fish doesnt recover from hookset 2024

cccsguy reply :

i was fishing with my 9yr old daughter yesterday and she hooked a 2lb bass with a trick worm. The bass hit the bait so hard that the hook was pretty much swallowed and the fish was bleeding pretty bad from the gills upon exit from the water. I had needle nose pliers and got the hook out relatively easy, but when we released the fish, the fish never recovered and swam away--it just floated on its side. My daughter was traumatized. I tried to tell her that a bird or other animal that needed to eat would get a meal, but it didn't make her feel any better. Anybody suggest what I can tell her so that she won't feel so bad?

Shad_Master reply :

This "circle of life" stuff - I think you are on the right track by explaining this to her, but you have to believe it, too.

Beastie Bass reply :

Whoa that's a hard one! I have a 5 yr old boy and he's been fishing with me since he was 2. He started casting and actually fishing at 3! We usually just keep crappie and catfish but if a bass is mortally hooked and just wont recover, he gets cleaned and eaten too. It did'nt sound like y'all are keeping any to eat, so maybe you were on the right track telling her that some other critter needs to eat the bass. good luck

gotarheelz14 reply :

I used to be a tough nosed son of a gun when I was in my teens. I'm 21 now and god knows why but I have become a baby when it comes to animals. I think its all due to a wonderful family dog we all just got.

I had the exact same exact thing happen to me yesterday. It was about a three pound bass. Luckily, I think mine actually may have recovered though he was loosing a lot of blood. When I put him in the water, he was very weak and kind of floating. I grabbed him by the tail and ran water trough his gills by rocking him back and forth through the water. He eventually mustered enough strength to swim to the bottom and hang out down there for a while before moving on. I think was good in the long run.

I just hope to get better at fishing and improve my hooksets so that my fish don't swallow the hook but, as soon as they take it, I can hook 'em through their lip.

I know what your daughter is going through. I was quite traumatized myself yesterday... . Doing better today though. Give it some time, the little one should be good in a while.

Carlos

Smiths.R reply :

I love fishing and I love hunting, but slow deaths are not something I enjoy. I gut hooked a bass last night really well...he was bleeding profusely when he came out of the water. I steel myself with the same thought you mentioned; a snapper or raccoon has a free meal tonight. You could also mention that less 2 lb bass means more 10 lb bass.

kms399 reply :

I would have kept it, killed it humanely and explained the circle of life, we didn't want to kill this fish but these things happen and so we are going to eat it so that it is not wasted. I have explained this with my son and he seems fine with it. we keep fish all the time, mostly crappies or sunnies but it has worked for him, he is 4 btw

Grey Wolf reply :

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I used to be a tough nosed son of a gun when I was in my teens. I'm 21 now and god knows why but I have become a baby when it comes to animals. I think its all due to a wonderful family dog we all just got.
I had the exact same exact thing happen to me yesterday. It was about a three pound bass. Luckily, I think mine actually may have recovered though he was loosing a lot of blood. When I put him in the water, he was very weak and kind of floating. I grabbed him by the tail and ran water trough his gills by rocking him back and forth through the water. He eventually mustered enough strength to swim to the bottom and hang out down there for a while before moving on. I think was good in the long run.

I just hope to get better at fishing and improve my hooksets so that my fish don't swallow the hook but, as soon as they take it, I can hook 'em through their lip.

I know what your daughter is going through. I was quite traumatized myself yesterday... . Doing better today though. Give it some time, the little one should be good in a while.

Carlos

One of the worse things you could have done was rock it back and forth in the water.

Wayne P. reply :

Since the act of fishing is supposed to involve harvesting (you know: the FOOD thing) you should have taken it home, cleaned it, and had it for supper. Your daughter would see first hand where the McDonalds fish sandwich comes from.

Certainly your intent wasn't to go fishing to feed some birds or other animals.

If you are so concerned about injuring fish, don't fish. Stay home with your daughter and play video games.

