What To Do When a Fish Swallows Your Hook- Research Studies

What should you do when a fish swallows your hook? According to most research papers, if you are unable to easy remove the hook with needle nose pliers, cut the line and release the fish.
Tips to reduce swallowed/deep-hooked fish:
1. Needle nose pliers
2. Set the hook as quickly as possible
3. Use Circle hooks instead of standard J hooks
Get a copy of my catfishing PDF book and support my channel my joining me on Patreon for $3/month: www.patreon.com/user?u=24994593
Very much appreciated!
Hope you guys enjoyed this video, and as always, Good Luck Fishing!

Пікірлер: 85

  • @krismeliet6617
    @krismeliet66174 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for the info. I hooked a catfish deep in its throat tonight and instead of ripping the hook out I just cut the line and let it go. It made me feel bad as I catch and release and I’m glad to know I made the right decision. My son just started fishing with me and he feels so bad for the fish as I do , but we love fishing and the time spend bonding. I might try the barbless hooks.

  • @whyicare

    @whyicare

    2 жыл бұрын

    same here. My family and I went fishing a few days ago. My wife caught a catfish but it was deep hooked. I couldn't get the hook out of his tongue. It was deep inside. Eventually the fish flopped and separate the fishing line from the hook. I had to release the fish back into the water. For the past few days, I was wondering how horrific and uncomfortable for the catfish to live with a hook in its mouth.

  • @alp7891

    @alp7891

    2 жыл бұрын

    ALWAYS USE BARBLESS

  • @Brandon_Lambert

    @Brandon_Lambert

    Ай бұрын

    I caught a big catfish inshore fishing in fort Walton and hooked it deep down, we tried and tried to get the hook out and finally did but it started bleeding bad and when we put it back in the water and didn’t do much and eventually died. I felt so horrible about it bc I could tell it was in some pain seemed. I will definitely just cut the line next time

  • @reasonisgood
    @reasonisgood4 жыл бұрын

    Your videos are great! No unnecessary fluff, just good, easy to understand content presented well.

  • @jackspielman7073

    @jackspielman7073

    Жыл бұрын

    Thought the same thing. Incredibly well done.

  • @Voscilate
    @Voscilate3 жыл бұрын

    Thank you! Been getting catfish a lot lately and wanted to save them cause I mean I don’t hate them I kinda love them. They give me great joy.

  • @kirkmcknight113
    @kirkmcknight1134 жыл бұрын

    Sure wish I had seen this before yesterday when I caught a stocker trout out of a small lake here in town. I will now use circle hooks and have them, but not with me yesterday, ALL my fault. I felt so damn bad because I tried to get it out. I had caught one before and was trying for my limit and this one, with the stuck hook ruined my whole day. Lessoned learned the hard way both there and here on your site. Thanks for bringing these topics to your channel. New sub as well. Live and learn so you don't make the same mistake twice. :).

  • @jamani1086
    @jamani10864 жыл бұрын

    good vid zack. i agree with cutting the line, that's how i was taught.

  • @matthonea7939
    @matthonea79394 жыл бұрын

    Very good advice. I found the exact same research this past summer searching the internet. Thanks for making informative videos, I have learned a lot from them and started catching more fish!! Much appreciated!

  • @AnglersEscape

    @AnglersEscape

    4 жыл бұрын

    Glad you find the videos helpful! Best of luck this fall fishing!

  • @gabrielsoto958
    @gabrielsoto9582 ай бұрын

    Awesome video! Thank you for sharing this useful information!

  • @GoldenParachuteEnt
    @GoldenParachuteEnt4 жыл бұрын

    You are awesome dude...keep it up! I am learning so much.

  • @cathyc2665
    @cathyc26654 жыл бұрын

    I was taught by my husband many years ago if a fish swallows a hook ( not a huge fish) I stick my index finger in its mouth alongside the hook , pushing down slightly and releasing the hook and take it out very easily. It's always worked for me.

  • @vago469

    @vago469

    6 сағат бұрын

    It works for taking the hook out, but look at the end of a hook. Going in, it makes a small hole. Pulling out, it yanks a chunk of meat. If you are gonna kill the fish, pulling the hook out is fine...but probably not if you want the fish to survive

  • @Hey_its_Koda
    @Hey_its_Koda4 жыл бұрын

    When my trout swallow the hook i use my forceps to get it out but its hard because they start shaking making it worse and bloody. So i just cut the line.

  • @bobnero19
    @bobnero194 ай бұрын

    Excellent scientifically oriented video.

