Red Gill, Cork Harbour - 21st Aug to 4th Sept

People:Me, George, & Andrew

Duration:Various sessions (mostly between 2.5 & 3 hrs)

Tide:Various

Weather:Mostly settled

Bait:King Rag, mackeral, crab

Rigs:Running legers, float rigs, plugs, spinners, shads.

Results:Numerous Bass

Report:We managed about a half dozen bass sorties since the last report. Fishing hasn't been bad. Our best session has been 5 fish; our worst 1 fish. At least we didn't blank. All the fish have been a good size, averaging 5lbs, with two fish of 7lbs, and one of 9lbs est (see pic below). We did lose two good fish at the net but they weren't as big as the 9lber - flurocarbon knots pulled out. A word of warning to fluro fans - make sure of your knots. If not they will let you down at the worst possible time. Most fish were returned (including the 9lber). Those that were kept were the fish that were hooked in the stomach opening. Would these fish survive if returned? This is a question I've posted before. Would be interested in people's opinions.

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most definitely if you could remove the hook from the lure without drawing blood, i suggest you get a medical degree :wink: bass can survive days without food and the hook wouldn't take too long to rust out, i now use singles on lures or barbless trebles.

If the fish isnt bleeding heavily,cutting the hooks with a strong wire cutters should allow it to recover,this is frequently done with pike,you might also consider crushing the barbs with a pliers,as this makes hook removal a lot easier even if you have to go in via the gills instead of the mouth.

Thanks for the tips lads. I'd prefer to return all fish if I could. One a season for the pot will do me.

interesting about fishes stomach acid rusting hooks. is this a prooven fact or hearsay. have often wondered this as some huss and thornies ive had have had to be released with hooks in them.have also wondered whether a hook in the throat or stamach area which due to there proliferent blood supply would lead to septicemia or some other form of blood posioning,

just a thought

don't know if its proven, but a chance for its survival is better than killing it.

pat, did yeah try the live mack.? any luck

Yeah, I use live mack quite a bit - at this time of year it can be fairly deadly.

hi

well done pat , thats a lovely picture.

having done a lot of pike lure fishing over the years, in some small venues and having some repeat captures of fish over the years i would say that is it possible to successfully return deep hooked fish if you have the right tools.

once there is not blood all over the place survival rates can be evry good.

if its a single hook a good long push-pull t bar will do the job most times ( i can make you up a special long one if you cant get one).

if its lure fishing and trebles you would ideally want to have two large artery forceps, if you can reach the hook and turn it going in through the mouth then all well and good. if you cant then you can go in through the gills with one, turn the hook and then grab and remove it with the other forceps. its easy enough when you get the knack.

leaving a treble in the throat of a fish is, IMO, going to lead to high death rates. as i feel it will likely cause a fatal blockage before it rusts out.

if its a single it could be ok, but i read some research there recently that suggested that while salt water and stomach acid will dissolve hooks, that the metals and impurities in the hooks can be absorbed into the blood stream and can kill the fish by septicaemia (as lumpy suggested) caused by toxins in the hook and bacteria from the site of the wound .

so i would suggest leaving a hook in deep, only as a last resort.

anyway good fishing there

Thanks very much Adam - that's great advice. I'll get myself the tools required. If I have a problem I might drop you a pm.
Thanks

no prob pat. yeah give me a shout if you need anything

Had a fairly good session today. Caught a 2.5lb; 4lb; 7lb; 8lb; 6lb; and 4.5lber. All caught in just over a two hour period.

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Great session there Pat...

Yeap, it was one of those days, Rory......a new moon day :D !