Pathetic !!!!!

cccsguy reply :

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Since the act of fishing is supposed to involve harvesting (you know: the FOOD thing) you should have taken it home, cleaned it, and had it for supper. Your daughter would see first hand where the McDonalds fish sandwich comes from.
Certainly your intent wasn't to go fishing to feed some birds or other animals.

If you are so concerned about injuring fish, don't fish. Stay home with your daughter and play video games.

Pathetic !!!!!

You obviously don't have kids or class. And if you do have kids?--Lord help us all!!

Dockhead reply :

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...the act of fishing is supposed to involve harvesting...

It is?

That's news to me, especially as it pertains to bass fishing.

The new thing is called catch and release - I know it's a relatively new fad, but hopefully it will catch on.

I have friends who won't eat seafood of any kind, should I tell them they are not allowed to fish anymore??

Sure, taking it home and eating it would have been the best scenario, or maybe find someone to give it to who would eat it. But cccsguy did try to teach his daughter something in what can be a challenging situation.

I am just glad he is taking her fishing and NOT playing video games with her.

YNCBASSMAN reply :

the best thing to do when a bass swallows the hook like that is to cut the line. most of the time they will survive and the hook will naturally come out.

The Bassinator reply :

I have dealt with this a few times in my life mostly when I was young. I do not like to kill fish but after awhile it kind of takes a back seat and I don't think about it as much although I felt terrible at the time. You should keep on the circle of life aspect of it. But hey sometimes bad stuff just happens.

NorcalBassin reply :

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If you are so concerned about injuring fish, don't fish. Stay home with your daughter and play video games.
Pathetic !!!!!

Wow, that was helpful!

triglet reply :

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the best thing to do when a bass swallows the hook like that is to cut the line. most of the time they will survive and the hook will naturally come out.

This is what i practice. always been told that it would work its way out naturally. and i agree with the circle of life.

Catt reply :

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Since the act of fishing is supposed to involve harvesting (you know: the FOOD thing) you should have taken it home, cleaned it, and had it for supper. Your daughter would see first hand where the McDonalds fish sandwich comes from.
Certainly your intent wasn't to go fishing to feed some birds or other animals.

If you are so concerned about injuring fish, don't fish. Stay home with your daughter and play video games.

Pathetic !!!!!

Well said, God created bass to eat, man turned them into entertainment

cart7t reply :

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i was fishing with my 9yr old daughter yesterday and she hooked a 2lb bass with a trick worm. The bass hit the bait so hard that the hook was pretty much swallowed and the fish was bleeding pretty bad from the gills upon exit from the water. I had needle nose pliers and got the hook out relatively easy, but when we released the fish, the fish never recovered and swam away--it just floated on its side. My daughter was traumatized. I tried to tell her that a bird or other animal that needed to eat would get a meal, but it didn't make her feel any better. Anybody suggest what I can tell her so that she won't feel so bad?

Certainly don't tell her the truth.

Don't tell her what's in those fish sandwiches at Micky D's.

Don't let her know that in many parts of the world, people owe their very survival to harvesting fish in order to eat or sell to others.

Instead, explain to her how you find amusement in ramming a super sharp set of steel hooks into the mouths of one of God's creatures. That you really get turned on by that and that you'd like for her to eventually have the same feeling. Teach her that unfortunately, while you're pursuing that thrill, the fish stupidly inhale the hook too deeply, sometimes into it's gills if the fish is really stupid and the result is the death of the fish. Blame it all on the fish. It was it's own fault.

Whatever you do, don't tell her the truth about fishing, fish harvesting or what's in those fish sandwiches! She'll be emotionally scarred for life.

fishfordollars reply :

Fishing is a blood sport. It's not for the faint of heart.

Be honest with her.

Osprey39 reply :

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Since the act of fishing is supposed to involve harvesting (you know: the FOOD thing) you should have taken it home, cleaned it, and had it for supper. Your daughter would see first hand where the McDonalds fish sandwich comes from.
Certainly your intent wasn't to go fishing to feed some birds or other animals.

If you are so concerned about injuring fish, don't fish. Stay home with your daughter and play video games.

