"Jim tenHaaf" said:
Since we're talking alot about killing fish, I thought I'd get some input on the decision to cut a hook. At what point does it become better for the fish to have one barb in him, than to wait a few more seconds to back the hook out?
If it is more than a quick twist to get the fish unhooked I'm cutting the hook. Sure it might take a couple minutes to put a new hook on and sharpen it but cutting makes life so much easier. Anytime I've got a fish that has inhaled the bait I will cut the hook at the split ring to get the lure and associated hooks out of the way then I'll go to work on the hook(s) that are in the back of the mouth. When you cut hooks, you aren't leaving the cut hook in the fish. Once cut it is usually easy to get the rest of the hook out of the fish.
"Will Schultz" said:
Once cut it is usually easy to get the rest of the hook out of the fish.
I guess I've never thought of cutting the hooks just to make it easier to unhook the rest of the way. Whenever I hear "I had to cut the hooks", I think of cutting the tines off and leaving the fragments of the hook imbedded to rust away later. Not a good idea?
I could care less about a few cents for a hook. I'm not talking about leaving the whole hook in her either. I understand that could clamp the mouth shut.
"Jim tenHaaf" said:
[quote="Will Schultz"]Once cut it is usually easy to get the rest of the hook out of the fish.
I guess I've never thought of cutting the hooks just to make it easier to unhook the rest of the way. Whenever I hear "I had to cut the hooks", I think of cutting the tines off and leaving the fragments of the hook imbedded to rust away later. Not a good idea?
once you cut the hooks you can pull the hook through with (not against) the barb which makes it a lot easier.
"jasonvkop" said:
[quote="Jim tenHaaf"][quote="Will Schultz"]Once cut it is usually easy to get the rest of the hook out of the fish.
I guess I've never thought of cutting the hooks just to make it easier to unhook the rest of the way. Whenever I hear "I had to cut the hooks", I think of cutting the tines off and leaving the fragments of the hook imbedded to rust away later. Not a good idea?
once you cut the hooks you can pull the hook through with (not against) the barb which makes it a lot easier.
I've thought about that too, and it seems very feasible. But worst case scenario….. The hook is embedded in the jaw bone way in the back of the mouth. Now what?
"Jim tenHaaf" said:
I've thought about that too, and it seems very feasible. But worst case scenario….. The hook is embedded in the jaw bone way in the back of the mouth. Now what?
I've never encountered a hook that couldn't be removed from a fish but that isn't to say that it couldn't happen. Usually if it is stuck in something solid the lure moving around during the fight makes a big hole and slips right out. Deep hooks are normally stuck in something soft and cutting the hook that is stuck at the bend and removing the cut piece is easy. A couple times a year I'll run into a fish with hooks that need to be cut by going in the back door through the gill cover.
hopefully someone that knows more on the subject will chime in later. This topic was talked about awhile ago on here and I think I remember these muskies hooks wont rust out like bass hooks do. Therefore they will stick with the fish for many years and hurt the fish in a couple of ways. First of all I think it might be poisonous for the fish and second it will hinder their hunting/eating abilities and wont be able to catch/eat the food needed. Again, I dont know much on the topic so dont go 100% by what i say.
"Esoxonthefly" said:
Does flattening/grinding down the barbs help with this situation? If there are no barbs to get caught, the hook should come out much easier, right? Not that I'm opposed to cutting hooks, I was just wondering.
takes a lot less time to just cut the hook than grind the barb down in the fish's mouth. Also very dangerous to try and grind it down while hooked to the fish. If youre talking about doing it on all your baits before fishing then yes it will be easier to get out of the fish but you might not catch as many.
I understand that cutting the hook is a very simple maneuver, and at a low cost and I won't hesitate to do it but…every bait you use usually has a different size hook on it, and I can't stand putting a hook on that is even slightly different than the one I had on before. So what I am saying is I hate it when I have to cut the hook, cuz usually I am back at the bait shop with my favorite lure trying to match it up with the right hook. I have like ten baits sitting around here that I have never found the proper hook for. Is there a place you can go to that you can just buy one big huge box of assorted trebles that you can pick and choose from?
Michelle and I cut a lot of hooks and that is one of the reason my Slashers and Little Claws only come with 2x strong hooks. They cut easy and hook very well. Some lures have hooks that are so far over the top in hardness that it takes large bolt cutters to break the metal. I carry very large jaw spreaders to open the big mouth up so I can remove any hooks or hook parts with super long handled pliers. Cut the hooks loose from the net asap. And get that lure out of the way. That way if she rolls you can just unroll her eh? Dont forget to tie your tools to a rope or she will knock them in the lake for you. Mike
"Abomb" said:
I have like ten baits sitting around here that I have never found the proper hook for. Is there a place you can go to that you can just buy one big huge box of assorted trebles that you can pick and choose from?
