Hook Killing Bass 2024
acajun2 reply :
I've been fishing a pond loaded with smaller bass, 1-2 lbs. They take my worm or lizzard but invaribaly they swallow the hook. I struggle to get the hook out without killing the fish as I usually put them back into the pond. Any suggestions?
Mikekw3 reply :
All you need to have is a good pair of needle nose pliers. What you need to do is go through under the gills of the bass and spin the hook out the opposite way. Anyone that tells you to just cut the leader and leave the hook in the fishes throat is dumb. A fish can't survive with a hook in it's stomach.
acajun2 reply :
I recently caught a 2-lb'er and was trying to get the hook out of its mouth when I noticed a rusty fish hook protruding from its rear end, eye first . I assume it had passed the hook through its body to that point. I used my pliers and worked it out and released it.
Fish Chris reply :
Hmmmm.
If the pond is loaded with 1-2 lb bass, it probably wouldn't be a bad thing to just rip that hook out, and throw the fish in a bucket, so you could do as your screen name implies, and "FRY" them up 
Wouldn't you rather be fishing in a pond with a medium number, of 3-5 lb bass ? 
Peace,
Fish
jignfule reply :
de-barb the hooks and set the hook sooner, do your best not to let him swallow it
FL_Sharpshooter reply :
Sounds like you're not noticing the strikes soon enough, get yourself a more sensitive rod.
Raul reply :
Bass swallowing the hook means one thing: they have the bait in the mouth for too long before being hooked. So, you are guilty of it. But let´s not focus on the guilt but focus on the reasons why that happens:
1.- Knowingly/willingly you let the fish mouth the bait for too long, there´s people who let the fish grab the bait and let it swim away with it.
2.- Unknowingly/unwillingly you let the fish hold the bait for too long, some of the most common reasons are:
a) not paying attention to the line
adverse conditions that don´t allow you to see the line or feel the fish ---> wind/current
c ) lack of sensitivity in the gear ( rod & line )
By the time you notice the fish has taken the bait it has already swallowed it.
Fortunately they are preventable:
a ) watch your line, if you keep your eye on the line from the moment the bait touches the water until it reaches bottom you can notice any goofy behavior on the line and goofy most of the times means a fish has the bait ---> set the hook.
b ) weight your bait more or use a heavier bait to contrarest the effect of wind drag blowing on the line above water keeping it tighter, you will be able to notice when the line goes slack or tighter ---> set the hook.
c) nobody is going to tell you your rod is crap or go and buy the most expensive most sensitive rod you can find, simply by changing the line type you can increase the sensitivity, use denser line like fluoro or braid, those increase a lot you ability to feel the fish better just because they transmit vibration a lot better.
By adding those; paying attention to the line, using a heavier bait, maintaning a tight line and using denser line your gut hooked fish will be reduced greatly without having to shell out big bucks in a more sensitive rod.
deaknh03 reply :
The fish are most likely swallowing the hook because you are not setting it properly, take some slack out of your line and you will be able to feel the bite, and with practice you will be lip hooking them in no time. I used to gut hook bass years ago, using lizards especially, because I would let the lizard sit on the bottom with slack line, and the hook wouldn't set until the fish inhaled the lizard and was starting to swim away, then it's too late.
South FLA reply :
Kill fish eat fish then buy a NRX rod mounted with a Daiwa Steez loaded with Samurai braid and use about 3-4ft of floro leader and watch the sensitivity go way UP. Shhh...don't tell SouthFLA that I am using his account.
Signed,
BAITMONKEY
justin apfel reply :
On 4/30/2011 at 9:35 PM, Mikekw3 said:All you need to have is a good pair of needle nose pliers. What you need to do is go through under the gills of the bass and spin the hook out the opposite way. Anyone that tells you to just cut the leader and leave the hook in the fishes throat is dumb. A fish can't survive with a hook in it's stomach.
