so i was fishing today and after a slow start i decided what the hell and threw on a green blob.

first cast in and straight away but after taking the fish in the hook was right down inside, i do carry a set of forceps but trying to remove the hook and hold the fish still was proving a challenge.

after getting hold of the fly and trying to dislodge it without doing the fish any harm i noticed it was well and truly stuck into what looked like guts being pulled back up, ( fish anatomy isnt that good)

without hesitation took the priest out and job done.

is there a simple way of retrieving the fly when its swallowed or do you just cut the line and let the fish regurgitate it (can they do that ?)

this is my first fish thats swallowed a fly complete and im sure that there will be many more that will come along so any tips for safe return would be very helpful

steve.

I think you took the only reasonable action: if the fish is deeply hooked or hooked in the gills, give it a tap on the bonce.

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Steve,

It's one of these unfortunate experiences that happen to most of us every now and then.

If it is a barbless hook you probably have a chance of dislodging it with long forceps. The question though is whether severe internal damage has been done in the process of playing the fish. The amount of bleeding will give you some indication.

In some cases, dispatching is probably the only option. Certainly better than leaving the hook inside the fish.

I think you did the correct thing in killing the fish. It's possible that a correctly sized C & R tool would have disgorged the hook. Sometimes but not always. Barbless also helps.

If you are not going to kill it cut the line as close to the hook as you can. It may well die anyway but they can survive with a hook in them as long as no serious damage is done to gills/internal organs. I have caught Trout & one Salmon that had hooks/flies still in them & on one occasion I killed a Trout about a pound & a length of nylon was sticking out it's vent. On investigation a rusted partially dissolved bait hook was stuck in it's stomach but did not seem to do it any harm.
Tight Lines

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exactly highlander.
if fish is to go back dont push and poke deep set hook, cut line as close to eye as poss and return. most hooks will either rust out or fall out with minimal stress to fish, poking around kills fish.
bert

Well done on taking the action you did and being totally a responsible angler.

Only in the past couple of months and on the same day there were 2 fish caught and killed and both had BLOBS and nylon coming out of the anal vent.so they do pass them if they dont get caught in the Gut itself.Not nice to see though.But shows thye are a little tougher than we sometimes think.But advice given about poking about is sensible and best.

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Kevin

Hi'. If the fish was bleeding, you did the best thing by killing it; but they can and do survive with hooks inside them. I have certainly had one or two with nylon trailing from the vent; and my old mate once caught a 9lb pike in a loch near Lochmaben that had a bundle of hooks and nylon inside it. Obviously it had taken something that had been attached to light tackle -- possibly, small fish that had taken bait, and had then been eaten in turn. TC
PS The pike was killed for taxidermy purposes, and the junk came as a surprise.

cheers guys ill keep that in mind for next time for when it occurs

This hasn't happened to me in a while but I've heard putting the fish on it's back helps as it calms the fish.

So hold upside down with one hand and perform surgery with the other

Forceps are best as I have a Ketchum tool and it's great for mouth/lip hooked fish but not for what you mention

My boy uses boobies with me at times and I always pinch the barb back. That helps too

I have also just cut the line and put the fish back in. Not sure if this is the best option though?

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