# Gut Hooked Catfish



## hillbillyangler (Nov 6, 2004)

This is more like a "What Would You Do " 


If you caught a trophy flat , blue , channel , and gut hooked him/her , and ouldn't get the hook out , what would you do? By the way , there is no possable way to get the hook out with out killing the fish , now , what would yall do?



Hb


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## bill (May 21, 2004)

This is what I do, first I will say that I take my daughter fishing so she catches the fish I just help work the net and in no way do we catch a trophy size fish but reguardless of the size, if the fish is going to die then we take it home.
That is just a part of fishing, sometimes no matter how careful you are, fish die. I just will not waste any fish. I do a few things that try and help, I remove the barbs and only use single hooks (no trebbles), that has worked fairly good, and we try no to play the fish too long. Land the fish, quick photo and a release. This is a picture of her and a fish from about a week ago.
She came to me Thursday and said "do you want to go fishing?" I grabbed the gear and we took off, forgot the camera but she landed her best one yet, just over 6lbs. I may not have a picture but I have the memory of the hugh smile that I hope will never fade. It's a great feeling she enjoys fishing as much as I do, BTW she says catching catfish keeps her in practice for flounder.


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## bueyescowboy (Apr 10, 2005)

I'd get the skillet hot and corn meal ready....we're eatin tonight!


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## Catfishkiller (Dec 3, 2004)

And don`t forget the hushpuppies!


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## MUDHOLE KID (May 21, 2004)

Cut The Line,leave The Hook In The Fish And Release It.the Hook Will Decay In No Time.this Is The Same With All Fish.their Digestive System Will Eat The Hook Up.no Harm Done .yeah I'm Serious About Cpr! Where Do The Thropy Cats Come From? They Don't Hatch Out At 30lbs.anyway Hillbilly That's What The Kid Would Do,


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## NightTrain (May 21, 2004)

Agree with the Kid......If the fish is just deeply hooked,and apparently uninjured,the line gets cut.


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## Catfishkiller (Dec 3, 2004)

We CPR all catfish 10# or more also. But if it`s bleeding with a hook in it`s gut it goes to someone who will eat big fatty catfish for supper. No waste.


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## Katnip (Oct 20, 2004)

For a true Trophy I would cut the line as close to the hook as possible and let the fish go immediately. I'm certain most of these fish live, as I have caught several Hawgs that had a hook either in their throat or mouth. Since I switched exclusively to circle hooks, though, I have not had a single gut hooked fish.


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## Brian Castille (May 27, 2004)

Cut the line and turn it loose. It's got a better chance in the water than in the cooler!


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## TXPalerider (May 21, 2004)

Katnip said:


> For a true Trophy I would cut the line as close to the hook as possible and let the fish go immediately. I'm certain most of these fish live, as I have caught several Hawgs that had a hook either in their throat or mouth. Since I switched exclusively to circle hooks, though, I have not had a single gut hooked fish.


Ditto....Have kept a few that were a bit over 10# because they were torn up pretty bad by a kahle hook. But, converted all my jugs to circles for just this reason.....NO gut hooks to date.


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## Freshwaterman (May 21, 2004)

I agree I would cut the line and leave the hook.......and then go out and buy some circles so this wouldnt happen again...I have hooked a few deep on circles, but only one that I couldnt get the hook out of, and it was in a tournament so I cut the line, and didnt try to get the hook.....I dont like Gamakatsu Octupus circles, because of this.....they are so sharp and fine pointed sometimes they dont come out of the throat like their suppose to.


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## GetEmGot (Nov 30, 2004)

*Wish I had The Photo*

I caught a pike with a jig in it. It was the weirdest thing, I actually gained a lure. That being said, this proves the cut the line theroy.

Getem


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## Catfish (May 21, 2004)

I agree with cutting the line ... I guess in my drift fishing , we just do not get many that are gut hooked ..


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## hillbillyangler (Nov 6, 2004)

Thankx yall ! 


I asked this question and most of the time , I get a smart responce from the TOO COOL Catfishers out there . I honestly would try to cut the line closest to the hook , then release it , trophy or not , won't do me much good in the freezer! 



Thankx for all the replies!

Hb


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