Why did every fish I catch get gut hooked? 2025
Alec McMillan reply :
Yesterday my buddy and I were fishin a pond in his neighborhood. We had a great day, caught about 15 bass in 3 hours. The weirdest thing was that almost almost every fish we caughtgot gut hooked. I was using a texas rigged craw and he was using a trick worm. We were able to get all the hooks out except for 2 (rip). The only time they didn't get gut hooked was when my buddy was throwin a soft swimbait (but still texas rigged). Why did this happen? Was it something we did?
StretcherJockey reply :
They could have been biting it light and you just not really noticing the bite until they had it for awhile. I have trouble with gut hooks on “no feel” type baits such as weightless senkos or Ned Rigs.
greentrout reply :
if you can't get the hook out ... give the bass a chance ... cut the line as close as possible ... they can expel it or work it out ... congrats on the catch ...
good fishing ...
Glaucus reply :
You're not feeling or seeing the bites until it's too late.
GreenPig reply :
If the hook point is exposed on a deeply hooked fish I'll cut the hook with my compound cutters and pull out the remaining section of hook with my pliers. If the point isn't exposed I'll cut it close as possible.
Glaucus reply :
Good advice here, and I'll add more: This shouldn't be happening that frequently. Not even close. Work on feeling and seeing bites. Braid helps feel, high visibility braid helps see. You'll get it down with other lines the more you fish as well. Sometimes it's unavoidable though.
MickD reply :
If you are not using braid, give it a try. Might help with strike detection. Also, try to keep the line taut (sort of) so that if the fish moves the bait you might see the line move. Maybe move the bait a little more often to detect if a fish is there. If the fish are biting well, try a crank or something else that's easier to detect strikes with.
WRB reply :
You are clueless regarding strike detection.
Tom
Manly Studson reply :
On 5/28/2019 at 12:24 AM, Alec McMillan said:Yesterday my buddy and I were fishin a pond in his neighborhood. We had a great day, caught about 15 bass in 3 hours. The weirdest thing was that almost almost every fish we caughtgot gut hooked. I was using a texas rigged craw and he was using a trick worm. We were able to get all the hooks out except for 2 (rip). The only time they didn't get gut hooked was when my buddy was throwin a soft swimbait (but still texas rigged). Why did this happen? Was it something we did?
I know that swim baits are moving baits, which means you are reeling the lure and keeping the line tight. Even though a swim bait is Texas rigged, the retrieve keeps the fish from swallowing the lure too deeply. But Texas rigged craws aren’t fished very fast, and if the conversation with a fishing buddy is good, then detecting bites can be a challenge. I’m sure you can detect bites, but good conversation may be to blame. Just a thought.
Catt reply :
To slow pulling the trigger!
How long were y'all waiting to set hook?
Two things cause gut hooked fish, the fish are highly aggressive & choking the lure or you've slow pulling the trigger.
scbassin reply :
I agree with Tom
928JLH reply :
What rod are you using? Watch your line and don't let too much slack in your line in between your retreives. A good rod really helps with bite detection with flourocarbon or braid.
NYWayfarer reply :
Sounds like dead sticking with too much slack in the line. Watch your line at all times for strike detection.
bagofdonuts reply :
A lot of people wait way too long on texas rigs, for some reason they think they really have to let them take it. As soon as you detect a strike you should reel down and set the hook. they ain't got it in their pocket.
Fishingchucknj reply :
It happens to me a lot when I was just learning to fish Texas rigged plastics. As I gained experience it happened less and less. Still does occasionally on very windy days. As a side note just cut the line as close as possible. I once caught one that had someone else’s slider rusty slider head still stuck in its gullet.
WRB reply :
Strike detection separates good bass anglers from everyone else and we all fall into varing degrees of strike detection ability.
It isn't easy to determine what isn't a strike verses what is without developing a sense of feel, both physical and intuitive. Physical strikes that move the line enough to see it jump or feel taps, ticks, pulls etc we recognize as strikes. Intuitive strikes, not kidding, comes with time on the water experiences, the rate of fall the lure you are using on the line you are familiar with, the water resistance or weight of the lure and the anticipated strike zone depth gives you strike detection when something doesn't feel right and you intuitively set the hook without thinking and the bass is there.
