poor fish handling?

[tigger]

On the off-chance that you're not joking...
"Any eels you catch (except conger eels) must be released alive."
https://www.gov.uk/freshwater-rod-fishing-rules/fish-size-and-catch-limits

They at least had the water supporting their weight on the way in.
I don't agree with letting any fish hang from a hook.. as for posting it as advice in a thread about "Poor fish handling"... is it just me, or..... ?

I don't believe that every deep hooked eel is guaranteed to die.

I believe that it's more likely to live if released without fuss.


I'm very tempted to leave it there as I can sense the eel recipe recipe recommendations coming.

If I think something is going to die, i'd do the right thing and kill it swiftly rather than let it die slowly. If I think it has a chance then i'd let it go.
I wouldn't leave any animal to suffer...that's against the law also.

Oh, by the way I was talking about holding up boot laces, don't you swing small fish to hand ffs.

 

[Lord Paul of Sheffield]

Back to my original post
Holding fish in a towel is a big NO

 

[amos keato]

If I think something is going to die, i'd do the right thing and kill it swiftly rather than let it die slowly. If I think it has a chance then i'd let it go.
I wouldn't leave any animal to suffer...that's against the law also.

Oh, by the way I was talking about holding up boot laces, don't you swing small fish to hand ffs.

I've never seen a deeply hooked eel look at all bothered by the hook once the tension is off. (It's easy to tell if an eel is bothered, it will be in a knot.)

I've caught eels that have been deeply hooked by other people.
I've caught eels that have been badly damaged by other people.
I've also seen plenty of hooks *coughed up* in the landing net, weigh-sling and sack.
As I said earlier, I've also seen a hook expelled through the side of an eel.
I genuinely don't think that deep hooked = dead.

I'm still of the opinion that if you've hooked an eel deeply enough that you can't see the hook to remove it with fingers (forceps at the most),
then the situation isn't going to be improved by getting a disgorger involved.

I don't swing fish to hand, no. I'm not in a rush.

 

[tigger]

I've never seen a deeply hooked eel look at all bothered by the hook once the tension is off. (It's easy to tell if an eel is bothered, it will be in a knot.)

I've caught eels that have been deeply hooked by other people.
I've caught eels that have been badly damaged by other people.
I've also seen plenty of hooks *coughed up* in the landing net, weigh-sling and sack.
As I said earlier, I've also seen a hook expelled through the side of an eel.
I genuinely don't think that deep hooked = dead.

I'm still of the opinion that if you've hooked an eel deeply enough that you can't see the hook to remove it with fingers (forceps at the most),
then the situation isn't going to be improved by getting a disgorger involved.

I don't swing fish to hand, no. I'm not in a rush.

I've seen plenty of deep hooked eels over the years but am yet to see one "cough up a hook".

Imo a disgorger is a better tool to remove a hook from a fish/eel than fingers or forceps, be it hooked in the lip or inside of it's mouth. Pliers are much better than forceps also. Forceps are forever slipping of hooks, disgorgers and pliers don't.

Nothing wrong with swinging a fish to hand if it's not to large to do so, even if your not in a rush.

I get the feeling that your starting to take the urine.

 

[amos keato]

"Coughed up" was a figure of speech.
Regurgitated would be more accurate.

They sometimes regurgitate whatever bait you've just caught them on (or whatever you've been feeding.)

Looks like it's more than time to leave it there, though.

 

[thecrow]

Back to my original post
Holding fish in a towel is a big NO

Agreed, and holding an eel at all is a big NO if I am on my own and I catch one I cut the line leaving the hook in it, it does them no harm as they seem able to rid themselves of any hook from any position (according to an expert )

Towels are for wiping my hands on not holding fish, if anyone doesn't like to touch fish why are they fishing?

 

[Lord Paul of Sheffield]

Agreed, and holding an eel at all is a big NO if I am on my own and I catch one I cut the line leaving the hook in it, it does them no harm as they seem able to rid themselves of any hook from any position (according to an expert )

Towels are for wiping my hands on not holding fish, if anyone doesn't like to touch fish why are they fishing?

spot on mg:

 

[binka]

I suppose drop kicking bream would be considered a no-no?

Only joking...

