How often to you accidently kill a bass?? 2024

NJAngler609 reply :

Im just curious to see how oftne you guys accidently kill a bass...I've only been reel big into bass fishing for the past two seasons.....yesterday me and two of my buddies went out and we had a great day of fishing except for i accidently killed a 3.5 pounder...i hhoked her in the tongue and she was bleeding like crazy..got her back in the water asap but she was floating about 10 mins later..Totally ruined my day..i also had one inhale the hook and had to leave it down there or she definitley would had died..That one was sorta my fault cause i was fishing in some timber thought i got snagged but i didnt and waited to long to set the hook but hopefully she survives..Just curious on how often everyone kills one by accident

Gatorbassman reply :

Not very many. Four or five a year. I keep a small bottle of Sure Life "Please Release Me" in my tackle bag for bleeders. I sprinkle a little bit on the bleed and it stops. If I'm in my boat I just put the fish in the livewell and treat the water with the stuff and the bleeding stops.

bass wrangler569 reply :

I usually kill one or two a year. If they are bleeding from the gills and I think they are going to die I'll keep them. There is no sense in them dying for nothing. I used to accidentally kill a lot more bass then I do now. Don't get discouraged, with experience you will learn how to handle the bass better and it will happen less.

thetr20one reply :

In my tournament history I have had 1 smallmouth die. That 8 oz penalty took me from 7th to 14th. They were only paying twelve. Never again I hope. That was three years ago. Over 150 tourneys and the one that died cost me a $700 check. Occasionally you will get the really small guys grab a crankbait and pin their mouth shut so a little surgery is required. Not all patients make it through the procedure. Accidently killing a bass once maybe twice a season isn't great but depending on how much you fish it might be o.k. . The easiest ways to try and keep them from swallowing the hook with plastics are.

1. Buy good high modulus fast action rods for sensitivity

2. When you feel a thump SET THE HOOK, the thump was not them picking up with their fins. It is already in their mouth

NJAngler609 reply :

Quote
In my tournament history I have had 1 smallmouth die. That 8 oz penalty took me from 7th to 14th. They were only paying twelve. Never again I hope. That was three years ago. Over 150 tourneys and the one that died cost me a $700 check. Occasionally you will get the really small guys grab a crankbait and pin their mouth shut so a little surgery is required. Not all patients make it through the procedure. Accidently killing a bass once maybe twice a season isn't great but depending on how much you fish it might be o.k. . The easiest ways to try and keep them from swallowing the hook with plastics are.
1. Buy good high modulus fast action rods for sensitivity

2. When you feel a thump SET THE HOOK, the thump was not them picking up with their fins. It is already in their mouth

I have a GL3 so i got the sensitivity its just that where the hook landed was a bad spot and she bled like crazy..i hooked her in what i would guess would be her tongue..fish do have tongues right?? ;D

tritz18 reply :

never have and hope to never do

thetr20one reply :

Maybe it hit some major artery or vein in there. I couldn't tell ya. I am not a biologist. It happens don't stress about it!

Gatorbassman reply :

Quote

I have a GL3 so i got the sensitivity its just that where the hook landed was a bad spot and she bled like crazy..i hooked her in what i would guess would be her tongue..fish do have tongues right?? ;D

Yea that spot in their toung is a bad place. There is one or two veins that run down their toung. It's very rare that your hook hits it perfect but when it does, the fish bleeds quick. There is not much you can do without something to coagulate the blood.

JerseyBassin reply :

never have, knock on wood

Glenn reply :

Less than 5 per year. And they're almost always the little fish in deep water that just inhale and swallow the plastic bait before I can set the hook.

Branuss04 reply :

I've killed 3 in the last 3 years that I know of, it happens, I feel bad for a little bit, but I usually get over it. Now if I killed a DD, that would be a different story, no doubt about it would I keep it and get it mounted.

Daiwa reply :

NEVER HAVE AND I HOPE I NEVER WILL!!!

Alpster reply :

I have lost a few. It's hard to not gut hook one every once in a while.

