Deeply hooked oos fish

[hunterjoe84]

What do you do with deeply hooked out of season fish? Obviously you can cut the line and let the hook work its way out, but what if the fish is already bleeding and obviously wont survive? This hasnt happened to me yet but im sure it will. Musky, or scavenger food?

Edited September 28, 2010 by hunterjoe84

[HTHM]

The law is clear, if it is out of season, it must be relaesed.

[Joey]

Turtle food!

[waterwolf]

sad,but true, even though that oos fish is doomed , it has to be released

[kickingfrog]

The law says the fish must be released.

 

Fish blood will coagulate in water, so while it might look bad it may not be fatal.

 

There are techniques for removing deep hooks from fish. (Do a search, because the pictures will be WAY better than my words)

 

Options to consider if OOS fish are in an area you are fishing for legal fish:

 

Skip the live bait.

 

Replace treble hooks with singles.

 

Pinch down the barbs.

 

Fish elsewhere.

 

[Stern Rules]

I'd hate to have the fish die but I'd hate being charged with keeping it even more. Not worth it. I don't think a CO would accept that excuse.

[sauce]

If you deep hook a fish, try to keep it in the water until you are 100% ready to attempt unhooking it. Have forceps, needle nose pliers, or even better a hook disgorger ready for action. I have yet to come across a deep hooked fish that I couldn't unhook with a disgorger. Pliers and forceps work, but a disgorger pretty much turns the hook back out the way it came in. OOS or not, a deep hooked fish has a much better chance of survival if you keep handling to a minimum and get the hook out quickly.

[TJQ]

Back in the water it goes!!

[thalweg]

The law is clear, if it is out of season, it must be relaesed.

 

The law is not clear as the "do not spoil" provision is in direct conflict.

 

The spirit of the law is also a legal consideration when factoring intent. The law is designed to protect against illegal intent to poach. In this case you could present a plausible reason for keeping the fish.

[thalweg]

I'd hate to have the fish die but I'd hate being charged with keeping it even more. Not worth it. I don't think a CO would accept that excuse.

 

A CO would only enforce if he thought he had a good case or didn't believe you. A judge makes the final ruling.

 

That said its likely not worth the hassle and logically the best approach is to release it.

[kickingfrog]

The law is not clear as the "do not spoil" provision is in direct conflict.

 

The spirit of the law is also a legal consideration when factoring intent. The law is designed to protect against illegal intent to poach. In this case you could present a plausible reason for keeping the fish.

 

That is the ethical/moral dilemma that can, and will, be debated until the cows come home. An unethical angler would use that potential grey area to purposefully damage a OOS fish's gills in an attempt to justify keeping said fish. The rest of us would feel guilt no matter whether we released or kept a OOS fish that had very little chance of surviving.

[Moosebunk]

From my Trauma course last week... follow ABCDEFGHI

 

A. Inspect the airway. Clean out any obstruction then, apply a neck collar for C-spine immoblitization if you suspect head or spinal injury.

 

B. Assess breathing. Rise and fall of the gills symmetrical. Air bladder distended. Auscultate the lungs ensuring adequate air entry bilaterally.

 

C. Check pulse. Check circulation ie, skin color, pallor, temp... submerge fish if need be for quick revival.

 

D. Treat disabilities.

 

E. Expose. Quickly observe for further trauma, get your photo, then blanket and keep the fish warm. Try not to remove slime.

 

F. Call the family for further history. Obtain full vital signs.

 

H. Head to toe... I mean head to fin assessment. Palpating and assessing neurovascular status.

 

I. If the fish is boarded, with help carefully rotate and inspect posterior surfaces.

 

 

Once all labs and tests have returned and you've consulted with your team, then and only then can the OOS fish be discharged safely back to the water.

[Roy]

Really glad you posted that MB. I just picked up a case of 6/0 tongue depressors so I'm good to go.

[Woodsman]

A CO would only enforce if he thought he had a good case or didn't believe you. A judge makes the final ruling.

Untrue. You will be charged if caught in possession of an out of season fish. The fact you have the fish is all the proof needed.

You will never be charged for releasing a deeply hooked out of season fish.

[TobascoCat]

The law is not clear as the "do not spoil" provision is in direct conflict.

 

The spirit of the law is also a legal consideration when factoring intent. The law is designed to protect against illegal intent to poach. In this case you could present a plausible reason for keeping the fish.

 

Correct, you will not be charged for spoiling fish but you will be charged for keeping an OOS fish.

[bigfish1965]

The law is not clear as the "do not spoil" provision is in direct conflict.

 

The spirit of the law is also a legal consideration when factoring intent. The law is designed to protect against illegal intent to poach. In this case you could present a plausible reason for keeping the fish.

 

The possession laws usurp the spoilage laws. Spoilage laws only refer to legally caught fish. The 'summary of regulations' are just that...a summary. They are not the actuals laws. In order to make them less wordy and more understandable, they are abridged.

If you are keeping an out of season fish, you will be charged..there is no exception.

[thalweg]

The possession laws usurp the spoilage laws. Spoilage laws only refer to legally caught fish. The 'summary of regulations' are just that...a summary. They are not the actuals laws. In order to make them less wordy and more understandable, they are abridged.

If you are keeping an out of season fish, you will be charged..there is no exception.

 

I'm not sure usurp is the right way to define it, but I understand what you are saying. I can't confirm whether possession laws take precedence over spoilage law..but it does make sense and if you're right, It could be assumed that I was attempting to "usurp" the possession law if I tried to use the spoilage law as a defense.

 

Good to know, as always hated to throw back a fish that I positively knew was going to die but it seems I have no choice.

[Guest Johnny Bass]

An unethical angler would use that potential grey area to purposefully damage a OOS fish's gills in an attempt to justify keeping said fish.

 

Exactly.

[Stern Rules]

Untrue. You will be charged if caught in possession of an out of season fish. The fact you have the fish is all the proof needed.

You will never be charged for releasing a deeply hooked out of season fish.

Thank you.

[singingdog]

Yep. OOS is OOS.... and out-of-slot is out-of-slot; your intent and/or the health of the fish has nothing to do with it.