Tom
papajoe222 reply :
Don't rely solely on feeling the bite. Be a line watcher. Not only will you avoid the situation you had, you'll hook more fish. On rare occasions, the bite is very aggressive and the fish will inhale and swallow your bait in a heart beat. This may have been the situation, but when line watching you'll be setting the hook before they do.
diversity210 reply :
Yeah sounds like you guys were missing a lot of those initial bites and the fish had the bait for a while before you noticed it. Dont just pay attention to the feel or you rad tip flexing. watch your line. Some times fish are light on a soft plastics. Also a good sensitive rod will help you a lot as well.
Alec McMillan reply :
Thanks for the tips y'all. I was using braid and a dobyns fury rod. I don't think I was "clueless" as some jack*** on here would say, but I think I've concluded that they were just extremely aggressive, and I need to set the hook earlier and pay more attention overall.
dodgeguy reply :
On 5/30/2019 at 5:50 AM, Alec McMillan said:Thanks for the tips y'all. I was using braid and a dobyns fury rod. I don't think I was "clueless" as some jack*** on here would say, but I think I've concluded that they were just extremely aggressive, and I need to set the hook earlier and pay more attention overall.
I agree with you. Nobody's perfect but some think they are. The important thing is you asked so that you could avoid it next time. That makes you far from clueless.
stepup reply :
You are missing the bite. Alot of times when the fish aren't real agressive this will happen. Watch your line.
geo g reply :
Your not in touch with what your bait is doing. You may have slack in your line, not watching your line, or using the wrong line for sensitivity. Knowing what your bait is doing is important.
Glaucus reply :
On 5/30/2019 at 5:50 AM, Alec McMillan said:Thanks for the tips y'all. I was using braid and a dobyns fury rod. I don't think I was "clueless" as some jack*** on here would say, but I think I've concluded that they were just extremely aggressive, and I need to set the hook earlier and pay more attention overall.
I gut hooked one pretty bad yesterday. I must have thrown the finesse worm on its head because I felt nothing and saw nothing. I just felt the weight of the fish when I started to engage the worm. I knew right away I would be dealing with a gut hooked bass. Sometimes it's unavoidable.
In no world, however, is gut hooking almost all of them not user error and poor strike detection. You will get better.
WVU-SCPA reply :
On 5/29/2019 at 4:30 AM, bagofdonuts said:A lot of people wait way too long on texas rigs, for some reason they think they really have to let them take it. As soon as you detect a strike you should reel down and set the hook. they ain't got it in their pocket.
Someone I have had on the boat several times has this method when fishing texas rigs.
Starts with..."I think I got a bite"....then " yep its heavy" as the rod tip is bending over....and lastly " I think it dropped it".
Cheap motto....but hook sets are still free. Don't be afraid to Kevin Van Dam on nothing.
Glaucus reply :
On 6/1/2019 at 3:09 AM, WVU-SCPA said:Someone I have had on the boat several times has this method when fishing texas rigs.
Starts with..."I think I got a bite"....then " yep its heavy" as the rod tip is bending over....and lastly " I think it dropped it".
Cheap motto....but hook sets are free. Don't be afraid to Kevin Van Dam on nothing.
There's a guy on YouTube called lojo. He does bass fishing videos. When he's fishing plastics he does the whole, "I got a fish, he has it, he has it, see him running with the line" then he goes to set the hook, and nothing, after he watched his rod bend and line run. Then he shouts, "What is going on here?!" Rinse and repeat. It's annoying.
WRB reply :
On 5/30/2019 at 5:50 AM, Alec McMillan said:Thanks for the tips y'all. I was using braid and a dobyns fury rod. I don't think I was "clueless" as some jack*** on here would say, but I think I've concluded that they were just extremely aggressive, and I need to set the hook earlier and pay more attention overall. That Jack arse would be me. Clueless as in you didn't react to what was going on underwater with your lure. The most aggressive bass bite from very active bass means the bass was moving when it engulfed your lure and kept moving while continuing to swallow it moving the line without you realizing it.
