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| Question. When you are forced to cut hooks out of a fish, do you leave the hook (cut off) in the fishes mouth or do you try to get those out also. Thanks |
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| Dear Guest---you should ALWAYS try and remove the hook parts when/where time allows. The main goal however, is to get the fish released as quickly as possible. The hook points will rust out in time---but we need to release the fish asap---good question--- I see alot of guys that are struggling to get hooks out of fish when cutting them would be a better option and overall better for our fisheries. Good luck--Jobu |
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| I would try to remove every last piece of hook from the fish. I even go as far as to cut the pieces in such a way that they don't fall down the throat of the fish.
Remember that as long as the fish is completely under water in a treated net bag, there is no real hurry. Take your time and work carefully.
Brian
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Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | Always try to get the pieces out if at all possible. I can't think of a situation where I wasn't able to remove the pieces after cutting. Also, I'm still not convinced that musky sized hooks will rust out. I think it's more likely that the fish would get a sore or heal up around the hook. Not sure what the effects of healing up around a hook are, but I would make sure to get them out.
Here's a tip, when you cut them, make sure you don't cut flush to the meat. Leave plenty so you can grab them with pliers and pull them out.
curleytail
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Location: Contrarian Island | yes, get the pieces out as others have said...also, imho more guys should cut hooks from the start and not make it a "when you are forced to" decision....I have seen guys unhooking or trying to unhook muskies and for the life of me don't understand instead of twisting and mangling the fish they don't take the 5 seconds to grab the Knipex and snip away...hooks are .25 cents... I cut a lot of hooks per year but the fish are in better shape than if I hadn't....
Edited by BNelson 3/7/2011 1:20 PM
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Posts: 697
Location: Minnetonka | Good question for sure. Removing all pieces, I think, is a good idea. If I can grab it and pull it out, without harming the fish, great. But, if the hooks are anywhere in or near the tongue, gills, or throat I'll opt to leave the pieces in and hopefully rust/fall out over time, rather than possibly damaging a vital artery and causing blood loss.
Per the "no real hurry" - I believe this is only a half truth. While it is good to be calculated and accurate with your hook extraction, it's also good to get the fish back to it's comfort zone, and most of the time that's not on the surface of the water. For much of the muskie season, surface water temps can be quite a bit higher than the rest of the water column and not healthy for a battle-stressed muskie (less oxygen). Work quickly, cut hooks if necessary, and get the fish back to its home. |
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Posts: 496
| Agree with Brad, It is so easy to just cut em . I don't second guess it ......snip snip done .I have caught too many fish with the side of the jaw missing , rotten etc. |
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Posts: 136
Location: Chicago | Don't buy buy the cheap hook cutters sold in most places, but save and spend the cash on Knipex. Had a badly hooked 47" that when I went to cut the hooks the cheapo just completely snapped apart. With no backups the whole process became a two man operation that left the fish pretty tore up. She swam off good but I still felt pretty bad tearing up the jaw like that. We got through the week with a pair of Klein's but my next pair was Knipex. |
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Posts: 433
Location: Cedarburg, Wisconsin | Absolutely get rid of all the hooks you cut off if possible. Only one time did I ever have to leave a hook part in a fish. The fish was hooked from the outside by the rear treble and the hook was in the bottom area between the gills. I pulled and it was evident it wasn't going to come out without ripping the fish to pieces, so I cut it as close to the skin as possible and released the fish. I was mad as heck I couldn't get that hook out, but there was nothing else I could have done besides cutting it out with my pocket knife and I figured leaving it in was the lesser of the dangers to the fish.
Lots of times you try to remove a treble hook and it just plain won't come out. The problem isn't it is in so deep or in a hard area, just that you are fighting the other hook points. You clip one or two points and the other hook parts darn near fall out. So what looked like a major undertaking takes just a few seconds and the fish is free.
The one thing that really drives me nuts is when you have a supposed "big name" fisherman making a video and they clip the hook off and toss the fish back with no effort whatsoever to get rid of the hook parts still in the fish. |
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Posts: 551
Location: Columbus, Georgia | I believe that hook barbs that fall down the throat of a Musky when a hook is cut will never "rust out." I suppose they stand a good chance of killing that fish in fairly short order. How would we Muskie fisherman do with hook barbs in our own stomach?
I use a cutter that has magnets. When you cut a hook the pieces (theoretically) stick to the magnets, and experience has shown that they work as advertised.
I use the Knipex cutters when the hook is mostly out of the fishes mouth and the chances of debris falling down their throat is slim to none.
Edited by cjrich 3/7/2011 4:54 PM
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Posts: 463
Location: Sw Pennsylvania | Anymore unless there is only treble point or its easy to get the hooks out i cut them all. When fishing solo its definitely the way to go, safer for the fish and safer for the fisherman. |
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Posts: 143
Location: Lake of The Woods | Does banyone have a clue where i can find knipex in bulk, say 50-100 pairs??? |
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Posts: 469
Location: MN | Ryan Marlowe - 3/7/2011 7:32 PM Does banyone have a clue where i can find knipex in bulk, say 50-100 pairs??? For such large order I'd contact Knipex directly
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| Do everything you can to get the cutoff hooks out of the fish before releasing it. Maybe consider foregoing the whole photo/measuring process of badly hooked fish as most the time they have already been through more than enough. Also, as with any fish you don't need measurements or a photo of, instead of grabbing the fish to lift it out of the net to release, simply flip the net over to let the fish swim out on it's own to avoid putting anymore physical stress on the fish. Try pinching down ALL of your barbs too. Many times if a fish is hooked in a touchy area (gills, tongue, throat, eye etc.), the hook pulls out WAY easier than if you were to leave the barbs on. Also, without the barb it creates cleaner and smaller entry/exit wounds that do less damage and heal better. Yes, you may loose a few fish because of it, but you also hook more fish because you don't have a big barb stopping the hook from penetrating all the way to the curve of the hook. That's another discussion though! |
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Posts: 374
Location: Bemidji | And if you forget your Knipex at home just ask Waldera he always has an extra set. |
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Cutting hooks