I read an article in a B.A.S.S Master magazine that said to cute around 20 inches of line and leave the hook, it will eventually swallow the whole thing and the hook will rust out. I've been doing this in the lakes I fish frequently and not once seen a dead bass on the surface. However, the one or two times I have just used pliers and tried to force the hook out of the throat or stomach I leave a dead fish at the lake. Not a good idea, I would leave 20 or so inches of line and throw the fish back.
justin apfel reply :
On 5/1/2011 at 1:25 AM, deaknh03 said:The fish are most likely swallowing the hook because you are not setting it properly, take some slack out of your line and you will be able to feel the bite, and with practice you will be lip hooking them in no time. I used to gut hook bass years ago, using lizards especially, because I would let the lizard sit on the bottom with slack line, and the hook wouldn't set until the fish inhaled the lizard and was starting to swim away, then it's too late.
This is true too, I watch my line so I know exactly when the fish even taps the lizard or worm. I watch my line go out for about 2 or 3 seconds and set it straight up. I haven't really hooked a bass in the stomach or throat in quite a while with this strategy.
Mikekw3 reply :
On 5/4/2011 at 9:57 AM, justin apfel said:I read an article in a B.A.S.S Master magazine that said to cute around 20 inches of line and leave the hook, it will eventually swallow the whole thing and the hook will rust out. I've been doing this in the lakes I fish frequently and not once seen a dead bass on the surface. However, the one or two times I have just used pliers and tried to force the hook out of the throat or stomach I leave a dead fish at the lake. Not a good idea, I would leave 20 or so inches of line and throw the fish back.
BuckyKat reply :
On 5/4/2011 at 9:57 AM, justin apfel said:I read an article in a B.A.S.S Master magazine that said to cute around 20 inches of line and leave the hook, it will eventually swallow the whole thing and the hook will rust out. I've been doing this in the lakes I fish frequently and not once seen a dead bass on the surface. However, the one or two times I have just used pliers and tried to force the hook out of the throat or stomach I leave a dead fish at the lake. Not a good idea, I would leave 20 or so inches of line and throw the fish back.
OK, I'm a newbie here on the forum and to targeting bass specifically but not totally new to fishing (trout,salmon,pike,pickrel, etc). I have heard and read that leaving the hook at times is better than ripping up the fish, I believe I read that the enzymes in the fish will eventually break down the hook, I don't know but let's hope. But, I have never heard that you should leave some line attached, I really think that you need to go back and read again the article, makes no sense what so ever! To me mono, co-poly, fouro, etc. is similar to all the plastics we send to the land fill, it will be there a very very very long time if not forever.
Catt reply :
(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.
The technique also works superbly on walleyes, smallmouths, and other fish, usually taken on smaller hooks, often salmon-style hooks.
ROCbass reply :
On 5/4/2011 at 7:48 PM, BuckyKat said:OK, I'm a newbie here on the forum and to targeting bass specifically but not totally new to fishing (trout,salmon,pike,pickrel, etc). I have heard and read that leaving the hook at times is better than ripping up the fish, I believe I read that the enzymes in the fish will eventually break down the hook, I don't know but let's hope. But, I have never heard that you should leave some line attached, I really think that you need to go back and read again the article, makes no sense what so ever! To me mono, co-poly, fouro, etc. is similar to all the plastics we send to the land fill, it will be there a very very very long time if not forever.
I read the same or a similar article, and the reasoning behind leaving line attached in cases where you absolutely can't get the hook out is because the drag created by the line moving through the water as the fish swims will pull the hook to one side and at least allow the fish to pass food through its gullet, whereas a hook left in a fish without line will often stay right in the middle and prevent the fish from swallowing food. That said, I've never gut hooked a fish so bad that the hook wouldn't come out using the method Catt posted, so learning how to do that should be your best bet in 99% of cases.
hatrix reply :
I also was also told or read somewhere its no big deal to leave a hook in the fish. I guess there digestive system is supposed to have no problem passing or dissolving the hook. That seems possible with like a crappy eagle claw hook from wal mart or something(probably rust out). I find it hard to believe a fish could digest one of my gamakatsu 4/0 EWG hooks. Hooks like that are so much stronger so unless maybe the fish was part goat lol I dont know if it could pass something like that but im not expert on that matter.