Carol Knowles reply :
On 5/28/2019 at 12:24 AM, Alec McMillan said:Yesterday my buddy and I were fishin a pond in his neighborhood. We had a great day, caught about 15 bass in 3 hours. The weirdest thing was that almost almost every fish we caughtgot gut hooked. I was using a texas rigged craw and he was using a trick worm. We were able to get all the hooks out except for 2 (rip). The only time they didn't get gut hooked was when my buddy was throwin a soft swimbait (but still texas rigged). Why did this happen? Was it something we did?
Glad you posted this! Learned a lot from the tips... thanks y’all!
hawgenvy reply :
I don't think anyone has pointed out that hook size also makes a difference. I have found that gut hooking occurs much more often with a 2-0 or 3-0 than with a 4-0 hook. I hardly ever use 3-0 hooks for that reason. Also, practically any plastic bait is large enough to accommodate a 4-0 hook.
WRB reply :
With wacky rigged Senko's a size 2 octopus circle hook resolves gut hooking bass.
Tom
Glaucus reply :
On 6/2/2019 at 10:58 AM, hawgenvy said:I don't think anyone has pointed out that hook size also makes a difference. I have found that gut hooking occurs much more often with a 2-0 or 3-0 than with a 4-0 hook. I hardly ever use 3-0 hooks for that reason. Also, practically any plastic bait is large enough to accommodate a 4-0 hook.
You won't get nearly as good action with small finesse worms and 3-4 inch Senkos with larger hooks. I use 1/0 for those and rarely ever gut hook bass. Gary says the 5 inch Senko should be fished with a 3/0.
On 6/2/2019 at 11:05 AM, WRB said:With wacky rigged Senko's a size 2 octopus circle hook resolves gut hooking bass.
Tom
Yeah I typically use octopus circle hooks for Wacky Rigs and I'm not sure one has ever gut hooked my fish. I use 1/0 though.
NHBull reply :
Until you figure out the cause.....and I believe it is in the hook set or lack there of, crush the barb to make it easier to remove the hook. I don't believe you will miss many.
MickD reply :
On 6/2/2019 at 6:43 PM, NHBull said:Until you figure out the cause.....and I believe it is in the hook set or lack there of, crush the barb to make it easier to remove the hook. I don't believe you will miss many.
I snagged my son's carpeting with a ned jig Friday, crushed the barb to get it out, then kept fishing with it. I probably took another few SMB on it without losing one. Braid with a 7 foot ML moderate action rod. Mod action helps keep them on-just keep a lot of bend in the rod so they don't get any slack.
Bass_Fishing_Socal reply :
why name calling when everyone try to help or answered your question? Admit it and improve, it happens to everyone but you which happened most every bites and on braid line? humm I’m not sure what to say.
hoosierbass07 reply :
Your not alone. I fish where there are a lot of runt/small bass and those things love to swallow texas rigged Yum-Dingers/etc... What's interesting, I don't think I've ever throat/gut hooked a large sized bass. Only the dinks get throat/gut hooked.
blongfishing reply :
Same thing happened to me on Sunday. Ended up catching a good many fish and a lot of them were gut hooked. Unfortunately, two of them kicked the bucket (I was keeping them in the live well as I was fishing a friendly tournament. On Monday I fished again and only had 1 gut hooked. I figured out the issue on my hour long drive home from the lake. On Sunday the lake was packed with pleasure boaters and the wind was blowing so I was having a lot of trouble feeling the bait and majority of the time I gave my Shakey head a little lift to see if it was on the bottom and a fish was on there. Monday had no wind and I was the only boat out there it seemed. I narrowed it down to not being able to feel the bite as being the culprit of gut hooking them. I guess a way of fixing that would be to check if I had hit bottom a little sooner but it's a challenge to do so.
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