If you break off a fish is it a death sentence? 2025
Ralph Nicholas Vito reply :
would like to know if this is the case or not
Choporoz reply :
Misdemeanor at most....were you arrested?
Ralph Nicholas Vito reply :
On 8/14/2018 at 9:14 PM, Choporoz said:Misdemeanor at most....were you arrested?
lol what ? i'm talking about for the fish >.>
Dwight Hottle reply :
only for the fisherman.
LionHeart reply :
Nah. Could it happen? Sure, but most times I'm gonna say they throw the lure. If the fish fully engulfs the lure then you break off, yeah they dead.
No way to know for sure.
Team9nine reply :
Not at all, but I believe it is a 2 minute penalty under MLF rules... 
portiabrat reply :
I've caught a few fish with lures stuck in their mouths, so not necessarily.
Glaucus reply :
A couple of weeks ago I caught a river Smallie with a catfish hook in its throat and at least a foot of line hanging out of its mouth. The hook was rusty and the line was brown and green and black and all kinds of gnarly. It had been there awhile. That fish was still fat, still eating, still aggressive, and still very much alive.
Pickle_Power reply :
They say that most hooks probably rust and fall out faster than one would think. I'd bet a Senko in the belly is a lot worse than a hook in the lip.
Sometimes it's a death sentence for fish even when caught, safely handled, and released.
J Francho reply :
On 8/14/2018 at 10:10 PM, Pickle_Power said:They say that most hooks probably rust and fall out faster than one would think.
They don't. Try it for yourself, put a hook in a glass of water. Tell me how long before it dissolves.
jbmaine reply :
I've caught a few that already had a hook in them, and had for some time. So some survive, but, I'm sure, not all.
Ralph Nicholas Vito reply :
On 8/14/2018 at 10:37 PM, jbmaine said:I've caught a few that already had a hook in them, and had for some time. So some survive, but, I'm sure, all.
honestly have no idea how the thing broke me off fish started to go underneath my kayaK and i started to bring my rod to the side he was going to and just SNAP he was gone ????
IndianaFinesse reply :
Most of the time, with most lures, they're pretty dang good at throwing them.. And anyways, a few fish dying every once in a while is just part of the sport imo.
J Francho reply :
On 8/14/2018 at 10:37 PM, jbmaine said:I've caught a few that already had a hook in them, and had for some time. So some survive, but, I'm sure, not all.
Yep! I caught one a couple years ago that had a heavy duty worm hook jammed right in it's throat. There was some line attached, coudn't have been much more than 4# size. The fish was very thin, but clearly was willing to eat, just couldn't swallow food. Removed the hook, and I'm pretty sure he recovered, based on how violently he struck my bait and how feisty it was during the fight and release.
Dom Hendricks reply :
This guy appears to have digested and almost passed this worm hook.
Ralph Nicholas Vito reply :
On 8/14/2018 at 11:26 PM, IndianaFinesse said:Most of the time, with most lures, they're pretty dang good at throwing them.. And anyways, a few fish dying every once in a while is just part of the sport imo.
i have only broke off 3 fish so far this year 2 from a snap swivel breaking then i switched to tying on lures and this weekend i broke something off but idk what it was
i think with me being in a very small pond that i would find the fish floating around ?
i have found 3 dead fish in my pond this weekend 2 perch and 1 large mouth the perch looked to have been taken out by something (snapping turtle or other fish?) and the large mouth basses mouth was wide open when i found it no bite marks or anything when i checked it out i think it was a 2-3 lber but bloated up to 4-5 lbs ? idk
Pickle_Power reply :
On 8/14/2018 at 10:14 PM, J Francho said:They don't. Try it for yourself, put a hook in a glass of water. Tell me how long before it dissolves.
I didn't say dissolve. My thought was it corroding enough for the fish to throw it or for it to break in two and fall out.
More importantly, a study I just read claims that cutting the line on deeply hooked fish(assuming it's just a hook) provides fish a much better chance of survival than removing the hook.
Brew City Bass reply :
In most cases, not at all.
If they're lip-hooked there is a pretty good chance they'll start jumping and spit the lure. If It's further down, they may die, or they digest the bait / hooks rust out and they live.
Glaucus reply :
Or if trebles have completely sewn their mouths shut.
J Francho reply :
On 8/15/2018 at 2:12 AM, Pickle_Power said:More importantly, a study I just read claims that cutting the line on deeply hooked fish(assuming it's just a hook) provides fish a much better chance of survival than removing the hook.
That's outdated. ALWAYS remove the hook.
geo g reply :
Definitely not a death sentence, over the years I have caught loads of fish still eating and attacking baits with a hook in their throat or mouth. Most had texas rigged hooks which broke off. I have caught a fish with chug bug in its lip, a Peacock with a rattle trap in its lip, and the best one was a fish that broke me off with a senko. Two hours later I was back in the same area and I hooked up on this guy again. My old EWG Gama hook with the senko was still attached. So a hook does not mean a death sentence all the time, always remove all hooks before release.
On 8/15/2018 at 12:17 AM, Dom Hendricks said:This guy appears to have digested and almost passed this worm hook.
Now that's amazing!
Bluebasser86 reply :
I've removed so many old hooks and jigheads from fish's throats that were left by other fishermen. Fish are excellent at shaking the hook loose after they've broke off. I saw a study done recently with pike and even hooks placed deep in the fish's mouth were shaken loose within 48 hours.
