In the Event of

[MrHunters]

This almost came up the other night. What do you do when a shortie swallows your plug, and it is next to impossible to extract it without killing it?? Do you leave the plug in and let her go? Thankfully I was able to get it all out with minimal damage but what if its just impossible??

[teaser]

My thinking is this ... if you gut hook a smallie and there is no way to save it then you take it home, period.

If the fish is going to die anyways why not take it home and let the family eat it and put it to good use, at least that way it was not wasted.

BUT ... this does not mean gut hooking 6 or 7 of them and applying this rule, that is just plain poaching, and killing off a valuable resource.

I feel this way lately because if you drive over any given bridge anywhere in New england and at any given time, you are almost guarenteed to see someone somewhere (probably not from this country) with a bunch of shorties that are most certainly going to make the trip home with them.

I know 2 wrongs don't make a right but being born, raised and worked here all my life in this country I feel I have the same rights as they do, I don't make it a practice to do this but I feel I have just as much right to the fish as they do if not more.

I support catch and release to the fullest, in fact the only way I take a Striper home is if it gets hooked this way. I really don't care too much for the taste of Stripers as I am not a big seafood eater, I make it a rule for myself that everything goes back to the water for future trips.

I'm sure I'll raise a few eyebrows with this reply and I hope I don't get beat down too bad for my views, but if rules and regulations don't apply to everyone then they just won't work period.

[snake slinger]

cut the line and let it go

[reelecstasy]

Originally Posted by snake slinger

cut the line and let it go

[Saltheart]

If its a bare single hook , leave it there. If its a plug , get it out. The fish will die with the plug in there so any surgery is worth the effort.

I don't recommend ever taking illegal fish. If its undersize , it goes back , no excuses whatsoever. yes , some will die but I garantee you will see abuse if for any reason people are encouraged or allowed to keep shorts.

[BigFish]

My girlfriend caught a small...and I mean small bass last week on a pencil popper almost was bigger than the fish! The fish inhaled the plug and the siwash tail hook was lodged in its gill plates and I could not cut the line and let it go with the plug lodged in its mouth as it would surely die and try as I might.....I could neither dis-lodge the hook or cut the split ring and release it as the mouth was too small to get into with the plug there......so by the time I was done removing the plug as best I could the fish had expired! I tried my best as I feel badly when that happens but...I guess the crabs and gulls have to eat too so it won't go to waste. That only happens about once a year to me and I always feel badly.

[outfished]

As much as I see the logic in Teasers opinion, grab your plug and cut it loose. I firmly believe if it's going to die then you should add it to your daily total and bring er home. I could never understand the commercial end of fishing where tons of "by-catch" are shoveled back into the ocean after the fish have already croaked on deck. Such a waste imo.

[Roseneath]

What Saltheart said... shorts go back, period.

[BigFish]

I agree you "should" bring it home.....but the law prohibits the taking of shorts soooo........back it goes!

[boot man]

I'm with Big Fish on this one. There is what's right and what's legal. It's not worth the fine.

[BigBo]

Originally Posted by teaser

if rules and regulations don't apply to everyone then they just won't work period.

The rules and regulations certainly do apply to everyone. Just because someone is taking shorts and getting away with it doesn't mean that they are being let off the hook (so to speak) because they were ignorant of the rules. Law enforcement is understaffed but they hold everyone to the applied standards. No excuses.

[Slingah]

I mutilated a short yesterday(not on purpose)...hooked on the outside of it's belly(thought I had a big fish on)..... removed the hook(could see meat and guts).....it swam off, that fish was not gonna live
I would not keep a short...something will eat it....

[justplugit]

Still feel bad aout a release last year,with of all things, a storm ,all the way down. No way he could have made it.