  • @bankpolefever
    @bankpolefever4 жыл бұрын

    Glad to see you back. Every time you make a vid imma bit bigger lol. My good luck charm. 33 away from 1k

  • @bcon610
    @bcon6103 жыл бұрын

    Im new to fishing and this was very helpful. I caught a couple of bluegill and released them fine. The 3rd was gut hooked and i felt bad. I tried twice to unhook him and dunking him so he could breath inbetween. Luckily i was advised to cut the line as short as possible. I will try barbless and get a smaller forceps just in case. And the baiting hooking advice.

  • @sam.setzer4936
    @sam.setzer49362 жыл бұрын

    I caught a 10lb 4oz bass today and he was gut hooked, of course, so i cut the line and released him and now its midnight and i cant sleep so im looking up mortality rates on gut hooked bass 😂

  • @DaleHok
    @DaleHok4 жыл бұрын

    where you been? looking for more fishing videos. love them.

  • @jimmy7008
    @jimmy7008 Жыл бұрын

    Awesome video. Thanks for doing your research and sharing it with us

  • @kent7525
    @kent752510 ай бұрын

    Very good info bro

  • @jzwillows
    @jzwillows3 жыл бұрын

    Excellent video. There is a safe way to remove a single (not treble) hook in a fish - as long as you can reach the hook with your finger and the bend if the hook is about the size of the end if your finger - just push the bend of the hook down with your finger with fingernail against barn, to remove the barn from the tissue, and then while keeping the bend on the end of your finger to shield it from the fish, use your other hand to pull on the line to lift the hook shielded by the finger out. I have found this very safe. A stick sized appropriately works but not as well.

  • @stevied8855
    @stevied88554 жыл бұрын

    Hi Zak That's really helpful. Flounder are a difficult species to get deep hooks out from. We use Aberdeen Hooks here in UK and these are really difficult to remove from Flounder if deep hooked. Stevie in Scotland.

  • @technicstim

    @technicstim

    Жыл бұрын

    Aberdeens rott away fast tho

  • @blondeonthepond2530
    @blondeonthepond25302 жыл бұрын

    I'm literally sitting in my kayak, just caught a really nice bass on a 5 off set hook and 12" worm and it swallowed the hook, and I had no choice but to cut it, but I'm not seeing it flopping around anywhere. Hopefully it lives to see more days! Thanks for your informative video! I got a lot from this! #blondeonthepond!

  • @skazcix4141

    @skazcix4141

    Жыл бұрын

    Had to do the same on my pb it swallowed the hook and was bleeding a little so I made a decision to just cut the line I think I would’ve hurt the bass more trying to take the hook out

  • @Saygoodbye130
    @Saygoodbye1303 жыл бұрын

    Your the man. Thank you

  • @ItsLasers
    @ItsLasersАй бұрын

    Caught a smaller Black BullHead today and the hook was lodged so far down I couldn’t work it out with my plyers as I didn’t want to do any permanent damage to it. So I cut the line and released he swam to the bottom and left. I felt so bad and still do when I think about it but knowing that it’s a normal thing to do if this happens definitely makes me feel a tad better about the situation

  • @braddy8670
    @braddy8670 Жыл бұрын

    Thank you for making me feel better about releasing a fish with a swallowed hook

  • @Mr_Man_7803
    @Mr_Man_78034 жыл бұрын

    I always cut the line, no reason to damage the fish further by digging around in em or leaving them out the water any longer then required

  • @Money_MindsetMastery

    @Money_MindsetMastery

    3 жыл бұрын

    Go in through the Gill with pliers

  • @jw1741

    @jw1741

    3 жыл бұрын

    Your just lazy that's why

  • @Mr_Man_7803

    @Mr_Man_7803

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@jw1741 *you’re

  • @Masterbass101
    @Masterbass1014 жыл бұрын

    thank you for information awesome.

  • @perrinayebarra
    @perrinayebarra4 жыл бұрын

    I always have wire cutters on hand and I snip the o-ring or cut the hook itself. That way the fish gets on its way quickly and I can just put a new hook on the lure.

  • @Knotrockets

    @Knotrockets

    4 жыл бұрын

    Yes, that's smart👍

  • @julesmusic6353
    @julesmusic63534 жыл бұрын

    Thank you 👍🏻

  • @bubbacrabb
    @bubbacrabb4 жыл бұрын

    Only time I've ever been mad about not seeing an ad on KZread. Are your videos not monetized? I hope they are you're a good kid and love your vids. I just didnt have an ad on this video atleast.