Ralph Nicholas Vito reply :
On 8/15/2018 at 2:41 AM, Bluebasser86 said:I've removed so many old hooks and jigheads from fish's throats that were left by other fishermen. Fish are excellent at shaking the hook loose after they've broke off. I saw a study done recently with pike and even hooks placed deep in the fish's mouth were shaken loose within 48 hours.
even trebbles ? i hope the pickerel that broke me off shakes that trebble out eventually
MassYak85 reply :
I've broken off stuff like heavy T-rigs, Jigs, and Spinnerbaits in Bass's mouths and every time it happens they usually come up to the surface a minute or two later and start shaking to get it out. I have to imagine they have decent success doing so as long as they aren't hooked too deep. For stuff like worm hooks I think most are able to survive or pass them. And I'm sure occasionally a few may die from the difficulties that must come from digestion and eating but that's part of the sport like others said.
Further North reply :
If the hook is barbless (or de-barbed) the chances of the fish being able to get rid of it go way up.
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 8/15/2018 at 3:08 AM, Ralph Nicholas Vito said:even trebbles ? i hope the pickerel that broke me off shakes that trebble out eventually
They mostly use trebles in that study. I've never seen a fish, alive or dead, with a treble hooked bait stuck in it minus catfish with their leathery skin. Odds are I would have as much as I fish if they stayed hooked long after breaking off.
Russ E reply :
On 8/15/2018 at 7:06 AM, Bluebasser86 said:They mostly use trebles in that study. I've never seen a fish, alive or dead, with a treble hooked bait stuck in it minus catfish with their leathery skin. Odds are I would have as much as I fish if they stayed hooked long after breaking off.
I have never seen a treble hook stuck in a Bass, that I caught.
I have, however, seen a lot of wacky style hooks and a few worm hooks stuck in a bass' throat.
Further North reply :
On 8/15/2018 at 7:35 AM, Russ E said:I have never seen a treble hook stuck in a Bass, that I caught.
I have, however, seen a lot of wacky style hooks and a few worm hooks stuck in a bass' throat.
I've caught several pike, one musky with a treble hook lure in it.
In the case of the musky, it was a lure another guy in the group had lost to the fish two days earlier. She was still eating...
burrows reply :
On 8/14/2018 at 9:13 PM, Ralph Nicholas Vito said:would like to know if this is the case or not
Sometimes that is the case unfortunately and hooks definitely don’t rust out but that’s part of the sport kinda makes me feel bad if you feel that bad about a gutted fish eat it or give it to someone that loves to eat fish theirs a lot off ppl that will eat fish. I personally think they poop them out or shake them off the majority of the time.
Troy85 reply :
I don't think so. Few weeks back I was filleting a speckled trout. I felt something hard its in stomach so i cut the stomach to investigate. Inside I found an entire jig head with the plastic beetle. Looked like it had been in there awhile, the hook was all rusty. The fish was a good weight and it didn't look like the jig and beetle in its stomach was really affecting it.
burrows reply :
On 8/15/2018 at 8:25 AM, Troy1985s said:I don't think so.
It might become rusty but it’s not gonna rust away and dissolve that will take an extremely long time.
Glaucus reply :
On 8/15/2018 at 2:26 AM, J Francho said:That's outdated. ALWAYS remove the hook.
Not always. I've removed gut hooks that have caused massive bleeding and tearing, only to have them die soon after, as I find them floating shallow. Then I caught some with gut hooks, fully alive and healthy. Stopped removing gnarly gut hooks like the kind that killed fish. Can't really say, but when I've caught fat gut hooked fish, and when I don't see floaters in small ponds after gut hooking fish, I'd say in some cases leaving the hook prevents death.
Key words being gnarly and sometimes.
NHBull reply :
On 8/15/2018 at 8:46 AM, Glaucus said:Not always. I've removed gut hooks that have caused massive bleeding and tearing, only to have them die soon after, as I find them floating shallow. Then I caught some with gut hooks, fully alive and healthy. Stopped removing gnarly gut hooks like the kind that killed fish. Can't really say, but when I've caught fat gut hooked fish, and when I don't see floaters in small ponds after gut hooking fish, I'd say in some cases leaving the hook prevents death.
Key words being gnarly and sometimes.
Cutting the shank and going through the gills can remove almost any hook. One of the biggest offenders of this are the young kids throwing plastics from bridges and shore.
Glaucus reply :
On 8/15/2018 at 8:56 AM, NHBull said:Cutting the shank and going through the gills can remove almost any hook. One of the biggest offenders of this are the young kids throwing plastics from bridges and shore.
Sometimes it's not possible. I'm talking about rare cases. But there are some cases where the hook is removable and I've caught such fish and removed the hook. Fully alive, fully healthy.
burrows reply :
slonezp reply :
Why does it matter?
If you are that worried about hurting a fish...Don't fish
Ralph Nicholas Vito reply :
On 8/15/2018 at 9:29 AM, slonezp said:Why does it matter?
If you are that worried about hurting a fish...Don't fish
i think im gonna keep fishing thanks for your input though
J Francho reply :
On 8/15/2018 at 8:46 AM, Glaucus said:Not always. I've removed gut hooks that have caused massive bleeding and tearing, only to have them die soon after, as I find them floating shallow. Then I caught some with gut hooks, fully alive and healthy. Stopped removing gnarly gut hooks like the kind that killed fish. Can't really say, but when I've caught fat gut hooked fish, and when I don't see floaters in small ponds after gut hooking fish, I'd say in some cases leaving the hook prevents death.
Key words being gnarly and sometimes.
You did it wrong. See the post above to learn how to do it right.
rejesterd reply :
Depends where you hook them and what bait you're using. In the lip with a spinnerbait/jerkbait/crankbait, they'll probably survive since there's a good chance they'll shake it off. I've seen fish do that. But in the gut, they'll probably die.
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