Pathetic !!!!!

This is a little more intense than I would have put it but I have to admit that I was thinking about the same thing when I first read this thread.

By the time I was the OP's daughter's age, I had seen many fish die. In fact, I had seen many fish flopping around on the point of a gaff and then clubbed into submission so they could be safely unhooked (talking saltwater here.) I never felt bad about it. In fact, I was happy because I knew we were going to have fish for dinner in the near future. Of course, I was taught from the time I was about 4 years old that when fishing and hunting, you eat what you kill or don't kill it.

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That's news to me, especially as it pertains to bass fishing.
The new thing is called catch and release - I know it's a relatively new fad, but hopefully it will catch on

Catch and release was something that was advocated heavily by Ray Scott so that BASS wouldn't get bad press by having a bunch of pro fisherman come onto a lake, catch a ton of fish that they kill and then leave. That tends to tick off the locals.

In their Largemouth Bass book, the In-Fisherman guys actually advocate selective harvest over knee-jerk catch & release, stating that it is better for the fish population to take some of the smaller fish to eat.

NateFollmer reply :

Maybe you could have told her it wasn't her fault and it was sick before she caught it? That's a tough one really. I mean, you don't want to flat out lie to her, but then again, you don't want her to feel bad (it was an accident).

Anyway, I've seen a few kids hook bluegill and it actually went through their eye. FYI, cut the hook as close to the eye as you can and push it back through. You'll do more damage trying to get the barb back out.

bear7625 reply :

I think you handled it the right way. Kids process information differently than adults. Things that are a big deal one day are forgotten the next. Keep it simple, sometimes more information is to much.

tyrius. reply :

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the best thing to do when a bass swallows the hook like that is to cut the line. most of the time they will survive and the hook will naturally come out.

This is actually outdated advice. The best thing to do is to get the hook out. Use the through the gill technique or carry cutters to cut the hook if necessary. Modern day hooks will remain in the bass' mouth for a LONG time and more than likely will not come out.

tyrius. reply :

Good lord people!!! He's talking about a 9 year old girl here!

It's perfectly natural for her to feel bad about accidently killing an animal while still eating fish sandwiches!!!

And to the OP, I doubt that there is anything that you could say that would make a difference. Your daughter is going to have to decide if she still enjoys fishing knowing that she will kill fish again in the future.

K_Mac reply :

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Good lord people!!! He's talking about a 9 year old girl here!
It's perfectly natural for her to feel bad about accidently killing an animal while still eating fish sandwiches!!!

And to the OP, I doubt that there is anything that you could say that would make a difference. Your daughter is going to have to decide if she still enjoys fishing knowing that she will kill fish again in the future.

Well said. I completely agree.

J Francho reply :

Take her to a pig farm on bacon day.

Paul Roberts reply :

We've become SO removed from nature that the "circle of life" is simply unknown in any real sense. Death is rare and foreign. Many simply avoid it. We have done it, abstracted ourselves from reality because we can. We have the intellectual architecture, the technology, and resulting affluence to have left traditional selective pressures behind. And most would agree that's a good thing. The comment made by an elder Lakota women from the turn of the last century echoes in my mind, "Much of the time people were just darn cold." On the flip-side though The lid is off! I like to say. We are now free to believe that we are really aliens from another galaxy, and get away with it! (I know people who believe this).

On top of this, the sheer amount of potentially disturbing input and influence from outside our homes is overwhelming. While I want reality, I feel the need to provide it to children (and adults in many cases) in proper doses so it's understandable and not traumatic. I also don't want to emotionally de-sensitize kids to important issues that WILL come to them in various ways in their lives.

As to human' and nature's relationship with animals, I started early to meet that issue with my young son. We are animal lovers too, but we try to keep it in proper perspective.

