The importance of catch and release

[nate01]

I've been struggling to catch pike for the last two years in the river. My go-to spots just don't produce like they used to.

Sunday morning I decided to give it another shot. Overcast day with a little misty rain and a very low water level. Lost a chatterbait on a snag so I pull out a spinnerbait. About an hour of casting and I see a healthy, long pike following it in. It comes right to my feet in inches of water and I'm slowing down just fast enough to keep the blade going but I'm running out of real estate. It makes a lunge and just kinda nips at it and I bury the hook, landing a nice pike after a battle.

As I go to remove the hook, I notice what appears to be an old hook and a short piece of line buried in his throat. Clearly this guy has been recently caught...thank you for releasing this fish! My second biggest ever, made my day. Catch and release makes a world of difference!

Anyway it tasted great. Just kidding!

I don't ever criticize someone who follows the law and keeps fish they are legally allowed to keep...but I'm happy catch and release is so popular these days.

[thmyorke1]

As much as I agree in CnR

"old hook and a short piece of line buried in his throat"

Sounds to me it wasnt actually CnR but the infamous bite off :p

[nate01]

Nah it was super thick, way thicker than the 40 lb fluoro I usually use with no problems...no way it was bitten off, I've caught sharks with less than this

[thmyorke1]

Nah it was super thick, way thicker than the 40 lb fluoro I usually use with no problems...no way it was bitten off, I've caught sharks with less than this

Ah ok. I'm surprised they didn't man up and stick their hand in the pikes mouth to retrieve the hook :cool: lol

But that's why needle nose pliers are useful

[Chrisper4694]

I had a muskie slice #50 fluoro like a hot knife through butter instantly on impact. if it hits the right spot on their teeth it's like slashing it with a razor blade. trust me, they could cut it.

[Eskimo]

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I'm a big proponent of catch-and-release for bass and other large gamefish like pike and muskie. Some of the bass I catch bear the tell-tale mouth wounds of having just been caught-and-released. Occasionally, I'll even have a bass barf up someone else's plastic lure as I'm reeling it in.

I will occasionally keep some panfish, catfish, or stocked trout for dinner. I may be contradicting myself, but I don't believe I am. There's a difference between perch and pike in terms of population and the 'value' anglers place on the catch. It's hard to articulate, but every non-bucketeer understands what I'm saying.

New Jersey's public waters are very heavily fished. When an angler catches a big bass, the angler didn't discover a previously uncaught fish. What that angler caught was a older fish that has repeatedly been caught-and-released every year until it reached its present age.

One of my favorite movies is 'Unforgiven'. In it Clint Eastwood says "Its a hell of a thing, killing a man. You take away everything he's got and everything he's ever gonna have.".

That's how I feel about killing a bass. When that bass hits the bucket, you've not only killed a bass other anglers would have enjoyed, but you also killed all the size potential the bass was ever going to achieve and all the eggs she would have laid in the spring.


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[FASTEDDIE29]

Cool post about the catch n release thing! Next time you should eat em! Hahahaha! Nice Pike!!!:D

[nate01]

Yeah when I got home I was pretty hungry, a nice pike sandwich would've hit the spot! Haha. I also enjoy seafood tacos and bearded clam.

Stay with me people...yes it is possible this was a breakoff. But a barely visible hook in a very vulnerable spot very deep in the soft tissue of a big fish's throat, coupled with a short stub of very stiff leader, maybe even wire, 2-3 times thicker than mine, literally thicker than the shark rigs I bought in Ocean City NJ last year, in a spot that trying too hard to remove it would put the fish's life in danger, has me 99% convinced this was a release. Either way same result she's still alive and kicking.

Anyway Eskimo I am with you 100%. This fish has probably lived in that river for 10 years...try a hot pocket instead they are breathtaking (credit to Austin Powers).

[JDTuna]

Nice work on the C and R!

[NJSquatch]

Well said Eskimo.

Whenever asked about keeping fish my response is

"I would rather catch a fish twice than eat it once"

[saxmatt]

Sweet pike! Most likely a break off though. I've broken off fish with 60 and 80lb floro. If the leader wasn't steel that pike could easily slice through it with 1 head shake.

[nate01]

Thanks!

To be clear again I was the one using 40 lb fluoro, the guy before me definitely was not. He was using something that a Megalodon would have a hard time getting through. And even if this was a breakoff it still had the same effect, the point is that the fish was still in the water to be caught and is still there today to be caught again, hopefully by me!

[saxmatt]

I saw that it wasn't 40 after you posted. Who knows if it was a break off or not, but it's possible. I caught a pike last winter that had an entire 18" steel leader in it's mouth. It broke the guy off above the swivel, he was using 50lb power pro for his main line. If it's a single hook try pulling the line back through the gill plate towards the tail the hook should rotate out of the gut so you can see he bend of the hook. If you can see the bend go in through the mouth, grab it with some long pliers and it should pop right out with little to no bleeding. Some of these new hooks don't dissolve like the old ones do and it can kill the fish, that one you caught looks like it hasn't been eating right. With a little practice it's easy to do.

[Eskimo]

If it's a single hook try pulling the line back through the gill plate towards the tail the hook should rotate out of the gut so you can see he bend of the hook. If you can see the bend go in through the mouth, grab it with some long pliers and it should pop right out with little to no bleeding. Some of these new hooks don't dissolve like the old ones do and it can kill the fish, that one you caught looks like it hasn't been eating right. With a little practice it's easy to do.

There are some videos on Youtube that describe the process extracting a deep-swallowed hook through the gill arch or using the gill arch to rotate the hook to a position where it can be easily popped out through the mouth.
Here is one from Texas Praks and Wildlife:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RGTL9RBG2s

That being said, I don't believe a hook left in a fish is always a death sentence. I have caught several bass and catfish that already had a length of fishing line coming out of their esophagus from a previous catch-and-release (or catch-and-escape). The fish was able to recover from whatever complications a hook created in their stomach and resumed a normal life.


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[saxmatt]

I agree, fish are tougher than people think. I like to try to remove the hook if possible though. It's easier to do with big fish like pike. It's much harder with smaller fish like a trout, bass, and panfish.

[briansnat]

I agree, fish are tougher than people think. I like to try to remove the hook if possible though. It's easier to do with big fish like pike. It's much harder with smaller fish like a trout, bass, and panfish.

It's a matter of how much surgery is necessary. I've had fish that I thought I did a good job removing the hook, only to see them thrashing and dying on the surface a few minutes later. So when in doubt I cut the line of and let it go with the hook inside. I have no idea how long those fish survive, or if they even do. But at least I don't feel horribly guilty watching it die on the surface.