"Jack Schmitt" wrote in message
...
I would like to know how many in this group have caught fish with a hook
that had been left in place. What shape was the fish in?? Where was the
hook located??

I've caught fish (largemouth, smallmouth, walleye, northern pike, muskie)
that have had hooks down in their throat (but with line still attached) and
lures/hooks dangling from their jaws. I've caught walleyes and smallmouth
that had hooks (partially rusted) coming from their anus. I caught a 45
inch muskie that had a hook imbedded in the gills and a couple inches of
line coming from the hook. The fish was in fine shape and fought like mad.

I've caught northern pike and walleyes that have had pieces of gill raker
torn loose and dangling. In some cases, the gill section was still bright
red, in other cases, the gill tissue was gray and obviously dead. But the
fish were in apparently good health and feeding fine.

I think that this is somewhat skewed because fish that are stressed (for
whatever reason) aren't going to be actively feeding and the chances of
catching them are pretty slim.

I have seen floating fish that I've somewhat briefly checked out and in most
cases, I've seen a piece of line coming from the fish's gullet and they were
obviously gut hooked and a victim of delayed mortality. One was a real
heartbreaker of a walleye, it measured 34 1/2 inches long. I was going to
grab it and give it to a taxidermist friend of mine, but it had been
floating just a tad too long.
--
Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com
G & S Guide Service and Custom Rods
http://www.herefishyfishy.com