 

[rayner]

It's a fact that smoked eel is around £55 per kilo.
It's also a fact that the easiest way to remove the skin from smoked eel is to use a desert spoon.
I like smoked fish.

 

[sam vimes]

I suppose drop kicking bream would be considered a no-no?

Only joking...

Of course it's a no-no, you'd make a right mess of your footwear.:wh

 

[terry m]

Has anyone ever experimented by putting a hook into something containing river water to see how long it takes to rust away?

I don't purport to be an expert on this subject, nor do I think that deep hooking is desirable. But surely the above 'experiment' would not take into account the gastric juices and acids which may contribute to the breakdown of the hook(s)?

 

[mikench]

I think you are right! The gastric juices of certain mammals , reptiles and fish are capable of digesting almost anything from the the edible to the unbelievable!

A bit like the alien almost!

 

[ciprinus]

I suppose drop kicking bream would be considered a no-no?

Only joking...

just wow!! what sort of advice is that to put up on here?

this is why i only listen to advice put up by professional anglers like JS.
a six inch nail and a hammer saves you all sorts of mess on your shoe

 

[tigger]

Makes me cring when people imagine the hooks will just rust away....an out of sight out of mind scenario again. Has no one heard of infection, it's bad enough if you get a tiny splinter in your finger, even after an hour or less it starts to hurt like blazers. If you don't pick it out it can get badly infected, imagine a small hook in your guts!
Most modern hooks don't just rust away anyhow, they last for years, especially the coated ones and that includes in salt water.

I fully understand amos keotos concerns for eels as they do get a raw deal off many anglers (along with pike) but you've gott'a be realistic and an awful lot of deeply hooked eels and other fish will pop their clogs after they're released. I take each situation as it comes and if i'm confident something will suffer and die i'd prefer to give it a sharp crack on it's head. At least I can remove the hook from it's body and freeze it for bait rather than let it go and die only to pass the problem onto whatever eats it. If I think something has a 50/50 chance then away it goes.

 

[amos keato]

What if I kept the next one or two eels that I decide to leave the hook in and observed them over a few weeks ?
(I can set a tank up easily enough).

Would that be illegal?
Would doing it AND openly talking about it & posing pictures on a forum be a bit suicidal ?

If not, what sort of things would people like to see and know ?

*edit - some interesting info on hooks left in water here..
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...ook-will-rust-out-in-a-few-days-saying.87187/

Some info on hooks left in pike..
http://www.saltstrong.com/articles/fishing-lure-left-in-a-fishs-mouth/

 

[tigger]

What if I kept the next one or two eels that I decide to leave the hook in and observed them over a few weeks ?
(I can set a tank up easily enough).

Would that be illegal?
Would doing it AND openly talking about it & posing pictures on a forum be a bit suicidal ?

If not, what sort of things would people like to see and know ?

*edit - some interesting info on hooks left in water here..
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...ook-will-rust-out-in-a-few-days-saying.87187/

Some info on hooks left in pike..
The Truth About Leaving A Fishing Lure In A Fish's Mouth (New Study)

I think those links are pretty last, i've caught lots of fish with hooks and hooks and line in their mouths and throats. I've caught some dragging wire traces, cage feeders etc and the hooks all look like they've just been taken out of the packet!
I dug that barbel pic out with the barbless hookleft in it.....

 

[peter crabtree]

Deep hooking is avoidable in most cases. if I'm deephooking fish on a float rig it's obvious (to me) they are intercepting the bait before the float cocks fully (thus giving little or no indication) and swallowing it so....
Shallow up..
If it happens on the tip ledger/feeder fishing, I'd shorten my hooklink or change to a lighter feeder/ ledger ( sometimes both)to give a more immediate indication on the tip...

 

[amos keato]

Those links were just the first couple of links I happened to look at, after google searching something like "do hooks rust out of fish?".
Feel free to do your own searching and/or experimenting.

The more I search, the more I'm convinced that my suggested eel experiment would be a waste of time.
On one hand, the hook might not degrade for six months.
On the other hand, what if only the barb needs to degrade for an eel to dislodge and regurgitate it ?
If the eel dies.. was it the hook ? or was it the water quality/stress of being in the tank ?

It seems we now agree, though, that a fish with a hook left in it, is not guaranteed to die or suffer.
(Having both caught a number of fish with other people's hooks in them that are surviving.)