Some things my wife and I have purposely done:

-Comment on video content. Videos see powerful. These things were written by people that reflect what they think. If anyone says they side with Bambi I ask them to see it again, and ask themselves: Are the characters animal, or human? Is Bambi a deer or a boy? Bambi is really a violent story depicting murder and war. After you've watched it, ask yourself if it is appropriate for children. Dressing such a story up like a cartoon doesn't get past me. My son has not seen Bambi. But the myriad other, and more benign, depictions of animals he sees I always question with him: Are these real animals, or characters in a story? Or as simply as, Why does that rabbit have a human coat on? I don't destroy the story the funbut I make the difference known in my son's mind. When he does see Bambi, for instance, he'll have the raised eyebrow of a skeptic.

I make sure he watches reality too documentaries about nature are great, esp ones by David Attenborough, BBC, and NOVA. Not the sensationalized animals killing animals with no context or explanation stuff out there.

-Our family raises chickens for eggs and meat, and we maintain several gardens, and bee hives. We had a rooster once that was aggressive. He was named Floss, until he started attacking my son and his young friends. We explained that he was only protecting his flock. But my son dubbed him Soup after that. And eventually that's what we did with him. And the neighbor kids insisted on being able to come and enjoy a bowl of Soup soup.

-I hunt and fish, so my son has seen game come home and had it on his plate. I purposely take some fish home for my son to see and eat. He is fascinated by what's inside a fish and I show him the organs and their functions. He loves the process and I let him explore all he wants. If I'm back late, I'll even let him get out of bed to explore even on a school night.

Every spring since he was little we've gone on a bluegill hunt. It was my son's idea actually, when he was 3, inspired from reading about Indians. The power imbibed in procuring his own food was the motivation I think.

When my son was 7, I took him on his first real hunt. He's had his own archery gear for a long time (actually on his third bow by then) and I fashioned nifty mini-broadheads for some of his lightweight arrows to hunt rabbits. Now, my son's elementary classroom has domestic bunnies named Sunshine and Floppy, as well as Guinea pigs and chicks and ducks and other critters they've raised and grown attached to. My son cries hard when one dies. But he knows the difference between pets, independent wild creatures, and food. There are pets we care for and grow attached to, and there are wild rabbits that fend for themselves, and that we are predators too. He is able to make that distinction, without trauma. We even lost a rabbit once that was hit and managed to hole up. We both felt responsible, and we discussed it I checking in with him on his feelings. He said I was the faster and should have gotten to it quicker. He was right. He also said he hoped a fox or weasel would find it so it wouldn't go to waste.

My wife, an elementary teacher, has kids every year that are traumatized by simply the idea that animals get eaten in the wild. Very thoughtfully and gently, my wife eases them into a more realistic understanding of nature. But to me at home, she may roll her eyes and call such a state of being, pathetic.

We believe rich experience allowing an informed opinion is much better than the alternative. Ditto for sex, violence, abuse, politics, war, and other aspects of human existence that WILL come into my son's life. No topic is taboo in our house. But we do our best to regulate when and how it enters and we are prepared to discuss anything.

I guess , in a nutshell, since we don't live in nature anymore, we have to seek it out. But in balance with what the culture around us brings. We are not alone in the world and have responsibilities to community too. It's hard to keep a foot in both worlds and really, we don't. We live in an abstracted world and only rarely visit nature. So my job as a parent is to give those experiences and understandings to my son and others in my community in understandable steps. It's all a continuous work in progress, just like the circle of life.

Raul reply :

I 've always loved to watch TV documentaries, specially National Geography documentaries, I remember particularily this one about sea turtles, I must have been 5-6 years old, it 's been more than 40 years from that I visualize like if I 'm watching it right now when the baby turtles dig out and crawl on the beach to the sea as fast as they can trying desperately to reach the sea and a bunch of sea birds ( seagulls and other species ) eating them, I cried, my mom when she saw me crying only told me that it was Nature 's way and that death is a natural occurence that takes place every second of every day and that 'it has been going on since the birth of times, one species is the food of another.

Smiths.R reply :

A response that calls the OP pathetic if a joke...it's a little girl he's talking about.