Ronnie

fishinfiend reply :

I have hooked a few to deep. If it looks bad I don't try to pull it. I just cut the line or use a pair of dikes.

T-Bone reply :

I've killed a few. It always makes me sad too because I always think that it could have been the one that I would catch a few years down the road that would be 10+ pounds. :'(

kms399 reply :

I kill probably 4-5 a year I really don't mind since I love to eat fish I really only feel bad if it is over 3 pounds. usually if i want fish to eat I'll go catch 10 or 12 bluegill before pick up the boat.

arul reply :

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I have hooked a few to deep. If it looks bad I don't try to pull it. I just cut the line or use a pair of dikes.

Yeah, this last outing I gut hooked 3! :'( :'( I was using a zoom super fluke, and fishing it real slow, letting it fall on slack line. The fish were just taking it so lightly, I had no idea they were on until too late. :'(

Question: I have heard that if you cut as much of the hook with dikes, and leave it in there, that eventually, the fish may digest it. Or at the very least, live the rest of a good life with a hook in him. Is this right??? :-? Or is a gut hook pretty much = death?

At the very least, I have learned that it is a wrong move 100% of the time to try to pull it free...

Catt reply :

One maybe two a year; last time was 2006 at the Sealy Big Bass Splash.

Still mad over that one but I've since learned not to use Rejuvenade which is still in my tackle room.

Ops never mind I just chunked it

X-Rap reply :

Only 2 that I know died. One was hooked through the roof of the mouth with a Snag Proof frog. He just got real stiff when i was reeling him in and didn't fight at all. When I went to let him go he went straight belly up. After trying to revive him with no luck I gave him a quick twap on the head with the handle of my knife to put him out of his missery. Felt bad but better than if i just let him suffer. :'( Other than that if i deep hook a fish I dont even bother about trying to get it out, I just cut it.

Trent, B reply :

what you can do sometimes is if you can see the barb down in there throat is cut the barb off and slide it threw so it wont tear up there mouth and make them bleed alot.

Thefishy1 reply :

Unfortunately this year I have killed one. I was fishing a worm when a felt something funny so I set the hook, there were a few tugs then it just felt like dead weight. When I pulled the fish up there was a two pound bass with the hook through its eye and into its brain. I guess that the fish had swam into the line, or had just picked up the tail.

Daniel My Brother reply :

I've released several that were bleeding that I hoped survived, but how do you know for certain?

I just do my best to get the fish back in the water quickly and hope for the best.

HartwellPro reply :

I've had 1 die on me this year. Gut hooked draggig a c-rig on Lake Russell. The past 2 years I haven't had any die.

I did read up on gut hooked fish and mortality rates. In the article I read they said that it's best to leave the hook in and cut the string just outside of the mouth. That yielded abetter rate of survival than removing or cutting the line at the hook eye.

SimonDM17 reply :

I've never killed a bass...I've killed sunnies when fishing ultralights with live bait, but that's it. Nearly killed a bass recently, though...I think it bumped the jig I was fishing, and it got a hookset just above the eye...had to be real careful or I think I would have blinded it or hit the brain, but it swam off just fine.

MNGeorge reply :

River Smallies are very aggressive fish and there is just no way to avoid gut hooking a few over the course of a season, especially fishing tubes. We have pretty much given up trying to remove those hooks. We just cut the line and hope for the best. Judging by the number of fish we catch with hooks already in their mouths, I'm thinking many of them live to fight another day. We certainly hope so.

FR0G reply :

I haven't killed a bass that I know of. I am usually pretty good with either setting the hook perfectly, or no getting them at all. Rarely ever do I have to cut my line due to the hook being in the throat.

Grey Wolf reply :

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I've never killed a bass...I've killed sunnies when fishing ultralights with live bait, but that's it. Nearly killed a bass recently, though...I think it bumped the jig I was fishing, and it got a hookset just above the eye...had to be real careful or I think I would have blinded it or hit the brain, but it swam off just fine.

