"John" wrote in message ...
"Gene C" wrote:
A fish or two took the hook pretty deep.
What is "pretty deep?" Stomach, gills, where?

After trying to remove the hook a few times (putting the fish back in the
water to rest between attempts) I cut the line near the beetle.
Did you use any tools to remove the hook, or just your fingers?

It was a foam beetle.
Why did this make a difference? Did you have a harder time removing foam
beetles than fur and feather flies?

I did not (I forgot) to crimp the barb.
Where was the fly hooked in the fish? What kind of fish? In what kind of
tissue was it hooked?

My question is, how long does one try to remove the hook. Will leaving it
in the mouth (including the foam bug) be a problem. I guess the question
comes down to does it matter if the bug you're leaving in the fishes mouth
is foam or a fur and feather.

I've tried three times to formulate an answer to your good question but
cannot without more information. Let's try again.

Thanks.
John

The hook was about 2 inches into the bottom of the mouth of a 14 inch
rainbow trout. I asked about the foam because foam takes a lot longer
to decompose then say thread, fur, or feathers. My concern is that
when I did cut the line near the hook and placed the fish back in the
water, the fish thrashed its head as though it felt it was still
fighting.

And yes, I should have had more instinct as to when to raise the rod
but I guess I need more practice. Now that's a good approach to take
with my wife! Honey I need to practice my dry fly touch....