If you knew it was going to die, the best thing to do would be kill it. A good heavy stick does the trick. Rocking it back and forth in the water...that's no good. Quick death > Slow Death

Crestliner2008 reply :

Bring a bottle of 7-Up with you when you go fishing. LM bass are very tenacious and can withstand deep hooking. The problem lies in stopping or slowing the bleeding so that they can survive. 7-Up does this. Just pour it in the bass's mouth and the make up of this beverage will dramatically slow the bleed, enabling a higher degree of successful releases.

BTW, after seeing Bambi when I was a kid, I stopped going to Disney movies. Even then I knew what a progressive was!

senile1 reply :

There is nothing wrong with feeling empathy for a dying animal. This is quite normal for anyone, young or old. When a young child is first exposed to an animal's death, especially one where the child was instrumental in the animal's demise, I would be worried if a child didn't feel these feelings. That feeling is part of respecting the life of the animal and its role in the food chain. Of course, logic must be used, and taught, to keep these feelings and emotions in perspective. Though we learn to accept that this is a part of the life cycle, it doesn't mean that we no longer feel empathy for the animal. Anytime I wound a bird and have to kill it by hand it is a necessary task, but it is not one I enjoy or feel neutral about. A clean kill where the bird is gone in an instant is much easier for the human psyche. The same is true for cleaning crappie that are still alive before the filleting begins.

NateFollmer reply :

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Bring a bottle of 7-Up with you when you go fishing. LM bass are very tenacious and can withstand deep hooking. The problem lies in stopping or slowing the bleeding so that they can survive. 7-Up does this. Just pour it in the bass's mouth and the make up of this beverage will dramatically slow the bleed, enabling a higher degree of successful releases.
BTW, after seeing Bambi when I was a kid, I stopped going to Disney movies. Even then I knew what a progressive was!

Great tip! I never knew that and I could give it to the fish because I hate 7-up

Gangley reply :

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Since the act of fishing is supposed to involve harvesting (you know: the FOOD thing) you should have taken it home, cleaned it, and had it for supper. Your daughter would see first hand where the McDonalds fish sandwich comes from.
Certainly your intent wasn't to go fishing to feed some birds or other animals.

If you are so concerned about injuring fish, don't fish. Stay home with your daughter and play video games.

Pathetic !!!!!

I agree to an extent. If you fish, you need to be responsible for the fish that get mortally injured. I hate gut hooking them, and I dislike seeing them bleeding profusely, but it happens, its inevitable, and most people have empathy for them when it happens, I know I do. When I do injure them beyond recovery though, I take them home to make sure they dont go to waste. With my 5 year old son, I tell him that since we injured the fish, its our fault that he is going to die, and so its our responsibility to make sure that he doesnt go to waste. We take him home and eat him. We dont throw him back and "hope for the best". However, I also have a daughter, and I won't be able to be as blunt with her when she comes of age because she wouldnt understand the "matter of fact" simplicity of the situation and just accept it like my boy does. The circle of life topic would definately be broached, but it would be with us taking the fish home to eat because we are the ones responsible for it's death.

ps, I would never recommend staying home and playing video games with kids instead of fishing with them.

cart7t reply :

Quote

Quote
Since the act of fishing is supposed to involve harvesting (you know: the FOOD thing) you should have taken it home, cleaned it, and had it for supper. Your daughter would see first hand where the McDonalds fish sandwich comes from.
Certainly your intent wasn't to go fishing to feed some birds or other animals.

If you are so concerned about injuring fish, don't fish. Stay home with your daughter and play video games.

Pathetic !!!!!

I agree to an extent. If you fish, you need to be responsible for the fish that get mortally injured. I hate gut hooking them, and I dislike seeing them bleeding profusely, but it happens, its inevitable, and most people have empathy for them when it happens, I know I do. When I do injure them beyond recovery though, I take them home to make sure they dont go to waste. With my 5 year old son, I tell him that since we injured the fish, its our fault that he is going to die, and so its our responsibility to make sure that he doesnt go to waste. We take him home and eat him. We dont throw him back and "hope for the best". However, I also have a daughter, and I won't be able to be as blunt with her when she comes of age because she wouldnt understand the "matter of fact" simplicity of the situation and just accept it like my boy does. The circle of life topic would definately be broached, but it would be with us taking the fish home to eat because we are the ones responsible for it's death.

ps, I would never recommend staying home and playing video games with kids instead of fishing with them.

