lindy rig and releasing fish

[DanL]

Does anyone have some advise on tactics used to increase the successful release of Walleyes when using a lindy rig? I have been experimenting with circle hooks but so far results have been fair. It seems like even with a light hook set or just reeling in I lose too many fish. I have had a problem with gut hooked fish. Is it best to cut the line or try to get the hook out. Has anyone tried barbless hooks? The times that the fish was gut hooked I did not wait very long to set the hook. Thanks

[curt quesnell]

good question, so i hope we get a good answer.

catch and release with lindy rig is tough due to the number
of gut hooked fish you will get. as far as i can tell you
the best ting to do is to cut the line and hope the storys
about the hook dissolving in a short while are true.

barbless hooks may be a good answer. try to "pinch" the
barb with a pliers on the existing rig so you dont have to
monkey with changing hooks. if you tie your own rigs, use
a wire hook with a longer shank and pinch the barb...see
if that works better.

good luck

curt quesnell

[Hans]

I've been tying my Lindy rigs with circle hooks for the past couple of years and have had >EXCELLENT< results. Less lost fish (you have to learn not to 'set the hook'), and the fish is usually hooked near the corner of their mouth so are easy to release. I've had >zero< gut hooked walleye since using the circle hooks.

Hans

[REW]

I agree with Hans.
Circle hooks work very well. However, I did have a learning curve. I found -- as the theory suggested -- that you need to let the fish take the hook and run with it a bit. If you don't you will lose the fish nearly every time. The theory of the circle hook is that the fish takes the hook into its mouth along with the bait. If you pull back on the line and hook the hook will come right out. However, if you let the fish take the bait and hook and swim sideways to you, the hook will turn and then will be coming from the side of its mouth. Now, as you pull on the hook, the hook will pull out of its mouth, but will catch in the corner just before leaving the mouth. After learning this technique -- i.e. just letting the fish run a bit with the line - no more lost fish.

Also, don't set the hook, just reel fairly quickly. If you quickly set the hook, the circle hook will be pulled right from the mouth.

Take care

REW

[DanL]

This weekend I was using circle hooks and I did have some gut hooked fish. I did not wait long to set the hook. Maybe this is unusual. After that I probably did'nt wait long enough. Is there a hook size or brand that you guys recommend? Also after you feel the fish hooked do you set the hook hard then? Thanks again.

[WAeyes]

Maybe it is just me, but I think if you are rigging with live bait you better plan on taking home a couple fish.

[JCarp]

Cut the line as short as possible or keep the fish. As long as the fish can eat, it will likely live. I use a small pair of wire cutters to reach in and cut as short as possible.

I've probably caught 5 or 6 healthy eyes with snells dangling from them (once, the worm on the hook was still fresh). More than a few catfish and a few bass. Saw a friend land a very healthy 3-4 lb smallie with a jig head poking out of it's anus. Only observed adverse effects were associated with skin growing over mono line dangling from their mouths or external rubbing from mono with sinkers still attached.

[Toad]

Go with non-offset (not rotated) circle hooks, as opposed to slightly offset models, which don't essentially work the way circles are supposed to. Offset circle hooks have a tendency to catch and occasionally penetrate inside the fish's mouth.
Non-offset circle hooks slip through the fish's mouth until catching and penentrating at a fulchrum-- the corner of the mouth.

Unfortunately, several hook makers who've 'jumped on the bandwagon' with this hook for freshwater have overlooked the main reason the hook works. Mustad and Eagle Claw both offer fine non-offset circle hooks that rarely (if ever) hook fish anywhere but in the corner of the mouth. It's a great brilliant yet ancient concept that works.

-a friend called Toad