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???

Scott Hanners