Not sure I understand why a different explanation is needed for a girl, 5 years of age vs. a boy the same age. That young girl is just as capable of understanding the circle of life along with the taking of fish for consumption due to deep hooking as the young boy is.

Sounds like you're ready to patronize your daughter and not give her the benefit of the doubt for her emotional capabilities compared to your son. Children, even at that young of age, boy or girl, are quite capable of handling the emotions of a situation like that if the parent takes the time to explain it to them.

rboat reply :

Get a pair of long handled very sharp side-cutters. Handle the fish carefully cut the hook in half and the pieces slide out with very minimal injury. I can cut even those super braid thick hooks easily and return the fish quickly. This was recommended by a fish biologist. Your survival rate will be much higher on deep hooked bass.

Smiths.R reply :

Boys are different than girls. I would hope you would have noticed that by this point in your life.

Gangley reply :

Quote

Quote

Quote
Since the act of fishing is supposed to involve harvesting (you know: the FOOD thing) you should have taken it home, cleaned it, and had it for supper. Your daughter would see first hand where the McDonalds fish sandwich comes from.
Certainly your intent wasn't to go fishing to feed some birds or other animals.

If you are so concerned about injuring fish, don't fish. Stay home with your daughter and play video games.

Pathetic !!!!!

I agree to an extent. If you fish, you need to be responsible for the fish that get mortally injured. I hate gut hooking them, and I dislike seeing them bleeding profusely, but it happens, its inevitable, and most people have empathy for them when it happens, I know I do. When I do injure them beyond recovery though, I take them home to make sure they dont go to waste. With my 5 year old son, I tell him that since we injured the fish, its our fault that he is going to die, and so its our responsibility to make sure that he doesnt go to waste. We take him home and eat him. We dont throw him back and "hope for the best". However, I also have a daughter, and I won't be able to be as blunt with her when she comes of age because she wouldnt understand the "matter of fact" simplicity of the situation and just accept it like my boy does. The circle of life topic would definately be broached, but it would be with us taking the fish home to eat because we are the ones responsible for it's death.

ps, I would never recommend staying home and playing video games with kids instead of fishing with them.

Not sure I understand why a different explanation is needed for a girl, 5 years of age vs. a boy the same age. That young girl is just as capable of understanding the circle of life along with the taking of fish for consumption due to deep hooking as the young boy is.

Sounds like you're ready to patronize your daughter and not give her the benefit of the doubt for her emotional capabilities compared to your son. Children, even at that young of age, boy or girl, are quite capable of handling the emotions of a situation like that if the parent takes the time to explain it to them.

my daughter is tougher than my son. she doesnt complain near as much when she gets hurt, doesn't whine near as much, and can easily hang with boys older than her. Boys and girls at the age of 5 are both capable of understanding far more than the circle of life, girls in particular because they generally progress quicker mentally at that age than boys. But you missed the point, i wasnt referring to all boys or all girls, I was referring to one girl, my daughter who I am raising and interacting with every day. My circle of life comment was directed for her, not for all girls, just her. She is very tenderhearted when it comes to animals or insects. She is as advanced physically and mentally as my son was at her age, but she is far more emotional when it comes to animals and living things. Its not a matter of patronizing my daughter, its a matter of knowing how she reacts to animals/insects/any living thing getting hurt. My post was not to say that all girls need the circle of life speach because they dont, just as many boys need it as girls because its not determined by the child's sex, its about empathy, and some children have more than others. My daughter is not one to accept and listen to "its the way it is, get over it" and be fine with it, but my boy is. That is not to say she isnt tough, or isnt as resilient physically or mentally, its just that she is very tenderhearted towards living things, much more so than my son was at that age. Because of that, she will require more finnesse than he will, and its not because she is a girl! Its because she is much more tenderhearted than he is and requires a little more understanding to accept animals being hurt.

