hook and line caught fish

as time goes on some things i have seen in my fish are
#1 fish caught hook and line end up with miss shaped lips and or jaw structure. that is if a fish has lips LOL!
no really most of my fish are hook and line natives due to state laws. and more then a few have oddities as time goes on.
#2 fish of same age class in wild compared to captive care fish are smaller,have a thinner shallow look to face,smaller skull structure
then fish i keep.
#3 and just to be captain obvious for the irate of it.
mine never have that vivid hue of wild fish in nuptial dress.but my fish live in a small world of a steady range.

Some of what you describe is not unusual for any captives, particularly if they are larger species kept in small quarters and/or with insufficiently diverse diet.

As a fisherman, I examine at close range the mouths of caught and recaught and rerecaught fish all the time. When tackle and handling is gentle enough, recovery is amazingingly successful. Scars are not uncommon but many look good as new. Fish live and grow normally. In some waters, a good sized largemouth bass will have been caught and released numerous times - even after he gets to be a hog! The enormous bass boatin' culture couldn't exist without that resiliency on the part of the fish.

Having said that, I really really try to avoid keeping hooked fish in aquaria. The enemy of captive animals of any kind is stress and nothing says stress like a piece of metal poked through your face.
Well, unless you're the cashier at the local grocer.

Maybe I'm lucky or maybe I'm just doing it right (for once) but I have kept many hooked fish in the home aquaria and even had them eat 24 hours later.
Admittedly, I use small barbless hooks and transport carefully but my goodness, barbless hooks slip out easily.
As long as I take the fish young, they seem to do just fine at home.

All my caught fish were on hook & line, I used barbed hooks, and never had a problem. Like Uland the fish I keep for the aquarium usually eat the next day. Some fish are harder then others of corse, I remember a yellow bullhead I caught in Michigan, (2 hours from my house) we were leaving & I was going to clean all the panfish when I got home. I through the bullhead in the plastic bag & when I opened the bag at home to clean the fish the bullhead was akive and kicking. So I through him in my 130 gal tank to see how he would do. I had that fish for another 4 years. (I don't sujuest anyone should be that mean as to try it, but I like to think my bullhead was happy that he did not become dinner.)

Don't get me wrong, I have also kept hooked fish going back from childhood to not so long ago. Some species can't be taken otherwise in Ma. I know it's worse elsewhere.
I use them in tanks on occasion too. A size 24 barbless fly tying hook is way better than disassembling the rockwork to move a troublemaker that can't be netted or trapped.

I guess I meant don't do it if you don't have to, but if you have to, be sure to treat 'em gentle and give 'em plenty TLC.

I use them in tanks on occasion too. A size 24 barbless fly tying hook is way better than disassembling the rockwork to move a troublemaker that can't be netted or trapped.

This is true, and is a great idea. Surely hooking a fish in a tank, and flipping it out quickly is less stressful than chasing it with a net for half an hour.

This is true, and is a great idea. Surely hooking a fish in a tank, and flipping it out quickly is less stressful than chasing it with a net for half an hour.

Been there done that! I had a couple of bluegills that were much bigger than the others and they were suppressing feeding of their smaller siblings. Instead of chasing them around with a net, which was dang near impossible with the huge rotating biofilter in the tank, i dropped a small wet fly and removed them to another location.


As a fish taxidermist I see a lot of fish with one maxillary bone mangled probably from catch and release. I also see a lot of fish where one maxillary bone is larger than the other. I'm wondering if fish may be left or right side dominated like mammals?

Edited by az9, 28 October 2010 - 02:02 PM.

I wonder how small circle hooks come in these days, and has anyone used them for smaller freshwater fish? They work really well on our saltwater fish (stripers, sea trout, red drum, croaker). I like them because they don't get swallowed, and consistently hook in the corner of the mouth. I don't seem to lose fish while reeling them in, while at the same time, they are easy to release once landed. But the stores near me seem to only sell large size circle hooks (1/0 or larger) since the market is largely saltwater.

I wonder how small circle hooks come in these days, and has anyone used them for smaller freshwater fish? They work really well on our saltwater fish (stripers, sea trout, red drum, croaker). I like them because they don't get swallowed, and consistently hook in the corner of the mouth. I don't seem to lose fish while reeling them in, while at the same time, they are easy to release once landed. But the stores near me seem to only sell large size circle hooks (1/0 or larger) since the market is largely saltwater.

