Q: IF YOU LOSE A FISH AND THE HOOK REMAINS IN THE FISH, WILL IT SURVIVE?
Wendy E-mail
A: There are quite a lot of variables such as where the fish was hooked, mouth or stomach, the type and make of hook, stainless versus bronze, J, circle, gang or treble, how much line is trailing from the fish that could reduce survival. From experience, if a fish has been hooked in the mouth with minimal line trailing it can have a high probability, up to 90 per cent in some studies of survival. Gut hooked fish this percentage drops considerably, a good reason to use circle hooks as they are designed to have less impact on the fish and better hook holding power for the fisher. Another thing to consider…