FishingBuds reply :

I was always able to cut the line and push the hook thru instead of rip out.

Now if it completely swallowed it? Finish it off for yourself or another animal

TxHawgChaser1 reply :

whenever you hook one deep- when it doubt give them the hook--- they will swim off and the hook will eventually rust out...

tyrius. reply :

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whenever you hook one deep- when it doubt give them the hook--- they will swim off and the hook will eventually rust out...

As I mentioned earlier. The hook will not rust out in time to have no effect on the fish. The only way to get the hook out is to use the through the gill technique or cut the hook.

Modern tempered steel hooks do not rust away to nothing.

Hot Rod reply :

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As I mentioned earlier. The hook will not rust out in time to have no effect on the fish. The only way to get the hook out is to use the through the gill technique or cut the hook.
Modern tempered steel hooks do not rust away to nothing.

I caught a 2lber early this spring that had a 3/0 EWG lodged in its side. The point and barb was about to be passed but the eye end of the hook had worn a dime size wound channel right through the side of the fish. It still had a tag of line attached to it.

Now this was very early spring so it probably swallowed it last fall, if not before that. The hook showed no sign of rusting and had been in there for months.

I was able to cut it and extract it and send the fish on its way. Still amazed that that fish lived with a big hole in its side clear through to its stomach.

TrackerG reply :

Something that nobody has commented on....the legal issue. I believe that to put a fish back that will obviously not recover is something on the order of destruction of wildlife. Just saying other wildlife need to eat is an unacceptable solution.

in my opinion, how you explain it to your kids is up to you, but the lesson to teach is responsibility for game and if your hunting and fishing, that is your responsibility.

J Francho reply :

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Something that nobody has commented on....the legal issue. I believe that to put a fish back that will obviously not recover is something on the order of destruction of wildlife. Just saying other wildlife need to eat is an unacceptable solution.

To do otherwise up here is against the law until the third Saturday in June. As far as "destruction to wildlife" I'd say grow up, or find another hobby that doesn't involve hooks.

TrackerG reply :

Just in case i was misinterpreted. the destruction of wildlife comment is not to infer in any way that I'm against hunting and fishing. Quite the opposite!! I was merely pointing out the infraction of the law. I'm not sure of the correct wording but to kill a game animal and waste it is a pretty serious offense in Wyoming.

grimlin reply :

It happens. If you can take it home then take it home. If you are under a law like J Francho and Me, let it go and let the other critters and wildlife eat it.It's not the end of the world when it happens.

I HATE keeping Smallmouth Bass,but once a year i always deep hook one that just Impossible to remove without killing it.I take it home or give it to somebody who is fishing for food next to me.

Just think,how many fish we C & R that don't make it and we didn't even know it dies later on. This can make you think sometimes.If it does bother you,I'd suggest stop fishing as well... ;D

timothy_spain reply :

gut hooked on pretty bad on sunday evening. couldn't get the hook out. being it's C&R in Michigan, i had to let the guy go, so i left the hook.

maybe a pike had him for dinner?

BassThumb reply :

There have been many mortality studies released that show that no matter careful and skilled a person is at catching and releasing fish, there will still be many accidental deaths. Some studies say that as many as 20%+ of released fish will die. After all, the sport we love involves violently driving hooks through live flesh, so we can't really be surprised that there are deaths.

Fish deaths are an unfortunate fact of the sport, but nothing is wasted in nature. It's lousy to think of the hundreds of bass that I have released that died and ended up as crustacean, minnow, and muskrat food. Hopefully something good came of it, something that benefitted the ecosystem. All I can do is try to do my best to conserve the resource while still enjoying my favorite hobby.

I'm really glad I don't have to explain this to a traumatized kid. :-/

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&q=catch+and+release+mortality+statistics&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

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fish doesnt recover from hookset 2024

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