[tattoobob]

Try to cut the hook at the bend or cut the split ring and let it go, Always have a good pair of wire cutter with you. It is not worth the fine

[beachwalker]

Originally Posted by Slingah

I mutilated a short yesterday(not on purpose)...hooked it in the gut(thought I had a big fish on)..... removed the hook(could see meat and guts).....it swam off, that fish was not gonna live
I would not keep a short...something will eat it....

jeez s;ingah that better have not been down here.



'er

[staltershoal]

ya never keep shorts, worst case its food for something else.

[teaser]

Guys,

I agree with all that is said here about releasing a fish that is gut hooked by trying to free the fish of the hook without killing it or totally mangling it so it has no chance to live, but I do not waste a fish if it does not have a chance whether it be food for crabs or something else.

But just to set the record straight for myself here, I have never gut hooked a Striper. I only pitch eels at them, no other way do I fish for them and so far lucky maybe but never a gut hook.

The fish I refer to (and the only species I have ever gut hooked) is Rock Bass, and only because they are voracious like Bluefish. I catch them by accident sometimes when fishing for Fluke using squid, and I do by all means try to save them too but if the inevitable is at hand then they are in the pan.

I love fishing for Stripers, believe me. But I hate trolling, I don't use plastics on them, that's a good way to gut hook them, and if I'm throwing plugs at anything I use a single hook on the back of the plug, no belly hooks at all.

I know I didn't make it clear before as to how I fish or what I fish for or what species I was refering to but I hope I did now. I didn't mean to come across as I'll take it no matter what, that wasn't my intention and by no means do I agree with the taking of shorts and as it was stated in another response ... yes, the EPA is drastically understaffed and that is the reason so many people get away with taking illegal fish.

Again, I hope I didn't step on any toes here and I made my point of view a little clearer by defining my methods and species of fish of which I was refering to.

[BigBo]

Well, just one other issue teaser. Believe it or not, birthright does not grant anyone more or less "right" to take fish that do not meet the regulations.

[Slingah]

also..if your catching alot of small fish...crimp the barbs on your hooks especially the trebles...easier removal
I feel bad too...but it happens

[MrHunters]

I guess the crabs and gulls have to eat too so it won't go to waste

They get plenty from the herring i float.

I'm not so sure that anyone should take offense to anything people say or feel about this topic. It is definetly a grey area and clearly the law states that smallies go back no matter what. And as one who can't lie his way out of a paper bag and ALWAYS get caught when ever I decide to do something stupid, this is exactly what I would do. However, I do feel that if the fish was doomed, any use for it would be good use.

I also agree that you "should" bring it home but I understand why you can't. I would not think twice about looking the other way however, if I saw the guy next to me in the same situation bring it home. As long as you know and I mean KNOW that its not a practice he or she cares to take part in.......

I did feel bad for that little bugger when I was trying to gently remove it.....After all, he was just looking for a meal. This thread and that experience is going to make me take out all the tri hooks accept for the one on the back of the plug. Three tri hooks on a plug is just plain excessive..

Thanks guys.

Sy

[kennebecstriper]

unfortunately some shorts do get gut hooked(hopefully only 1 a year or less) but to put in my 2 cents I would take it feel guilty as heck and call it a night.
I have had great nights spoiled this way and was styopped once by a con. officer who luckily knew me and my good rep. and agreed that it was the right thing to do. I usually only take one fish a year anyway so if it is a short then that is it.
Tight lines all.

[Ron in Maine]

There is morally right, and legally right. And then there is what you are willing to do, or in this case, possibly pay. If you take the fish, you might make the argument that you are doing what is right. Just keep in mind, if and when you get caught with it, the man fining you is doing what is right, and you should be willing to pay the fine and not utter one disrespectful word. To me, it sucks to kill a fish that you do not mean to kill but it happens. It would really suck to kill a fish that should not have been killed and be fined a lot of money on top of it for doing what is right.
And although not on topic, per say, keep in mind, when a fish busts off and runs with twenty feet or yards of line, that line has a good chance of getting caught up on something and also killing that fish. Do what you can to protect our resources while enjoying them. We have seen how hard it is to recover this one.