SenkoBasser reply :

That I know of, never killed any. But who's to say that the thing didn't swim away and die later. ??? Ya never know. But I've never released one to find it belly up a few minutes later.

ba7ss3in reply :

1 to 2 a year, sometimes when you are catching fish in 90 to 95 degree water you can't get them back in quick enough.

Garnet reply :

It's just a fact with schooling Smallies and yes tubes are the worst thats why I try to get a dropshot bite going.

Leaving a hook and bait in a fish is just criminal, with care and a pair of offset sidecutters you can cut hooks very close. This is the best approach.

Garnet

Bankbeater reply :

Probably two or three a year.

tkite16 reply :

Quote

1. Buy good high modulus fast action rods for sensitivity

2. When you feel a thump SET THE HOOK, the thump was not them picking up with their fins. It is already in their mouth

It always kills me to have people with me say there letting them take it. I always ask em if they think the fish is down there juggling their worm or what. :

BadKarma42 reply :

It happens. When it happens I feel bad and try to figure out what I did wrong and learn from it.

simplejoe reply :

I kill sometimes 2 or 3 a year but as soon as I feel smallest tap I pull my rod back a little bit to see if I feel a fish on the end of my line.

Fishin Phil reply :

The more important thing about it is the overall health of the lake. The few fish that are killed by anglers that practice catch and release is nothing compared to over harvesting. I wouldn't worry about the 1 fish as it seems you have the right attitude about fishing in general. Culling the population isn't a bad thing either, just as long as things stay balanced.

Nobody likes to see a fish die for no reason, but if it's gonna go may as well keep it and fry it up. Nature provides for us, may as well appreciate it now and then.

Popeye reply :

None that I know of. All the bass I've caught swam away nicely and appeared healthy. I can only hope that they all survived OK (which I suspect they all did).

OBX-BASS reply :

very few each year...it isnt a good feeling when you do accidently kill one either .....if one does swallow the hook like you said one of yours did i usually jus cut the line...i do believe they survive too...i heard that the hook will eventually rust and it will pop out leaving no harm to the fish...i hope that is true!

bigbill reply :

Never so far....

But i have seen guys fishing asleep at the controls so the bass swallows the tube baits or plastics to the point there guts are ripped out.

My thoughts;

One more question is how many bass do you take home each year?

What size bass do you take?

I take home 2 to 3 bass a year that are 2 to 3lbs to feed my abandon cats fresh fish.

The US goverment did a survey(god only knows how much it cost us) on what size bass we can take so the bass population eco system isn't affected. They said to eat the smaller bass and leave the larger ones that spawn.

My thoughts on this is the 5 & 6lb bass aren't supplying the bass population that much. Its the big gals 8lbs + up to 12lbs that most of us never see thats doing it. Trust me we have more big bass than we think across our great country.

miked62 reply :

Very rare, maybe if a big hardbait was hooked deep.

Grey Wolf reply :

Quote
Never so far....
But i have seen guys fishing asleep at the controls so the bass swallows the tube baits or plastics to the point there guts are ripped out.

My thoughts;

One more question is how many bass do you take home each year?

What size bass do you take?

I take home 2 to 3 bass a year that are 2 to 3lbs to feed my abandon cats fresh fish.

The US goverment did a survey(god only knows how much it cost us) on what size bass we can take so the bass population eco system isn't affected. They said to eat the smaller bass and leave the larger ones that spawn.

My thoughts on this is the 5 & 6lb bass aren't supplying the bass population that much. Its the big gals 8lbs + up to 12lbs that most of us never see thats doing it. Trust me we have more big bass than we think across our great country.

Just don't agree with your thought process. How can you say that 5 and 6 lb. bass aren't supplying a sufficant amount of off-spring into the system. It just looks to me like you are trying to justify keeping the bass that fall into that particular weight catagory.

Davis reply :

My buddy got a 2lb smallie on Saturday and she was hooked on the side of her tongue. Tried all I could to get the hook out with pliers and bending down the barb but it still wouldn't dislodge. So I cut the line from the hook and released her. She same off fine but I don't like her chances with that 2/0 EWG in there. There tongues are so tough. Tried and did everything I could.

