Cutting hooks

[curleytail]

I plan to start musky fishing this year. I've read a lot about "cutting hooks when necessary." My question is, when is it necessary, or when do you decide to cut the hooks vs. removing them? After cutting, do you still remove the pieces of the hook still imbedded in the musky's mouth? I know some say the hooks will rust out, but I would think a large musky treble will be more likely to cause infection before it rusts out.

Just wondering if anyone could shed some light on this for me. Thanks a bunch!

curleytail

[M.M]

You will likely get differing opinions here as this is one of those areas more or less left up to personal preferrences. I'll give you my personal slant on this.

I much prefer to remove hooks over cutting them, if they can quickly and easily be removed. The key words here being "quickly" and "easily."

At times, the hooks will be deeply embedded or even worse yet two hooks will be embedded directly opposite of each other making it difficult to extract without tearing up the fish. These are the times where I elect to cut hooks. For those occasions where hooks are opposing one another, I will cut the hook which appears like it will be the easiest to remove when cut (usually the one less deeply embedded). Remove the uncut hook and then remove the cut hook if possible.

Another time I will cut the hooks is when the fish thrases and rolls up in the net. It is far easier to cut the hooks to free the fish and bait from the net mesh and then work to remove the cut pieces from the fish.

If the hook or hooks are embedded closely to an eye and I think there is a good chance I would do damage to the eye trying to remove them, then I will cut the hooks and leave the cut ends in the fish.

One other time I will cut and leave hooks is if the fish is bleeding heavily and I suspect that the hook may have penetrated an artery. I would rather leave the piece in the fish than attempt to remove it and severely damage an artery where the fish may bleed to death. This situation can occur quite frequently when fish are hooked throuth the tongue.

I concur with your assessment that it is best to remove all hooks and hook pieces if it can be performed without inflicting serious damage to the fish. But if it appears likely that serious damage may occur, then I will leave the embedded pieces in the fish. Fortunately, this occurs very seldom, probably less than once for every 20 times I cut hooks and cutting hooks is perhaps also once in every 10 to 20 fish netted.

Hope this helps, certainly not the only answer simply the way I go about determining when to cut hooks and when to leave the cut pieces embedded.

Cheers and tight lines,

Musky Mike

[curleytail]

Thanks for the reply M.M. I think you went over my question pretty well. I suppose it might be more obvious when I start fishing for muskies more, but I wanted to have a general idea before hand. Thanks for the help!

curleytail

[ToddM]

If removing the hook looks like it will damage the fish, cut it. Cut a hook from the net if it frees up the fish to unhook it. Cut any hook that will take you extra time releasing the fish. Take out hook peices. Hooks don't rust out, none do.

[dstanoch]

That fish will have a better chance to live if you cut the hooks. Muskies do dissolve the pieces left behind.

[ToddM]

I don't buy that analogy about dissolving any hook pieces, take them out. I have seen trebles coming out a pikes behind if the hook can't dissolve in a place that digests bone, it's not going to dissolve in a muskies mouth, gills or anywhere else.

[Dstanoch]

The only kind of hook that won't dissolve is a stainless steel hook, like Eagle Tails have.

[ToddM]

It is just not true, do you have a link or someplace I can view this information? Why do all the professional musky fisherman say what I am saying? If they do disslove, it will not be in the fish's lifetime.

[Tom B]

Even though the Chip Flowage study was flawed, it did show that hooks do not dissolve.

It's an old wives tale.

Tom B

[Eggy]

I disagree with M.M. on this one.
Leaving a cut hook in a fish, especially if it is in an artery, is a death sentence to the fish. The hooks don't disolve, and they don't back out. Think about it, the hook is in an artery and it has a sharp point on one side and a flat cut on the other. The hook will continue to move forward in the direction of the point. A hook piece by an eye is likely to move forward into the eye. The hole from a hook, even the tear in an artery or eye, is less likely to kill the fish. This has been shown in studies where even a torn gill is survivable, but a hole in the stomach is not. A cut hook will migrate and irritate, preventing proper healing. A wound without an object in it, no matter how severe, may heal and be survivable.

[M.M.]

I don't necessarily doubt what you say, Eggy. But tearing a fish up to remove a hook just isn't something that I elect to do. I posed this very question to one of the well-known musky professionals at a Milwaukee Musky Show a couple years ago and he stated that he too will leave the cut hook pieces in a fish if it seems probable that removing them will severely damage the fish.

If left, (1)the hook piece may encapsulate and stay put, (2)it may fester and eventually pop out, (3)it may cause no harm to the fish, or (4)it may eventually kill it. On the other hand, removing it is almost sure to have an ill-effect on the fish. And if an artery is sevely damaged and the wound imersed in water, the fish is almost certain to bleed out.

As I said in my original post,there will likely be differing opinions on this as it is one of those areas more or less left up to personal preferrences. I simply gave my personal slant on it.

Cheers and tight lines,

Musky Mike

[ToddM]

One thing you can do to minimize this is to choose hooks that don't tear up the fish as bad. That does not necessarily mean barbless. I elect not to use 5x hooks. They are a #### to get out of a fish. I use lighter wire hooks which are easier to cut and remove. I have yet to have a really bad problem with them and have the heavy wire hooks.

[M.M.]

Good point about the lighter wire hooks facilitating easier removal, Todd.

It may have sounded like I routinely leave hooks in fish, this certainly is not the case. I have perhaps left hooks in all of three or four fish in over 40 years of musky fishing. What I was referring to was those rare occasins when the hook(s) was/were in extreme close proximity to an eye or are suspected to be in or through a major artery where removal is almost certain to cause truly severe damage. I fail to see any benefit in mangling a fish simply to remove hook pieces. I guess it can be said that in such an event, I choose what I consider to be the lesser of two evils.

Cheers and tight lines,

Musky Mike

[ToddM]

MM, no worrries, we are talking about very few fish here. I have had good success getting light wire hooks out of troubled places. Try and think back on the hook pieces that had to leave in the fish. I bet they were 4X hooks. Not judging you here by any stretch, we all do what is best to do the right thing. I have fished with alot of people and have noticed many don't have a clue to what hooks are on their baits. I find it exptremely important not only for hook removal but for hookups.

[Muskiefool]

if the hooks are cut just behind the barb allot of times they fall out before I can get them out manually I cut 90% of the hooks, hooks are cheap bring extras get the fishes head back in the water as soon as possible hooks buried deep or in the roof of the mouth take some extra work and are the biggest factor in mortality IMHO
Hooks don't dissolve from any data I have ever seen