Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations gut hooked bass

i wanted to share a story with yall about a gut hooked bass..first of all i fished lots of tournaments back in the day and was always around alot of bass fishermen. the common thought was if you hooked a bass deep, cut the line and leave the hook in him. everybody said the fish body chemistry would rust the hook away in a matter of days..well back in the summer i caught a fish in my pond, gut hooked him with a plastic worm. i cut the line and left the hook in him. i got to thinking about it and did a little research online. i read where someone had done a study and said it is best to leave the hook in the fish but always leave about 18" of line attached to the hook. supposedly the line will help pull the hook to the side so the fish can still eat..a few days later, i gut hooked another fish deep so i cut the hook off leaving a foot or so of line attached. a few months later (probably 3 months) i caught him again, still had the hook and line in him..all of my bass a skinny, but he wasnt any skinnier than the rest of them..i assume he is able to eat just fine...i wonder though, how long does it take the hook to rust out???

I don't know, but I hooked a LMB deep with a baited 4/0 hook. I caught the same LMB a couple of months later and the LMB was significantly thinner, with no change in the hood compostition. I removed the LMB.

IIRC, Bob Lusk had a LMB that had a plastic worm stuck in it's gullet and it caused problems for the fish. I think it died or was very close to death.

From my experience the hooks don't rust out as fast as people think. I wonder if the "gold" hooks ever do.

I once had a taxidermy student for the weekend and his dad tagged along. A really nice pair of individuals. I let the dad fish the pond I had at the time with a fly rod for bluegills. I forgot to tell him about the aggressive large bass in the pond. Anyway one snapped him off and I could see the that bass every day when I went down to feed with a popper stuck in the side of his mouth. One day as I was contemplating if the hook was going to rust out, it suddenly floated to the surface. Upon examination It had not rusted at all and apparently just worked its way loose.

On a funny note a few years ago I let a couple guys fish my pond. One of him tied his own flies but he rubbed me the wrong way as he was quite the moocher. We had gone fishing before and he never paid for anything and was too lazy to keep fish as he didn't want to clean them. I didn't go fishing with him again. Anyway a trout broke him off and he lost his fly which was a fancy one with big eyes etc. He told me when the fly showed up again he would like it back as it was an expensive one to tie.

About a week later a friend hooked a fish and sure enough the fancy fly was still in his mouth. He said he really liked the fly and wondered if he could keep it. He'd like to see if he could tie one like it. I said, "sure."
The moocher guy once asked me if that fly ever showed up again. I said, "nope."

There was a letter from a guy in a recent PB mag issue about how he could get the hooks out without hurting the fish. I read it twice but I still don't really understand the technique.

I've tried a lot of ways but, if it takes me too long and I still don't have success, then I usually just figure that leaving the hook will give the fish a chance whereas keeping it out of the water for too long while I attempt "surgery" is probably worse.

I've gotten to where I'll try setting the hook too soon and miss the fish rather than let them hold it for as long as I used to and take a chance on killing it. That's another reason I like fishing spinnerbaits and big crankbaits when they are working - much less chance of hurting the fish.

I'm still hoping to learn more about the best ways to handle a deep-hooked fish.

Stupid question. What's the definition of "gut hooked"?

For me, it's when I look down the fishes' mouth and only see the eye of the hook and maybe part of the shank.

I got a #4 hook in the skin between the thumb and forefinger in June. It was actually somehow thrown in with some towing straps. I got it while straightening out a tow line to pull out a truck, which was trying to pull out a UTV, etc. Anyway, I kept working and it had gotten too sore to remove by the time I tried. I pulled the skin back toward the barb so the shank was not exposed and cut it. It has been very sensitive to the touch. Now I can still feel a small bit, but not too sensitive. It has dissolved, but has taken a long time.
If you think there is a danger of deep hooking, get cheap hooks; try different types in weak solution of caustic and watch for results. My opinion is that if always under water, it will not rust but may dissolve in due time, but probably too late. May as well enjoy the meal. Use circle hooks with live bait.

Yeah that's about right. I put 2 bass in my pond that were gut hooked and 3 weeks later I caught the one and the hook was still there but I got it out. I have not caught him again. The other one I have never caught and he may have died?? They make a neat little tool that will help you get out the hook on those types of fish. You slide it down the shank of the hook and push down till it comes out and then pull it up and out. If you search the archives you may find the post with the picture of it. I can't remember what it's called.

Here is a thread from last year on removing deep hooks.

http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=11583&Number=128878#Post128878

I remember the letter in the magazine that Al Davis is talking about. I also read it several times and couldn't figure out exactly what he meant. I'd love to see an extended explanation with some pictures.

I've used barbless hooks which help some. Some fish will get away, but it's much easier to unhook the ones you catch and less stressful for the fish.

In my tacklebox I keep the plastic housing from a ball point pen with all of the insides removed, leaving just a long hollow plastic cylinder that's open on both ends. When I gut hook a fish I run this down the line, over the stem of the hook, and use it to push down and hopefully disengage the hook. Using the right combination of pushing down on the hook with the pen and pulling up on the line I can often get the hook out pretty easily, especially if it's barbless.

To try to protect the fish on our pond, we only allow people to use barbless hooks. this doesn't always help with a gut hook, but I have been able to work some hooks free that were pretty deep. People loose a few more fish than normal, but they come off the hook real easy. We do the same thing when we go to Canada to fish.

There is more than one way for the hook to go also. In July I caught a healthy 17" bass (Wr ~110 just like the rest of the bass in the pond) with a 2/0 worm hook dangling out his back end. I saw it and reached down to pull it out. Just the very last 1/8 inch of the point of the hook was still in; the barb was further up and already out of the fish.

As soon as I touched the hook it fell right out. The hook was completely untarnished - no rust whatsoever. Didn't figure a hook could make it all the way through the digestive system of a bass, much less a hook that size. I don't have a clue how long it would take either, but apparently not long enough to even discolor the hook, much less dissolve it. The area around his vent did look a little redder than normal, definitely a little sore.

The hook was a wide gap Gamakatsu for those interested.

i caught a fish years ago with the same situation ( hook coming out of its rear end) i thought someone was being evil and put it there..looks like it would be impossible for one to pass a hook thru its guts!!