Fishing - Saving a Gut Hooked Fish

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  • webguy.mitch Flag

    gut hooked
    what's your opinion of leaving the hook in? If you've done all you can, and the fish is starting to fade, is it okay to cut that line and toss 'em back? Does the hook really disentigrate over time?

  • captsteve Flag

    GUT HOOKED
    If the fish was distressed, I might leave the hook behind, it will eventually dissolve...but it's best to remove if it can be done without harming the fish. Also, I carry some Rejuvenade and allow the fish to revive in my livewells with aerators on HIGH!

Steve Chaconas
www.nationalbass.com  
 

Captain Steve brings 25 years of bass fishing experience on the Potomac River to columns featured in the BoatUS Trailering Magazine, Sportsman's Magazine, Woods & Waters, and The Old Town Crier. He has also written for the Free Lance Star newspaper, The Mount Vernon Gazette, The Mount Vernon Voice, The American Sportfishing Association and many others. Steve also hosted the National Bass Fishing Radio Show. Capt. Steve is also the BoatUS.com online fishing expert. A U.S. Coast Guard Captain, licensed by the Potomac River Fisheries Commission and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Steve has the opportunity to fish with anglers of all skill levels, including some of the biggest names in pro bass fishing. He is one of the top bass fishing guides in the country. Steve's been featured in local and national newspapers, magazines and on TV and radio: BASSMASTERS, BASS TIMES, BASSIN' Magazine, BoatUS Magazine, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, The Los Angeles Times, ESPN and others. He's been: emcee of the St. Jude Children's Hospital Tournament the past 11 years, a member of Boat US Speakers Bureau, the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association and a member of the American Sportfishing Association. Steve has been awarded an Excellence in Craft award from SEOPA and was the recipient of the Mount Vernon Lee Chamber of Commerce 2002 and 2003 Home-Based Business of the Year Award. Prior to fishing, Steve's careers included teaching high school algebra and sales of cars, computers and surgical products. He also hosted the longest running all-financial morning radio show in the country and is considered to be "The Father of Business Radio".

Fishing - Saving a Gut Hooked Fish

Capt. Steve takes a look at a few of the fishing techniques and the basics of different lure categories.

This expert: 469,351 views

This series: 113,960 views

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Casting

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Pitching

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Fish

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Fishing

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Bass

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Large

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Mouth

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Water

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Lake

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Pilling

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Grass

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Edge

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Bait

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Hook

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Transcripts

Hi, I am Captain Steve Chaconas with National Bass Guide Service. We have been teaching you how to cast, how to use a rod or reel, use different types of baits for all different types conditions whether you are fishing on top, you want to go a little bit deeper all the way to the bottom with soft plastics. But what do you do when your fish swallows a lure a little bit deep and you got that fish in the fishs gullet and you cant get it out. Well, let me show you how. What you have when you have the fish thats got hooked -- the bait is in their mouth and now the first thing you want to do is get the weight out of way, we either slide it up the line or remove it, get the bait out of the way, slide it up the line and remove it. So, now we have just the hook. What I am going to do is imagine that I am looking into the fishs mouth his eyes are on the top. The hook is this way, what I am going to do is rotate the hook so that I move the eye of the hook towards its tail. I am going to either put my finger in behind his gill and push or I going to reach into his mouth, if his mouth is big enough and push. Take make other finger put it underneath the bend of the hook and as I push this way, I am going to pull this way that hook will just pop right out. Now, if the hook is in the other way just the same thing. The eyes are up here we are looking into the fishs mouth, we want to rotate the hook point this way the eye of the hook towards its tail, push on it with this finger, take this finger put it underneath the bend of the hook, push and pull, it will pop right out. It will save those fish every time so we can catch them another day.

But remember this fishing lures do not catch fish; fishermen catch fish, fishing lures catch fishermen. So, make sure you are using the right lure for the right conditions get out there, get confidence in those lures, use them understand their range and you will catch more fish.

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