Did you GUT hook a bass?

Talk about fishing one of the country's premier bass fisheries, Barrett Lake.
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falafeluver
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Did you GUT hook a bass?

Post by falafeluver »

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Re: Did you GUT hook a bass?

Post by Gotfish? »

19 minutes is too long to watch. I just bring my needlenose thru the gills and then the hook readily comes out, especially if barbless like it is supposed to be.
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Re: Did you GUT hook a bass?

Post by MistrRocko »

20 minutes is a real long video to not even do the thing on video. Through the gills and done in a couple seconds like gotfish said. Hemostats are more fish friendly, especially on smaller fish. The proper technique should be a poster on the billboard at Barrett.
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Re: Did you GUT hook a bass?

Post by falafeluver »

Yea the first video is quite long but I liked the research and explanation part. Here’s another video that’s much easier to see and follow.

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Re: Did you GUT hook a bass?

Post by JWall »

Ok…question…we have gotten the hook out of a bass caught shallow not be able to swim back down. Not caught deep but tried and tried to swim down. We then did the usual attempts to resuscitate and it looked lively enough but could not get below the surface. Saw the same thing on another that was released by other parties but floundering near shore. These bass shouldn’t need fizzing. Any suggestions?
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Re: Did you GUT hook a bass?

Post by Gotfish? »

Never had that problem with bass. With trout, it can be necessary to grab them by the tail and move them back and forth to get their oxygen level back up.

Have had problems even then with trout if there is a thermocline as they won't revive well if the water is warm.

For rock cod, we use something like this: https://www.basspro.com/p/promar-descen ... lsrc=aw.ds . Should work for freshwater too, whether it be a case of the air bladder or water temperature.

Once the fish gets back down, the air bladder collapses and it has no problem staying at that depth. The fish you caught in shallow water may have swam there from deeper water to grab the bait. I have seen that lots of times, a fish will grab something shallow and immediately swim back to deeper water, even without a hookset.
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Re: Did you GUT hook a bass?

Post by JWall »

Gotfish? wrote: Mon Jun 30, 2025 10:48 pm Never had that problem with bass. With trout, it can be necessary to grab them by the tail and move them back and forth to get their oxygen level back up.

Have had problems even then with trout if there is a thermocline as they won't revive well if the water is warm.

For rock cod, we use something like this: https://www.basspro.com/p/promar-descen ... lsrc=aw.ds . Should work for freshwater too, whether it be a case of the air bladder or water temperature.

Once the fish gets back down, the air bladder collapses and it has no problem staying at that depth. The fish you caught in shallow water may have swam there from deeper water to grab the bait. I have seen that lots of times, a fish will grab something shallow and immediately swim back to deeper water, even without a hookset.
We tried the tail grab rocking but no dice. Guessing maybe it was a fish that came up from deep but even that doesn’t add up. Thanks for the release rig. I just added it to my ongoing fill/empty/repeat shopping cart at basspro 😉
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Re: Did you GUT hook a bass?

Post by Everydog »

I don't know if this applies to other styles, but my fish grip can descend a bass by attaching a weight to one side and a string to the other. When it gets down, a quick jerk will open the fish grip and let the fish go. https://www.amazon.com/Booms-Fishing-Sa ... 78618&th=1

Mine does not have the serrated teeth feature. Not sure if that's friendly to bass.
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Re: Did you GUT hook a bass?

Post by MistrRocko »

You're almost certainly never gonna catch a bass at Barrett that needs to be fizzed or have a descending device used on it. Sometimes a fish just gets hooked/unhooked a little wrong and it can't be revived properly. Despite our best efforts, we do kill some fish. A bigger bass, bird or shorebound critter will eat it eventually and complete the circle of life.

Aside from hemostats making unhooking gut hooked bass a little easier, they're often a must to safely unhook bluegill. So many big gills floating on the surface this year all around the lake from people being unable to remove hooks properly. Under $5 for a pair and they take up no space.
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Re: Did you GUT hook a bass?

Post by Carpkiller »

falafeluver wrote: Mon Jun 30, 2025 12:08 pm Yea the first video is quite long but I liked the research and explanation part. Here’s another video that’s much easier to see and follow.

Geez..using a 12 lb sledge to drive thumbtacks. Just carry a set of curved forceps, rather than jamming a big fat set of needlenose pliers in there. Or a Dr. Fisherman straight forceps/scissors setup. But the video does illustrate the process of "turning the hook" very nicely.
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Re: Did you GUT hook a bass?

Post by MistrRocko »

2 free pairs of 5.5" hemostats to the first people that ask me for them at Barrett if you happen to see me/know me. I accidentally dropped mine in the water a couple weeks ago and 5.5" is smaller than I meant to order+I found another longer pair at my house today. 5.5" is plenty big for bass just not my preference.
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Re: Did you GUT hook a bass?

Post by elpescador44 »

I’ve removed a lot of other anglers hooks they either cut off or the bass breaks off here at Barrett. Following the through the gills removal with surgical hemostats works best. It pops right out, and the thin hemostats that lock make it super easy.
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Re: Did you GUT hook a bass?

Post by JWall »

elpescador44 wrote: Tue Aug 19, 2025 12:39 pm I’ve removed a lot of other anglers hooks they either cut off or the bass breaks off here at Barrett. Following the through the gills removal with surgical hemostats works best. It pops right out, and the thin hemostats that lock make it super easy.
Added those very stats to my bag this season!
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Re: Did you GUT hook a bass?

Post by Carpkiller »

Yeah, the skinny hemostats are the way to go. I keep these on a lanyard around my neck....but also have a skinnier set in the pack for the really small fish. The Dr. Fisherman hemostats are a bit less...intrusive....when dealing with a green sunfish that somehow ate a 1/0 hook.....

https://www.fisherwarehouse.com/product ... hemostats/
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Re: Did you GUT hook a bass?

Post by falafeluver »

Carpkiller wrote: Thu Aug 21, 2025 2:57 pm Yeah, the skinny hemostats are the way to go. I keep these on a lanyard around my neck....but also have a skinnier set in the pack for the really small fish. The Dr. Fisherman hemostats are a bit less...intrusive....when dealing with a green sunfish that somehow ate a 1/0 hook.....

https://www.fisherwarehouse.com/product ... hemostats/
Have you personally ordered items from this Fisher Warehouse site?

Their prices seem so good, too good, just saying. But if you had no issues with them, I’ll give them a try.
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Re: Did you GUT hook a bass?

Post by Carpkiller »

I have not ordered from that site. It was the first image that popped up in my search.

Turner's usually has the Dr. Fisherman forcep/scissors in stock...😁at full retail price. 😐
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Re: Did you GUT hook a bass?

Post by MistrRocko »

It's like $6 for 2 pairs of 5.5" hemostats on Amazon with free shipping. The only issue you'll have with them is occasionally dropping or kicking them into the water like any other tool. Good thing they basically give them away for free.
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