CanoeingIt
12/7/2012 7:40:00 AMNice fish... I can't wait to give this lake a try! About the fish gutting the hook. I'm not a huge powerbait user but lately its been working for me but all the fish I catch on it have gutted the hook. I wonder if that's what your finding. Maybe fish caught on pb and could even be that the folks are cutting the line once they see its gutted the hook. I try not to use PB unless Im going to keep um.
natenez
12/7/2012 9:50:00 AMWhen still fishing w/ bait (PB, worms, etc.) the fish tend to swallow the bait deep - after all they are trying to eat it. So when you release it (hook in or out) those fish have a significantly higher mortality rate. The fish may swim off fine immediately, but eventually that wound in their gut will kill them. That is why the regs count fishing w/ bait against your limit, even if you release.
I'm sure at least of the ones I caught were the result of an accidental breakoff, as sometimes a swivel would be attached to the end of the line. I would think if people were cutting the line that they would cut it after the swivel.
I'm sure at least of the ones I caught were the result of an accidental breakoff, as sometimes a swivel would be attached to the end of the line. I would think if people were cutting the line that they would cut it after the swivel.
Spiegel
12/9/2012 12:32:00 AMIn some states like Georgia, it' is teach to cut the line as close to the mouth as possible and leave the fish with the hook in that it'll recover and the hook will rust (by the fish and game department). I don't know if there are studies in this regard, but provided that you don't actually take the fish out of the water hanging on the hook (it might be ok to use a net) I believe it could work. I know it does work for bass, as I caught the very same bass (the biggest of that pond, always on the same place) more than 10 times over a period of 2 years, and some times I left the hook inside. On the other hand, bass are more resistant than trout. So I guess it depend in how you handle the fish. And yes, in WA a released fish caught with bait still counts to the daily limit.
Spiegel
12/9/2012 12:37:00 AMBy the way, forgot to mention something else... it is also teach that if you will release the fish you should wet your hand before taking the fish out of the water for a picture, because removing just a little of the slime can kill the fish through later infection. So I hope that you wet yours before taking the picture. I don't normally mention this because a lot of the posted pictures are of fish kept, but you specifically mentioned that you released them all.