Fishing Rhino reply :
On 5/4/2011 at 10:03 PM, Catt said:(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.
The technique also works superbly on walleyes, smallmouths, and other fish, usually taken on smaller hooks, often salmon-style hooks.
This technique works every time. I've used it countless times now, and it has never failed to remove the hook effortlessly.
But, as far as I am concerned, needle nose pliers and straight nose hemastats suck. The curved nose hemastats work much better. Insert them between the first and second gills near the body, bent tip facing the fish. With needle nose or straight pliers you need to flare the gill plate and the gills to position them to turn the hook. Not so with the bent nose hemastats. Plus the hemastats are smoother with no sharp edges that can scrape delicate gill tissues.
As a rule, you need to determine which side is best for inserting the tool to rotate the hook. If you are having problems, try the other side.
tyrius. reply :
The hook will not rust away, the bass' enzymes will not effect it either.
Use the through the gill technique and get the hook out of the fish. Only leave it if you can NOT get the hook out through the gill. And if you do leave it know that that fish will likely die. Some survive for a long time with hooks in them, but they are negatively affected by the presence of the hook.
BuckyKat reply :
Ok ROC, thanks for the explanation, I might be able to wrap my ity-bity brain around that,
Catt, thanks for the narration/illistrations. I recall just recently reading about going in through the lower part of the gill after a hook but that's about as far as they went, you just educated me. I appreciate it and am sure the fish will too.
Catt reply :
Don’t thank me thank Glenn
Mudwalker reply :
I have read several posts and articles saying to leave the hook in with enough line to cause drag, but I was never comfortable leaving the hook in. i usually run into a hooked gullet when I am working with a Jr. Angler group I am involved in. I bought a set of long neck wire dikes and cut the eye from the hook then use long needle nose to work the kook all the way through. Kinda like John Wayne and Clint Eastwood do when they are shot with an arrow. Obviously i skip the gun powder to coterized the wound part.
Fishing Rhino reply :
On 5/6/2011 at 10:24 PM, Mudwalker said:I have read several posts and articles saying to leave the hook in with enough line to cause drag, but I was never comfortable leaving the hook in. i usually run into a hooked gullet when I am working with a Jr. Angler group I am involved in. I bought a set of long neck wire dikes and cut the eye from the hook then use long needle nose to work the kook all the way through. Kinda like John Wayne and Clint Eastwood do when they are shot with an arrow. Obviously i skip the gun powder to coterized the wound part.
That damages more tissue. If done according to the illustrations posted earlier, the hook pops free with no further damage. There is no need to cut off the eye, or force the hook through more gullet tissue to expose the point and the barb.
Hooligan reply :
Glenn's post via Catt is dead on. The rates of delayed mortality of "hook in" fish is greater than 95%. Most often they starve to death because they're unable to pass the hook or it is lodged in a manner sufficient to impair the fishes' ability to swallow prey. Texas had a write up on it in their "news" section not too awful long ago.
dulouz reply :
I was out fishing today and was using a tube on a jig. The fish weren't striking hard today, they were just picking up the jig. I was hopping in along the bottom, and it only sat long enough for me to take up the slack. I had one swallow it way, way down. What I don't understand is how? I did all I could to try to get it out, but the jig seemed to big. I slid the tube up the line, and even tried to pinch the barb. It had been out for a while, which can't be good either, when I finally ripped out the hook and put it back in the water. It swam away, but I doubt that it will live long.
Question #1: How could I have prevented it getting hooked that way in the first place?
Question #2: Are there any tips for getting out deeply hooked jigs?
DJHolly22 reply :
i've always found a pair of hemostats come in handy for when they swallow the hook
dulouz reply :
This weekend I quickly and successfully removed a deeply hooked hook, but it started to bleed. Is that bad?
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