How to take a hook out of a fish if it is swallowed?
ByMy son and daughter love to fish and my husband works alot so I have taken them a few times. We want to throw the fish back…all of them, we dont eat fish. How do you take the hook out if it is swallowed and is the fish going to die if it swallows the hook. What i have been doing is(i feel horrible) cutting the line and throwing the poor fish back with the hook in. My friend and I did take the hook out of a fish that swallowed it and it died. We felt horrible, and were wondering if we should be fishing. but the kids love it! they caught 2 big large mouth bass today and a few sunny’s. Thanks, i am obviously an amateur
Thank you! I am relieved to hear that the hook will disinagrate, i was hoping they would. So if it is swallowed deep i will just cut the line and not feel to badly for the little fishy. I hate the sound of ripping gills, freaks me out and cant do it. Hopefully in a few years my son can handle that part and i can just sit there.
thanks again for the answers. christoph.. thats what i said to my friend, if it does float something else will eat…the circle of life. still very happy to hear cutting the line is best. now i wont feel to badly about taking my kids fishing.
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10 Comments
January 29th, 2011 at 12:51 pm
if the hook is swallowed deeply the best thing to do is to cut the line as close to the hook as possible and get the fish back in the water quickly it will rust out and do less damage than trying to remove it. if it is not to deep there are a couple of methods you can use there are several commercial dehookers here in florida for saltwater fishing it is mandantory that you carry a hook disgorger on your boat this normally has a t shaped handle that comes down to what looks like the letter N on the bottom used to push the hook down and get the barb free another option would be to take a pair of pliers and mash down the barb on the hook you will not lose that many fish and it will make hook removal alot easier. if you are on a budget or unsure of how to use a commercial disgorger carry a pencil or a short stick with you open the fishes mouth slide the stick down to the hook and while holding the line tight against the stick hang the fish down and twirl it around and the hook will pop right out this is a old florida cracker trick. hope this helps and wasnt to long winded
January 29th, 2011 at 1:42 pm
Okay, the easiest thing to do is use barbless hooks. As long as the kids keep pressure on the fish they shouldn’t lose any more than normal. Being without a barb, they’ll come out easy with a pair of needle nose pliers. If you can’t find barbless, take your pliers and crimp the barb down on any barbed hook. I’ve always had the best luck with needle nose pliers or a pair of hemostats (surgical forceps). If the fish is hooked in the throat, tongue, or gill the safest thing to do is cut the line as close to the hook as possible. I’ve read studies that show as long as you’re using freshwater hooks, the hook will disintegrate in about a weeks time. Hope this helps. Tight lines.
January 29th, 2011 at 1:56 pm
To make it quick, you don’t remove the hook if the fish swallowed it. This means if the hook is in it’s throat, just cut the line and release the fish, The hook will be naturally disgorged by the fish or will dissolve on it’s own within days. No harm to the fish. If the hook is deep in it’s mouth but not the throat, you can use a simple hook dislodger and then release the fish. If the hook is obviously stuck around the gill area, this will be a 50/50 situation and it’s just best to cut the line and release the fish with as little handling as possible. This is true with all applications of ” J’ hooks. Maybe you’d like to try circle hooks, they catch most fish by the jaw. No need to set the hook, just keep a tight line and reel ‘em in, the fish hooks itself. You also mentioned “sunny’s.” I’m not sure if they make circle hooks that small but you may want to use, ” J” hooks with long shanks. This will help you to remove the hook easier . Another thing is to keep your eyes on the line. To prevent a fish from swallowing a hook is to know when to set the hook. When you feel pressure on the line, 3-5 seconds after the bobber/float goes under or when the line starts moving on it’s own. You’ll get a feel for it the more you fish, it’s all about practice because practice makes perfect. ; ) ~good luck catchin’.
January 29th, 2011 at 2:03 pm
The above answers are all great advice. I would also recommend this tool.
What you have is a tool with a small ball at one end and a big ball at another end. Which ball you used is depending on the size of the fish.Along the shaft there’s a cut out for the line to be inserted to. Here is how to use this tool.
1.Insert the ball into the mouth of the fish.
2. Grab the line and insert it into the slit of the shaft.
3. Using the line as a guide push the tool towards the hook while keeping the line taught,.
4. Push down on the tool and pull up lightly on the line.
If you do it right the hook will be pushed out of the fish and will enter an empty cavity in the ball. Keep the line and hook in the tool while you pull it out of the fish. When you get good at doing this it will benefit both you and the fish. It takes a few tries to but is well worth it. Good Luck
January 29th, 2011 at 2:22 pm
i feel bad about that too. the fish should live like everyone else said.
January 29th, 2011 at 3:10 pm
cut the line as close to the hook. if it’s bleeding and it turns up side down one you put in to the water try to get some water into it’s gills. if it doesn’t take off you can ether keep or say it is food for some thing else and send it down the river. I hate one that happens put what my uncle says shit happens there’s nothing what you can do about.
January 29th, 2011 at 3:42 pm
cut the line as close to the hook as possible
January 29th, 2011 at 4:42 pm
Most of the answers are right on the money. Cut the line and let them go. I believe they will survive. I have caught fish with line sticking out of their mouth and a hook still in them. They still have the will to survive.
January 29th, 2011 at 4:54 pm
dont worry about it just cut the line as close to the hook as possible just let him go i know how you feel i used to hate myself for it untill i learned that they will live good luck and good fishing
January 29th, 2011 at 5:14 pm
Cut the line