That is a pretty interesting idea…
What if we got five people together and each purchased two boxes of the 20 most common hook models/sizes then split them up. Hmmm….
Nah! 
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"jasonvkop" said:
hopefully someone that knows more on the subject will chime in later. This topic was talked about awhile ago on here and I think I remember these muskies hooks wont rust out like bass hooks do. Therefore they will stick with the fish for many years and hurt the fish in a couple of ways. First of all I think it might be poisonous for the fish and second it will hinder their hunting/eating abilities and wont be able to catch/eat the food needed. Again, I dont know much on the topic so dont go 100% by what i say.
Sorry I missed this before…
The idea that hooks will rust out is a myth, hooks aren't going to rust out. Not bass hooks, not muskie hooks and not even not even a bronze hook in salt water.
The following is from Hooks In or Out? by Ralph Manns
Some years ago, Doug Hannon noted that most magazine articles and state publications recommend leaving hooks in bass and other fish to "rust" out. He claimed that hooks don't rust fast enough, even in salt water; and suggested that the shank of a hook pointing up the throat of a bass acts like a lever or trap door that prevents swallowing. Bass can die of starvation while waiting for normal body processes to eject the hook. Food coming down a bass' throat will bypass a hook-shank, IF the shank lies tightly against the side of the throat where the barb is lodged. However, if the shank protrudes into the throat, food coming down can push the shank across the esophagus, blocking it. Deep-hooked bass may even feel pain as the food rotates the barb and regurgitate the food. Recently, Hannon's observations have been scientifically verified. John Foster, Recreational Fisheries Coordinator for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, studied striped bass at Chesapeake Bay. His researchers held throat-hooked stripers between 16- and 28-inches long for observation in half-strength seawater so that hooks had ample opportunity to rust away. Size 1/0 and 2/0 stainless steel, bronzed, nickel, tin and tin-cadmium hooks were hooked in the top of each fish's esophagus, with an 18-inch length of line connected to the hook.
After four months, 78 percent of the hooks were still imbedded. Cadmium coated hooks poisoned 20 percent of the fish, and production of these hooks has been stopped. Bronzed hooks were less likely (70%) to be retained than tin-cadmium (80%), nickel (83%), or stainless steel (100%) hooks.
In a second test, the line was clipped at the eye of the hook, as advised by most existing C&R guides. One-hundred percent of the stainless hooks were again retained, while 56 percent of tin, 76 percent of bronze, 84 percent of tin-cadmium, and 88 percent of nickel hooks remained. Fish mortality was greater when all line was trimmed. Foster theorized that the lengths of line hanging from a fish's mouth kept the hook-shank flat against the side of the esophagus and allowed food to pass. Without the line, food could move the hook and close the throat.
Hooks rusted slowly in stages, and the bend and barb became smaller very gradually. Stripers formed scar tissue around imbedded hook points, a typical reaction of body tissue to foreign matter. Foster noted, however, that once the tough scar tissue formed, hooks became more, not less, difficult to remove. Months after fish were hooked, infections sometimes developed around points, causing some deaths.
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To back Will up here, I had a fish in Canada that had a piece of a hook in it that appeared to have been there for a long time… like from possibly the previous season. You could tell the person just cut the hooks and then let the fish go. Probably not a big deal most of the time but it is definitely a myth that hooks just dissolve like Alka Seltzer.
I try to keep a lot of hooks in my boat so I won't hesitate to cut them for any reason. If a fish rolls in the net and the hooks are tangled, I'll cut the hooks to get the head back in the water asap. On gill-hooked fish I almost always cut them and then pick the pieces out. Same thing on fish that hooked deeply in the jaw… rather than tugging and tugging… I'll cut them and either push or pull the barb out.
I would like some opinions on what to do when fish are hooked deeply in the underside by any internal organs…
"John E. Sox" said:
I would like some opinions on what to do when fish are hooked deeply in the underside by any internal organs…
That is the scary stuff right there… I've watched fish die in the net that got a hook in their heart. It sucks to know that no matter what you do there's no possible way that fish is going to leave under its own power. For fish hooked in other places on the body the hook usually slides out easily because they tear skin around the hook during the fight. As long as the hook hasn't torn a big hole the fish should heal as long as the hook is removed.
"finlander" said:
Esox I think was referring to grinding the barbs prior to use. Will said he pinches them down. It surely would make for a quicker release.
Thats what i figured. Easiest way to do that is just crimp the barb down with a bar of pliers. Will help with unhooking but will probably lose some holding ability during the fight.
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