After you release a fish, what happens to the hook wound?
With catch-release fishing, you bait the line, the fish bites on the hook, it goes into his head, you reel him in, unhook him and throw him back in the water with a hole in his head. What happens to the hole? Does it heal – how long does it take? Or does it let the water into his head and make him drown like a ship with a hole in the hull?
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It closes after some time. As for hooks that stay in, they oxidize and fall out.
supposedely it heals very fast…as for the number of days, i couldn’t tell ya!
I can’t find any studies, but my guess would be that some number of them heal, and some of them suffer catastrophic damage and die.
what @syz said, which is precisely why I have never been interested in fishing
I’ve wondered this myself. I was once told by someone who fished regularly that “fish don’t feel pain when they get hooked” my response was “how do you know?”. Does anyone know if there is any truth in that because I would imagine that if they did have feeling there then it would cause horrific pain well, could you imagine having a hook in the roof of your mouth?
I have always released ; NEVER keep any fish I catch .
My uncle told me that the wounds in the mouth usually heal in a few days… BUT; as we all know, sometimes it goes deeper or higher… probably causing more serious damage and thus making the fish terminal….
I release at least 85–95% of what I catch. I like a good shore lunch now and then. As well as any fish that looks like they wont survive, I keep and eat.
Good for you Reptar ! It sound funny ; as I’ve shot humans before , etc… BUT; I can’t get myself to shoot an animal or even cur up and clean a fish .
Lol..Hello HighShaman
Although I have been small game hunting a few time with a few successful kills. (3 birds and a rabbit) I can not bring myself to do it out of “sport” anymore. And neither could I shoot anything like a deer with anything but a camera.
I fish a lot and I do know the hole, depending on how big, does scar. Having caught a few fish myself and noticed scarring from pervious catch and releases. I always wondered about pain, because I know Bass are a very smart fish and will often not bite again for several days after being caught and usually not on the same lure. I always wondered if it was because they associated the lure with pain, and didn’t bite again for a few days because they hurt.
I have caught fish with most of their mouths ripped open..with hooks still inside the mouth, the belly, the gills. The hooks do eventually work themselves out or fall apart and it is always better to cut the line and leave the hook if it is buried too deep in the mouth. This doesn’t always mean the fish will survive but it has a better chance than if you try to pull the hook out.
How long it takes for these wounds to heal is a mystery to me, but having a fish tank and having worked in a pet store, I have seen “hole in the head” a disease that a certian type of fish gets. It is an actual hole that develops in the head it can take months for the hole to heal. For some fish it never completely heals and there is always a scar. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hole_in_the_head_disease I can only assume it would take a while for the hole to heal depending on how big and where it is located. The mouth of a fish is not as dense as the head/body tissue so it may be a long heal time for the mouth.
Catch and release works quite well, as long as you don’t allow the fish to swallow the hook. Once the fish has swallowed the hook it’s chances of survival become very slim.
I catch and release all my fish.
Just out of curiosity, what is the point of catching a fish only to throw it back? I can understand catching a fish and then eating it but why catch it and cause it pain (probably) only to throw it back and possibly leaving it in pain?
@Leanne 1986 There is nothing like having a 30 lb fish on the end of the line…and the unknown….the thrill of the fight…the sense of nature…the power of nature…seeing the fish…holding the fish….and then releasing it back into the water.
I have caught a Musky and It was 4 and a half feet long..took me 4 hours to get it into my canoe…it was one of the most amazing things I have ever done. I never had the chance to see one up close to understand it the way I did that day. The power of that fish was amazing. the respect I have for them now is complete. I have also caught things I never knew lived in the water..like a mud puppy.
For me, fishing is so much more than just getting a fish on the line and throwing it back. There is an education that takes place. I know so much more about my enviornment, about my world. I hunt too. I hunt for meat, but I also learn a lot in the woods.
@buttkisses Super well written!!! I wish I could say I have caught a a huge musky out of a canoe. I agree to with it being so much more then catching fish.
@buttkisses and @Reptar Do you think the fish would see it as being “so much more than catching fish”? I understand that you enjoy what you do but does that make it fair on the animal involved? I’m not being difficult here, I am really trying to understand what makes fishing any less cruel from other sports where animals are hurt or injured.
@Reptar I was not after a Musky..LOL had 10 lb test on the reel…so it just added to the thrill. The thing drug me around the river for a long time! We were both tired when I finally brought him in! He grabbed a hold of a smaller fish (rock bass) that I caught and was reeling in. It was by pure luck he was caught.
@Leanne1986 the understanding I have and the education I pass along about the fish I catch I think is very valuable. for instance, I caught a turtle he was about three foot in diameter. The fish and game comission was called to study the turtle. He was declared to be over 100 years old. The study provided valuable information. I understand you feel it is cruel, but I don’t think it is, I believe it provides a wonderful avenue for education about our enviornment. While some fish do die, they do not go to waste, I have had Bald Eagles come in and scoop the ones that die right off the water and eat them in the tree tops, Providing for even more education for me. Bottom feeders also come along and eat the fish that do not make it. They are not wasted.
@Leanne1986 , I’m not sure it does.(less cruel) I Only know that I super enjoy it and I am not a Cruel person. It’s kinda primal, that feeling I get when reeling a fish in, and looking at my catch. But, like I said I’m not a cruel person, so you can judge my actions how ever you want.
@buttkisses and @Reptar Thank you for your answers. I can’t pretend to be comfortable with this or any other sport/activity where animals are caused any pain or distress but I respect your right to participate and I am really only questioning your actions so that I can learn more. I am not judging you @Reptar and regardless of what my own personal beliefs are here I don’t think you are a cruel person.
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