that there will be casualties in the field no matter how much you try otherwise. That's life.
blckshirt98 reply :
There's always going to be some casualties when you're fishing, that's just part of the deal when you're using a sharp hook and living things. I've had my share of bad bleeders and while I never feel good about it, I accept it and move on. One thing I try to do is avoid staying at a spot for long when the bass are bedding. No need to hook the same fish more than once.
contium reply :
On 3/31/2017 at 9:29 PM, RichPenNY said:Crimp your barb down. Stuff does happen, however, you increase your odds of a good outcome (fish living) with no barb. Yes, you will have some fish jump and throw the hook; so what, you're just fishing for fun. I get it, for some having the fish stay on no matter what is the ultimate for them. I don't see it that way, and it appears you don't either by the concern you displayed in your post.
Best of Luck to you.
I crimp barbs down on all soft baits. I haven't lost any fish that I would attribute to it.
jakebrake reply :
On 3/31/2017 at 10:41 AM, WRB said:Circle hooks.
Tom
not being a wise guy...how would you hook them for soft plastics?
(I've been away for a while, and, my daughter would go bonkers if I hurt a bass).
do they size like other hooks (4/0 and such?)
S. Sass reply :
On 3/31/2017 at 10:55 AM, OkobojiEagle said:As a meal it's not wasted...
oe
On 3/31/2017 at 11:03 AM, Raul said:S*t happens, dear bass meet mrs frying pan, sit and enjoy.
On 4/1/2017 at 1:26 AM, 2tall79 said:Around here, we'd call that dinner.
^^ Best end result.
I mean yeah you can release it and it can slowly starve to death, or possibly live as only you know how much damage was done. And have to make a determination of what odds are in his favor or not.
If any doubt I prefer to humanely cook him/her and not waste the meat. 
RoLo reply :
Don't be too hard on yourself.
During the 1950s and 1960s there was no such animal as 'Catch-&-Release',
and there was no such contraption as a plastic fish replica (yuck!).
If you landed a legal fish during the 1950s, then put that same fish back in the water,
someone would likely phone the Goony Squad (men in white coats).
All the same, I too feel bad when I know a fish isn't going to make it,
but that's a good thing, it's called human compassion 
Roger
rboat reply :
It is nice to see someone else has compassion for their catch. If the bleeding was not too bad, there is a pretty good chance of survival. After working in large aquariums for many years, I can tell you fish are very hardy animals. If he did not survive, depending where you live, you probably fed another one of gods creatures. (turtles, birds, or other fish) Nothing in nature is truly wasted. Sometimes a deep hook happens. Crushing barbs, circle hooks, larger hooks, or cutting hooks will normally increase the survival rate. Senkos are usually swallowed quickly by hungry bass.
WRB reply :
On 4/1/2017 at 6:21 AM, jakebrake said:not being a wise guy...how would you hook them for soft plastics?
(I've been away for a while, and, my daughter would go bonkers if I hurt a bass).
do they size like other hooks (4/0 and such?)
Owner makes a Mutu Light #5114 circle hook from size 8 to size 2/0 that is ideal for wacky rigged Senko's.
Tom
NCbassraider reply :
On 3/31/2017 at 10:15 AM, kiteman said:He swallowed my senko. I felt a twitch in the line but there are a lot of small ones out there that do this all the time and never get hooked, and when I set the hook it usually ends up flying right at me and gets all tangled. So I wait for a better sign he has the lure. Anyway after the twitch there was nothing, no line movement, no more twitches...Few moments later the line moved sideways slowly so I set the hook.
