Jeff I have had some fish that got infections from hooks and released them. I have caught these fish again and the infection seemed to have gotten worse. You probably made the right decision. If you are feeding your bass, having a fish food with vitamins seems to help. The owner of a bass fish farm told me that the food that they feed really makes a difference in the ablity of the fish to fight off infections. He only feeds silver cup fish food but I would think there are many other brands that are very good also. It is 45% protein and has vitamins A,D and E.