Grey Wolf reply :

Quote
My buddy got a 2lb smallie on Saturday and she was hooked on the side of her tongue. Tried all I could to get the hook out with pliers and bending down the barb but it still wouldn't dislodge. So I cut the line from the hook and released her. She same off fine but I don't like her chances with that 2/0 EWG in there. There tongues are so tough. Tried and did everything I could.

Could you have possibly cut the hook itself ?

Tin reply :

I can't remember the last time a largie went belly-up on me. No fish this year, but tast year I did take the lives of 2 innocent smallmouth. They just inhaled the tube on me. Poor little guys

Davis reply :

Quote

Quote
My buddy got a 2lb smallie on Saturday and she was hooked on the side of her tongue. Tried all I could to get the hook out with pliers and bending down the barb but it still wouldn't dislodge. So I cut the line from the hook and released her. She same off fine but I don't like her chances with that 2/0 EWG in there. There tongues are so tough. Tried and did everything I could.

Could you have possibly cut the hook itself ?

The wire cutters that I had on my tool were not strong enough.

BirdNestBen reply :

Never..... sometimes worm fishing they will swallow the hook.... cut the line and the hook will rust out....... if the hook is too deep cut the hook...

to revive a bass move him back and forth in the water to get the air in his lungs.....

Usually when your line breaks on say a topwater plug they will throw the lure out.... so anyway hope this helps....

fishfordollars reply :

Maybe one a year. Don't remember the last one. None of any size.

If you fish deep water you need to learn how to fizz a bass's air bladder. It will help the survival.

Ballpark Frank reply :

The first one I have ever killed was last weekend. I had stopped at my favorite bank spot after work. This little guy had already swallowed my lizard when I felt him. When I did notice, I set the hook pretty hard. The angle of the hook came completely through his right side gills, they were all bleeding. He bled out and died while I was getting the hook out. I didn't waste the meat, but felt aweful for several days(heck still do).

ian515 reply :

I dont think I have killed any yet, but my question is, some of you are talking about saving the meat, and taking it home, but how are you doing that? I mean, when I go fishing, I go for catch and release, so I dont bring a cooler, or anything to keep them cold for the drive home (usually 25 minutes or so). I am assuming there are some out there like me, what are you doin to save the meat?

Ballpark Frank reply :

I always have a cooler with ice for lunch and drinks. The fillet knife is always in my tackle bag, since I catfish alot also.

Mase reply :

Last year I only had one fish that actually died, but it wasn't really me that finished it off. A 10 inch smallie took my whole rapala in and it took a few minutes to get it out. She seemed okay and swam off then 20 seconds later she appeared the far bank belly up twitching - within seconds there was the biggest splash I've ever seen in the river and she was gone

christopherjake reply :

I bet you bass are killed more often than we realized. I mean just because they are released and swim away doesn't necessary mean they wouold survive.

Brians2000 reply :

If I kill a big one I eat it. No reason to let it just float away if it can be a meal.

NitroMan reply :

I have killed to many to even say. It took me a long time to really think about why I was killing them. I have hooked several with a jig-n-pig in the belly and that really sucks. But here recently the more I have been out fishing the more respect I have gained for Mr. Bass. To this day if I have a bleeding fish I will put it in the livewell until I am completely done fishing and if it is still alive I hope it survives but if he's floating I take it home and eat it. If I have a bass that has swallowed the hook I usually cut the hook in half and get the hook out that way so the fish will survive. There are to many people that take the fish home even if it is not in any risk of dying. To me that makes the sport of fishing more difficult for the new bass fisherman out there. But in a way it also make you a better fisherman for those private lakes that gets hardly any lures thrown in it. Thats just my 2 cents.

Bassegalla reply :

I rarely kill bass, its always the darn chain pickerel, they are so fragile...

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How often to you accidently kill a bass?? 2024

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