Gut Hooked

[126barnes]

What should you do when you gut hook a trout? I've heard guys say that you should clip the tippet as close as possible. I see this working on big trout and small flies, but what about small trout and big flies. I caught a 8" trout last night on a No 10 beadhead wooly bugger, little guy swallowed the hook and was hooked about 2" down his throat. With the hook basically blocking his whole throat I tryed removing the hook, which proved to be time consuming. Sorry to say this little guy or gal didn't make it.

 

It it typically for deep hook sets when slow stripping subsurface flies, I haven't done much of it?

[grannyknot]

Leaving the fly in is always better than ripping the trout's innards apart. It sucks when you kill a fish from hooking, but it happens. Think of all the fish you could have legally kept but released anyway, and don't worry about the few incidental kills. No one has a 100% release rate.

[BlueNorther]

Just cut the hook off and let em go.I've caught a few fish that broke off from previous anglers and the hooks have pretty much been dissolved.One was a 12 inch rainbow that had taken a # 10 fly.when I was taking my fly out I noticed something in its throat.I reached in with my hemostats and pulled out a royal coachman that was dissolved at the bend of the hook.

[EvilWeevil]

I read a study saying that the tests they had done none of the hooks in a fishes mouth disolved out in either fresh or saltwater and having cuaght some walleye with hooks that were stuck in the jaw some looked pretty skinny and sick, I think whenever possible it is best to get the hooks out

but when they are gut hooked like that you usually end up killing them by the time you get it out anyway

[Brownstone]

IMO, Leave the hook in, cut it off if possible..You hook fish with a razor sharp hook..impossible to have a 100% release rate like Grannyknot said..I believe there is an old thread in the archives on the "through gill hook removal"..personally Ive never tried it on a trout..nor would I..

[scott]

A few years ago I caught a cutthroat under the 22 bridge in cochrane (suprised it was a cutthroat ,in this area) It had a about 3" of line and a fly hanging from it's butt! It was problely doing some fishing of its own!!