EagleClaw sells their Lazer Sharp brand of circle hooks in sizes as small as 14. I'm sure they are available at some of the big box sporting goods such as Bass Pro.

Dean

EagleClaw sells their Lazer Sharp brand of circle hooks in sizes as small as 14. I'm sure they are available at some of the big box sporting goods such as Bass Pro.

Dean

Thanks! I looked at the Eagle Claw website. Their circle sea hook in 14 looks pretty nice. Unfortunately, the Bass Pro doesn't list it online - smallest they list is a Gamakatsu 8 in a sort of octopus-circle hybrid. I can check at the store. I'd love to try them on bluegill at some point if I can find the smaller ones.

I use these
http://www.buyfishin...eturnhooks.html
look for size # 10 it has a light wire good cam action for small fish under 2.5" like Luxilus,Cyprinidae, i have some background in surf fishing for sharks and just down sized the hooks and made my own circle hooks from this wire frame they work very well. some days i can get 5 or better pieces of bait from one wax worm with this style of hook.
if you would like some please email and or pm and i will make some up for you susan.

Here are some size 10 on ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/...=item588a87cca2

http://www.feather-c...view&target=551

Scroll down to scud hooks.

Thanks for the links, guys. Good to know that they are being made by a couple companies.

Tony - I may take you up on your offer if they prove difficult to find.

The scud hooks are similar, but not quite right. I wonder if they would behave much differently. FeatherCraft sure is a nice website; I'm pretty sure I've ordered from them before.

Thanks again,
Laura

Cabelas even has the size 14 on the web. ET
http://www.cabelas.c...aw circle hooks


Be sure and read the reviews

Edited by wilded, 01 November 2010 - 11:17 AM.

Cabelas even has the size 14 on the web. ET
http://www.cabelas.c...aw circle hooks


Be sure and read the reviews

Sweet! I will definitely have to order some of those next time we make an order.

Thanks!!!

Thanks for the links, guys. Good to know that they are being made by a couple companies.

Tony - I may take you up on your offer if they prove difficult to find.

The scud hooks are similar, but not quite right. I wonder if they would behave much differently. FeatherCraft sure is a nice website; I'm pretty sure I've ordered from them before.

Thanks again,
Laura

Laura, so sorry for calling you susan. would you like your hooks snelled?
i find my catch rate has gone up with circle style hooks over a J type hook shape and if i snell the hook the odds go up on a perfect live catch and release with a snelled hook
the only thing is the fish is all ways hooked in the corner of mouth or the gills if the hook is to big.these are the hooks that have caused odd miss haps to my fish as they heal
and time goes on.
here is a site with very solid info on hooks style and knots.

http://www.fishing.s...s/snelling.html

Sweet! I will definitely have to order some of those next time we make an order.

Thanks!!!

the hook linked here will damage fish the barbs are large and cause great damage to a fishes mouth.
now with this said this is the hook i use 95% of the time on jugs,trotlines,banklines for catfish that we eat.
very well made hook for the money but the coating will rust after one season of use every time.

the hook linked here will damage fish the barbs are large and cause great damage to a fishes mouth.
now with this said this is the hook i use 95% of the time on jugs,trotlines,banklines for catfish that we eat.
very well made hook for the money but the coating will rust after one season of use every time.

Wow - the barb on the size 14 in the catalog looks pretty small (page 135 here: http://www.eagleclaw...DF/LZ/Hooks.pdf). I notice they don't offer a barbless of this one (only larger versions). Do you think that crimping the barb would be a good solution?

Regarding the coating - I'm lucky to get one season out of a hook anyway - I either lose it or mangle it in some fashion, or leave it sitting in water...

Laura, so sorry for calling you susan. would you like your hooks snelled?

Shoot, don't worry about it. How can anyone be expected to know my name if I don't include it in a signature line? So long as you don't call me The Village Idiot, I think I'll be OK.

I often like hooks snelled too. I'd be honored to test out your hooks next time you make a batch.

Just mash it down or file it off when you sharpen the hook. They will never know it was there.