  • @jkhlkjhhlij
    @jkhlkjhhlij4 жыл бұрын

    Hey Zach can post what workouts you use? That would be Awesome. Thanks Man

  • @joycedimaggio8345
    @joycedimaggio83454 жыл бұрын

    Cut the line. Thanks for sharing your info.

  • @megamattoutdoors7648
    @megamattoutdoors76484 жыл бұрын

    Great information. Being in Florida and fishing both salt and freshwater I can never use stainless hooks. Always better to cut the line. Puts less stress on the fish and they swim away less harmful. Especially on billfish. Ive caught many sailfish and they swam away with all their beautiful colors. Also remember to keep the fight as short as possible

  • @SuperLouis000
    @SuperLouis0004 жыл бұрын

    New here in MO. Would love to link up someday n do some fishing with you guys! Just recently started targeting cat!

  • @brandenc2247
    @brandenc22474 жыл бұрын

    I've started cutting the line with the hook deep in the fish's mouth with a lot of bluegills I've been catching this year. My dad always tried to weasel them out and made the fish bleed bad to where he had to throw them back in the woods for another animal to eat since they were going to die. I like to use size 8 baitholder hooks, but I'm thinking of switching to a bigger barbless hook to prevent that from happening

  • @RoyalCortness
    @RoyalCortness3 жыл бұрын

    Thank you for the video! I feel so much better knowing I just cut the line when the little bluegill swallowed the hook. I felt so bad I googled it! 🙃

  • @kakakrabbypatty1234

    @kakakrabbypatty1234

    3 жыл бұрын

    Yeah felt horrible when I tried to get it out and it got worse and bled a bit.

  • @adamp3654

    @adamp3654

    3 жыл бұрын

    Same, a white perch swallowed my hook but now I feel some what better after watching the video

  • @mattfoust4254
    @mattfoust42543 жыл бұрын

    When I fish, usually catfish swallow the hook whole, and we’ve accidentally killed some trying to get the hook out. We are now cutting the line when it does not come out easily.

  • @genissefranklin796
    @genissefranklin7963 жыл бұрын

    I usually catch bluegill and i have lost some hooks cuz they wanna swallow the hook to where it ends up done their throats,i was able to get one hook out with out harming the fish but after that the hooks ended up deep in their throats to where i cant get the hook out so i have to take my line off

  • @davidpaulson9335
    @davidpaulson93354 жыл бұрын

    This guy is good..

  • @corkyvanderhaven3391
    @corkyvanderhaven33912 жыл бұрын

    Curious about the catfish I use the removal tool on and get it out clean…even when it’s deep….

  • @ThatsSoGiorgio
    @ThatsSoGiorgio2 жыл бұрын

    I can normally get the hook out but I also am thinking of investing in a tool that will cut it like bolt cutters so I can drop the tip and take the hook out easily.

  • @ucenic1
    @ucenic14 жыл бұрын

    I wonder if it changes when the hook is a treble hook?

  • @animelover-tw2xl
    @animelover-tw2xl Жыл бұрын

    So I'm assuming this goes for stingrays and skates then cuz one time my uncle caught one of them at the beach but the hook was extremely deep in it so unfortunately we couldn't do nothing but to cut the line and put it back in the water

  • @rominijafridin1684
    @rominijafridin16844 жыл бұрын

    how can we know the fish as a nocturnal fish or diurnal ?

  • @jesseadamson1077
    @jesseadamson10772 жыл бұрын

    What about treble hooks?

  • @sunleonardo5946
    @sunleonardo59462 жыл бұрын

    Barbless circle hook with the rod in hand, land with a rubber net, do not hesitate to cut if necessary, and release quickly. Cheers!

  • @Herizon1x
    @Herizon1x3 жыл бұрын

    I had a 5-6 pound peacock bass but sadly it swallowed the hook and I cut the line and it swam off strongly and I seen it back in his Bed where he usually stays at , so hopefully he just lets it rust out of his system

  • @nate2396
    @nate23964 жыл бұрын

    I have bluegill swallow a hook 1 out of every 15 end up gutting the hook. And I feel bad if I don't get it out because they feel pain too.. alot of times if it does gut it I bash its head with my pliers and just put it out of its misery quick and painless death if its keepable I'll just cook it. But idk if cutting the line is the best option because it causes problems in thier feeding and they die slowly and miserably starving to death I seriously think thier is no miracle method

  • @johnbabbit1861
    @johnbabbit18613 жыл бұрын

    It’s good to know I’m not causing further damage to the fish by just cutting the line

  • @jackc1871
    @jackc18714 жыл бұрын

    Why r ur videos so epic

  • @UnknownUnknown-em4od

    @UnknownUnknown-em4od

    4 жыл бұрын

    Ikr!!