Good size fish, 2.5lbs or so, as soon as he came in I saw he was bleeding. The hook was in his gut and out through a lower Gill. I thought ah crap, he's going to die. Stuck my fish pliars up the other side under the back Gill and flipped up the hook and got it out almost immediately. I hurried to the water (was on a bank) and held him there for about 20 seconds when he started moving away. The front of the pond is really vegetation heavy and he didn't go far before he was stuck in think algea. I have him 20 seconds and decided I needed to pick him up and take him to an area further done with few weeds. Well when I went to grab him he jumped out of the water into the shore area. Exposed I went to grab him again then he jumped again and dove into the thick stuff. He was gone. I stayed there fishing for about an hour and never saw him float up, so a good chance he'll live? Also I remember pretty quick after in the water, he seemed to stop bleeding. Hope he lives to fight another day! What do you guys think?
If you got him in the water quickly, he's probably fine. Unlike humans, they stop bleeding very quickly under water so getting them back in the water fast is twice as important when they are bleeding.
Their esophagus is accustomed to getting nicked and poked by fin spines when they eat so if you rotated the hook and slid it back out easily, no worries. The gills are also tougher than most people think and will stop bleeding quickly after it gets back under water.
I usually remove the bait, cut the line, rotate the hook and back it out but an easy way for those not confident in rotating the hook is simply use needle nose pliers to crush the barb and back it out the way it went in. I never understand people that won't ruin a hook barb to save a fish.
Catt reply :
Been fishing 61 yrs wanna guess how many died on me?
It happens, try & minimize the number...press on!
DogBone_384 reply :
You did your best. Hopefully it lived. If not, don't sweat it, you can't save them all.
WRB reply :
On 4/1/2017 at 8:55 AM, Catt said:Been fishing 61 yrs wanna guess how many died on me?
It happens, try & minimize the number...press on!
We you get a bleeder you eat and so do I, better then letting turtles have a good meal.
Tom
BigShew2 reply :
had it happen - it sucks. last one with the small pond/lake i fish the fish aint that big, but there are two huge turtles that hang around and i believe that i gave them an easy meal to grow larger. last i saw the turtles they were 15 to 20 lbs a piece. if the bass were bigger i would keep 'n cook no problem. also its a neighborhood lake and i am not sure how clean they are.
Yeajray231 reply :
On 4/1/2017 at 12:40 PM, BigShew2 said:had it happen - it sucks. last one with the small pond/lake i fish the fish aint that big, but there are two huge turtles that hang around and i believe that i gave them an easy meal to grow larger. last i saw the turtles they were 15 to 20 lbs a piece. if the bass were bigger i would keep 'n cook no problem. also its a neighborhood lake and i am not sure how clean they are.
I think the smaller ones are the best to eat... 12-14"
Bluebasser86 reply :
I've seen fish with their entire gills ripped out and hanging along the side living and feeding just fine. Maybe it died, maybe it didn't. If you don't want to waste it, take it home (provided it's a keeper, a bleeding fish doesn't negate wildlife laws). Otherwise, nature will take it's course and nothing will be wasted still.
Here's a muskie my BIL caught on a buzzbait several years ago that someone had ripped out it's gills, but he was still going good enough to destroy a buzzbait, quite literally.
XpressJeff reply :
Glad to hear about circle books. I never knew they were easier on the fish.
Do you lose many?
BigShew2 reply :
On 4/1/2017 at 1:20 PM, Yeajray231 said:
I think the smaller ones are the best to eat... 12-14"
Glad you told me, I like the little 8 to 12 inch trout and two to three lbs cats. Never had the chance to keep a bass that small very many times.
WRB reply :
On 4/2/2017 at 7:47 AM, XpressJeff said:Glad to hear about circle books. I never knew they were easier on the fish.
Do you lose many?
The o-ring method of rigging a Senko works good with circle hooks. The key with a circle hook is not setting the hook, you simply lift the Rod upright and reel, the hook ends up at the corner of the mouth, you don't lose them.
Tom
gimruis reply :
Water temperature plays a big role too. Mortality is a lot higher when the water is warmer. I wouldn't worry about it too much but maybe try to learn from your mistake. There are a lot suggestions on here already on how to avoid having a problem in the future. You could just set the hook quicker too instead of waiting. It may be easier said than done but at least you won't gut or gill hook em.
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