Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
It’s often suggested that when a fish has been hooked anywhere but in the jaw the best thing an angler can do is just cut the line or leader and let it go without putting it through the trauma and stress of trying to remove the hook. But in the same breath, I can also say that while it’s not necessarily a “death sentence” for every fish that gets hooked “deep” inside the throat or stomach, whenever a fish is allowed to swim off with a hook in it, the chances of that fish living to a ripe old age has been diminished. So at the risk of upsetting some folks who might feel otherwise, I will suggest that when an angler can properly remove a hook from some deep hooked fish - they should make the effort to do so.
The key word here is “properly,” because if the process is not done in the right manor and with the right tools, a well meaning angler can certainly end up killing the very fish they’re trying the save. First, please know that I’m not referring to fish that have been impaled in the stomach, but instead I’d like to discuss how to remove a hook that can be seen inside the mouth, whether it’s in the gill area or in the back toward the esophagus.
In order to do this kind of operation, anglers need to prepare ahead and equip themselves with the necessary tools, which at the very least should include a pair of hemostats, needle-nose pliers and a decent size rag. Hemostats are the long tools that look like a cross between a pair of scissors and a pair of tweezers that lock in place when squeezed shut and are often used by medical professionals as clamps.
The first thing anglers should always do before lifting any fish from the water is take a close look to see how and where it is hooked. In some cases, they might realize the hook is just barely holding on to a small bit of flesh on the outside of the jaw, thus requiring a net to successfully get it out of the water without the hook pulling out and the fish getting away. In the same case, if it appears that the hook is down deep in the fish’s mouth, a net should be used rather than lifting the fish with the line and possibly doing more internal damage to the fish by driving the hook into organs or damaging the gills.
Immediately before a deep hooked fish is brought aboard, a large rag should be submerged in water so that it is totally saturated. As soon as it’s brought out of the water the fish should be completely wrapped in the rag (like a burrito) with only its head and gills visible. The weight of the wet rag will keep it from squirming during the hook extraction process and will protect the fish from injuring itself while flopping around the boat.
Once the fish is secured, the angler should look inside the fish’s mouth to determine exactly where the hook is located. This will usually require that the mouth be pried open, which for some fish can be a problem in itself as they won’t be too obliging to open wide and say “aaaah” just because you want them to. And wouldn’t you know it, usually it will be the fish with teeth that will clamp shut and require that you “carefully”, with pliers or a rag, pry and then hold their mouth open.
If the hook can be seen inside the mouth, then it can probably be removed and anglers will have to decide which is the best way, and what is the best tool, to get the job done without killing the fish in the process. If the hook is in the gills, extra caution should be given to avoid doing any more damage to that area. Usually the hook will be able to be removed by working through the mouth, but sometimes the best approach is to very carefully go in through one of the gills with the hemostats. By rolling the fish over on its side and then lifting the gill plate, the hook can often be easily dislodged with the hemostats. Anglers will find that sometimes it will be easier to the extract the hook through the gill plate and then cut the line than try to work it up and out through the mouth because there will be less chance that it will re-hook the fish on the way out.
While some might consider it a silly waste of time to spend so much effort removing a hook from a fish that they are going to release anyway, the bottom line is that the fish we release today, are the ones we might have a chance to bring home for dinner next year, so it doesn’t make sense not to do everything possible to ensure that every fish sent home swims off with the best chance we can give them of being more than just food for the crabs.
Captain Mark Sampson is an outdoor writer and captain of the charter boat “Fish Finder”.