  • @UnknownUnknown-em4od
    @UnknownUnknown-em4od4 жыл бұрын

    Yooo!!

  • @jw1741
    @jw17413 жыл бұрын

    Yo if I'm ever reincarnated as a fish ..get the dang hook out my mouth. Thanks in advance

  • @Austin66411

    @Austin66411

    3 жыл бұрын

    😂

  • @soggykid5580

    @soggykid5580

    3 жыл бұрын

    Stop squirming and we will

  • @Knotrockets
    @Knotrockets4 жыл бұрын

    I have done this test myself. Most actually passed the hook through there system first week.

  • @nathanz602
    @nathanz6024 жыл бұрын

    👍👍👍

  • @loganfl5476
    @loganfl54764 жыл бұрын

    The catfish I just caught swallowed the hook. There was absolutely nothing I could have done to get it out. Does anyone know what will happen and if he can spit it up or something because it gives me a really crappy feeling.

  • @granthay116

    @granthay116

    3 жыл бұрын

    Same happened to me today and it was a baby

  • @nakdu3936

    @nakdu3936

    2 жыл бұрын

    They can sometimes eat around the hook, theres a chance it works its way out, and the hook will eventually rust out if the fish lives long enough. Don't feel to bad. Needlessly killing fish sucks but thats why they spawn hundreds at a time.

  • @fishman1347
    @fishman13474 жыл бұрын

    Where are you at dude this is four months old???

  • @kenseymour5152
    @kenseymour51524 жыл бұрын

    I came to this video because of gut hooked smallmouth it was a large smallmouth I didn’t want to kill it trying to get it out so I cut the line hope it makes it they take a while to get to that size

  • @princeamongmen7064

    @princeamongmen7064

    4 жыл бұрын

    I deep hooked a pike a few years ago and had a struggle I managed to snip the hooks and remove the trace but it took a while, I actually stopped fishing after that. Now I learned tonight my work friend caught a nice 10kg pike and released it after cutting the line only I told him to crush the barbs as he had no bite alarms, I gave him my deep throat discorger something I made after my experience. But it didn’t work for him I’m so pissed off now I can’t sleep. If you can’t hook fish in the scissors you shouldn’t be on the water.

  • @kenseymour5152

    @kenseymour5152

    4 жыл бұрын

    Prince among men nobody likes to harm a fish anyone that loves the outdoors knows that thing like that will happen I hate it myself I had just caught a five pound smallmouth on a tube jig and it swallowed it so I left it in there but I don’t feel like I’m going to stop fishing because of it . I can say a feeling worse than a fish that swallowed the hook loose a deer that you shot that will mess you up for a long time but it’s part of the sport nobody likes it

  • @dylanl9878
    @dylanl98782 жыл бұрын

    My hook and lure were stuck deep inside a bass I caught and I tried my best to get it out. Any longer he would of been dead for sure so cut the line. I don't think it will be able to eat anything but guess shit happens.

  • @jeremyowen1

    @jeremyowen1

    Жыл бұрын

    Yep. Shit happens. You'd be surprised how good those fish are at getting rid of foreign objects though. I tossed a 90 size whopper plopper beside a laydown and immediately got blown up. He wrapped me up super good and broke me off. I was both annoyed that I lost the whopper plopper, but also concerned for the fish considering I saw it ingulf the thing and I'm sure it got both hooks good. I came back to the same spot a few times and looked around but never found anything. Then about a week and a half later I checked again while wading through and my whopper plopper was stuck floating in the brush pile. Hard to say when he shook it, but he definitely did.

  • @galaxygoonz6303
    @galaxygoonz63034 жыл бұрын

    🤙🙏😊

  • @nathanz602
    @nathanz6024 жыл бұрын

    OH NO He stopped posting!

  • @h.Freeman
    @h.Freeman2 жыл бұрын

    I just assume take it home and eat it. If it could die anyway eat it.

  • @dggg5892
    @dggg58923 жыл бұрын

    Just cut the line I get it

  • @kross7894
    @kross78943 жыл бұрын

    You crazy If You think I'm cutting the line on a $10-$20 crankbaits...😏