Swamp Yankee wrote:
I've had federal biologists fishing in my boat and asked that very question
& their reply is that if a fish is bleeding it will die of anemia within a
week to ten days of being released. Not all , but most will die. I use
lures that the fish cannot swallow. cranks & spinners are very easy on the
fish. Plastics are the worst for the fish in the hande of novices.Charlie

Truthfully, and this could just be me, but I have hooked fish with
crankbaits that did much more damage than any plastic would have ever
done. I have not gut hooked a bass on a plastic since I was 18 or so.
I caught a bass recently that had the back crankbait hook up under its
tongue and bleeding pretty good. Unfortunately this bass was only 13"
long, and I could have kept it if I wanted to legally. Either way, I
have heard it on here a few times, if you keep them , they have no
chance of survival at all. I can assure you if it dies in the wild, it
will not go to waste.

Chris