Hello fellas,

the last couple of times i've been out fishing, i have been catching small brownies which seem to suck the fly down deep,

with most of the fish, i've been able to remove the hook easily, but a couple (1 on Wednesday evening and 1 yesterday) have been so deeply hooked that it's been nigh on impossible to retrieve the fly.

Can anybody tell me what my best options are in these situations? should i just clip the line as close to the fly as possible and release the fish? or should i just dispatch the fish quickly? (though i'd rather not use the second option )

i've been fishng with barbless hooks and i use forceps to aid hook removal, but i was wondering what others do in the same situation?

Thanks in advance... Marc..

Hi Marc

These things happen.
Are you using barbless?

If I cannot remove the fly with out in my opinion damaging the fish in some way. I always cut the line off and return the fish leaving the hook still in there.
If the fish were bleeding you would be better knocking it on the head if it’s sizeable.
I have read numerous times, fish with hooks left in have a good chance of survival, so that’s what I do I give it a chance and return it.

Hope that helps
I know its not nice but thats the best I can offer you

Gary (nicho)

As your using barbless hooks you might find it better to use a proper disgorger like the course boys use to good effect.

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The act of a fish taking a fly almost never causes deep hooking. I suspect you arent detecting the take (bite) quickly enough. How are you fishing so that the hook is in the throat before you strike?

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Thanks for your replies guys, i was thinking of buying a ketchum fly release tool, but have read some of the archives about them on this forum and they are obviously not for all people.

Hi there Warren, i've been fishing a small river which has a width of approx 20 meters, through the centre of which runs a fast flowing riffle, i usually cast directly across stream from where i'm standing, make a single mend, and let the fly get dragged downstream in the riffle,

i'm using a #3/4 weight rod, (with which i'm usually able to feel the most tentative of takes) but whilst using size 16 -20 dries, i'm hooking the odd fish in the rakers or deeper.....

Tight 'uns.... Marc..

Not so . There are a load of small fish at the moment in the Lough I fish and have had loads deep hooked when ripping back size 10 wets . I do mean small as well , from a few inches upwards .I don't know how some of these fish even get the fly in their mouth !!

Here is one caught on a #10 mirage dabbler ....



The one in the pic above is on the small side of small and most of the small fish are a little bigger than that but you get my point ??

These wee fish can even manage a great big muddler on a #10

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Cheers Danny

Co-Founder of S.S.F.D 2010

Sorry, yes. I just naturally assume everyone is fishing rivers. Still water takes are often followed by a 'chomp', with the fish taking the fly to the back of the throat. Your down & across tactics are allowing for the same, with the slack line between hook and rod tip causing terrible bite registration.

The fish are snapping at the fly, and then taking it back in a second movement. You've got to set the hook before they can take the fly back. I wonder if other Lough anglers have the same trouble, it would really hack me off too.

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The truth is it happens no matter what tactics you use, but hopefully not to often.

Depending on how hungry the trout is and how much the fish was deceived by the imitation.
The trout inhales the fly and depending on how quickly it discovers the deception or not either quickly spits the fly out or tries to swallow it.
Large flies are usually very quickly rejected as the fake items they are. Smaller softer flies like for example CDC can be a problem.
Fish have no hands or fingers to examine the prey they usually decide if it good to eat purely by visual means and test by trying to eat it.
If it constantly a problem larger bushy flies carrying more hackle almost always solve the problem.
The more artificial the fly in texture the quicker the rejection.
Down side to all this is the quicker the rejection of the fly the more the timing of the strike is important.

Gary (Nicho)

We all deeply hook fish at times,and occasionally ping off on the strike! Barbless hooks are a must for wild trout,where we endeaver to catch and release.
I think if the hook cant easily be removed,its best to cut the line. However if the Trout is of takeable size and is clearly not going to survive,take it home and make a meal of it.A more fitting end than wasting its life by putting it back when its clearly not going to survive.

Steve

i'm feeling uneasy reading this, out of the last 200 bandies, maybe 1 has been hooked deep, i ate it rather than let it suffer the misery of passing a hook through its digestive system,

use a bigger hook and strike gently upward when the fish takes, slack line might also be the culprit.