10-01-2010, 11:10 AM
[cool][#0000ff]There are likely to be different opinions on this question. Here are my observations, from past study and personal experience.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]First, as I already mentioned, a fish will definitely have a higher percentage of survival potential if you cut the hook off and release it than it will if you rassle with it for a half hour and eventually tear the hook out. The trauma and stress of the forced removal alone will likely result in the fish being belly up when you put it in the water. Even if it swims away it will likely die later.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Do fish "eliminate" hooks left in them? Sometimes. But it is more common for the hooks to disengage from the fish eventually and to be passed out of the digestive system than to "dissolve" inside the fish. I have caught quite a few fish over the years with hooks protruding from the rear orifice and leader going up into the cavity. But, I have also caught quite a few fish with bits of leader protruding from the mouth. That indicates that somebody DID cut them off and that they survived well enough to continue living and feeding.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have to say that of all the fish that I have kept and filleted there have been very few with hooks embedded in the throat or stomach. Any hooks left in the fish I have caught have either passed through or have otherwise been "processed". And almost all the hooks I have observed still inside a fish have been either recently cut off or were very good hooks that resisted "dissolving". No evidence of a fishes' strong digestive juices breaking down the metal of the hooks.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That being said, it is widely promoted that using basic steel or bronze finish hooks will be better for the fish if you have to leave them inside a fish. Using stainless steel or anodized hooks adds a barrier to the steel that slows down or prevents the hooks from breaking down within a short time. But, again, most hooks eventually pass through the system if the fish survives the initial trauma.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I also have observed that some fish are able to dislodge the hooks (and attached bait) and barf them back up. That happens often with the catfish I put in my basket...after cutting off a swallowed hook. When I dump the fish out into my cooler there is sometimes a chunk of bait with a hook in it laying in the bottom of the basket. It was solidly hooked inside the gullet or stomach when I cut off the line, but the fish was able to dislodge and disgorge it by itself. I do not fish bait for trout or keep ones with hooks in their innards so I have no standard of comparison with that species.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I don't recall catching more than a couple of catfish over the years that had hooks in their innards. But, I have caught a few that had lures or hooks still solidly attached to their lips...and had broken off from other anglers. As most who have caught kitties will attest, they have tough skin around their mouths and hook removal can be difficult.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]First, as I already mentioned, a fish will definitely have a higher percentage of survival potential if you cut the hook off and release it than it will if you rassle with it for a half hour and eventually tear the hook out. The trauma and stress of the forced removal alone will likely result in the fish being belly up when you put it in the water. Even if it swims away it will likely die later.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Do fish "eliminate" hooks left in them? Sometimes. But it is more common for the hooks to disengage from the fish eventually and to be passed out of the digestive system than to "dissolve" inside the fish. I have caught quite a few fish over the years with hooks protruding from the rear orifice and leader going up into the cavity. But, I have also caught quite a few fish with bits of leader protruding from the mouth. That indicates that somebody DID cut them off and that they survived well enough to continue living and feeding.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I have to say that of all the fish that I have kept and filleted there have been very few with hooks embedded in the throat or stomach. Any hooks left in the fish I have caught have either passed through or have otherwise been "processed". And almost all the hooks I have observed still inside a fish have been either recently cut off or were very good hooks that resisted "dissolving". No evidence of a fishes' strong digestive juices breaking down the metal of the hooks.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]That being said, it is widely promoted that using basic steel or bronze finish hooks will be better for the fish if you have to leave them inside a fish. Using stainless steel or anodized hooks adds a barrier to the steel that slows down or prevents the hooks from breaking down within a short time. But, again, most hooks eventually pass through the system if the fish survives the initial trauma.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I also have observed that some fish are able to dislodge the hooks (and attached bait) and barf them back up. That happens often with the catfish I put in my basket...after cutting off a swallowed hook. When I dump the fish out into my cooler there is sometimes a chunk of bait with a hook in it laying in the bottom of the basket. It was solidly hooked inside the gullet or stomach when I cut off the line, but the fish was able to dislodge and disgorge it by itself. I do not fish bait for trout or keep ones with hooks in their innards so I have no standard of comparison with that species.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I don't recall catching more than a couple of catfish over the years that had hooks in their innards. But, I have caught a few that had lures or hooks still solidly attached to their lips...and had broken off from other anglers. As most who have caught kitties will attest, they have tough skin around their mouths and hook removal can be difficult.[/#0000ff]
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