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Tethered Fish

J

Joe Fletcher

No Longer a Member
Having had a great day on the Severn last Thursday . I decided to return for a afternoon/Evening session yesterday .
After trying a few swims and blanking I ended up in the swim where I had success on the Thursday .

All to aware that I had lost leads to a snag in this swim . I was carefull to avoid the area where the snag was .
After many hours of not even getting a knock and loosing a lead to the snag .

I decided to try another part of the swim . Upon trying to reel in my line I was again got caught on what I thought was a snag .
Having tried to get free with out any success . I knew that I would have to pull for a break .
Then with out any warning I could feel a fish on the end and started to try to play/reel it in and at first it felt like a really good fish and was struggling to get any line back on the reel .

I even thought that I might of hooked a big Severn Carp with the way the fish was staying deep .
Eventually after a struggle , I was finally getting the fish to the surface .
First my lead appeard above the water , Then I could see my hook length , Then my boilie and hook and attached to my hook was a lenght of line and attached to one end of the line was a Barbel and the other end of the line went back in to the water .

What ever the other end of the line that was attached to the fish was caught on become clear that it was not going to release it self very easily .
After struggling to try and get the fish close enough to land the fish .
The other end of the snagged line finally gave way and I was able to get the fish . Which weighed about 9lbs in the net and on to the bank and unhooking some one else's hook length and broken line I was finally able to release the fish back to the water .

On close inspection it appeard that I had hooked some one else's broken line about 5 yards of it through where the braid hook link joined the main line .
On the drive home I got to thinking how many times I have had to pull for a break when I have got snagged up , Only for the main line to break and leave a baited hook attached to a snag and wondered if a fish has picked up my baited hook and become tethered :(
 
It's not a nice thought, but if you've done everything possible to avoid it happening in the first place, there's little you can do. Balanced tackle, safe rigs and probably the use of barbless hooks are key here, but more importantly knowing where the snags are and not fishing right into them. A further necessity to stop fish taking too much line, is learning how to adjust your clutch properly.
 
thats why I only fish running rigs , least if I break off and leave a baited hook in the river then anything picking it up its only trailing the hook link and line . I have also considered using barbless hooks
 
I use running rigs so if I do have to pull for a break then hopefully the lead slides free .
The problem is if the main line breaks , Leaving a long length of line and it gets caught on a snag .
Perhaps barbless hooks are the way to go , So if a fish gets tethered then it has a chance of slipping free
 
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Well done Joe for getting that one in and freeing it of what could have been the end for it! I actually lost a rig to a snag in that swim last week, it could have been that one? The feeder was snagged and therefore, on my usual running rig it makes sense that the hook and bait may have been free!! Scary.
Again good work getting the fish in and the hook (and line) out!:)
 
I always use a weaklink system to attach my leads, I am pretty sure I didnt lose a rig to a snag all of last season. I use either the enterprise links or Fishteks imo its the way forward.

Jon
 
Thats a Hell of a feat Joe,well done, I guess we all take precautions, or should do, however still feel bad about leaving a hook in that fish I lost, but ferrous hooks are supposed to rust through within 2 weeks, is that right?
'that' swim is not the only problem a guy lost 3 fish on a feeder set up Sunday. Surprised we dont see more fish with hooks in.
 
Well done Joe for saving a barbel's life.

These stories are never pleasant. It sometimes doesn't bear to think too deeply about our great sport otherwise could we justify doing it at all?

As a piker, my crises of conscience are most acute when, on the odd occasion and in spite of precautions, i have cracked off or snapped off when deadbaiting. Because an unattached dead fish with trebles attached could very well mean a dead pike :(
 
If you use barbless hooks you eliminate the risk of tethering completely, periodically I remove hooks from fish caught trailing line and tackle, one fish had 3 hooks in its mouth-all barbed.

Cheers DT
 
David Tainton said:
If you use barbless hooks you eliminate the risk of tethering completely, periodically I remove hooks from fish caught trailing line and tackle, one fish had 3 hooks in its mouth-all barbed.

Cheers DT
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David I have often thought about using barbless hooks .

I read an artical in a fishing mag a few years ago and evidence was put forward that barbless hooks do more damage to a fish's mouth than barbed one's . How true that is , I cant say ?
 
I haven't used a barbed hook of any sort for well over a decade. It gives me some piece of mind and I'd rather lose a fish every now and again than think I've buggered one up.
 
I like the look of the Enterprise snag safe clips, they seem to offer added safety if your feeder/lead gets snagged.
I was recently fishing a very snaggy swim on the Wye and lost my rigs several times after reeling in to recast, not with fish on, pulling for the break. I am pretty certain that the feeder was getting snagged on the rocky bottom. If I had been using the snag safe links I would only have lost the feeders not the whole hooklink as well which would prevent a baited hooklink being left in the swim for a Barbel to pick up and also saved me time and the frustration of not having to tie up new rigs on the bank.
May be its a bit belt and braces but it seems like a good idea to me.
 
Michael Hall said:
I like the look of the Enterprise snag safe clips, they seem to offer added safety if your feeder/lead gets snagged.
I was recently fishing a very snaggy swim on the Wye and lost my rigs several times after reeling in to recast, not with fish on, pulling for the break. I am pretty certain that the feeder was getting snagged on the rocky bottom. If I had been using the snag safe links I would only have lost the feeders not the whole hooklink as well which would prevent a baited hooklink being left in the swim for a Barbel to pick up and also saved me time and the frustration of not having to tie up new rigs on the bank.
May be its a bit belt and braces but it seems like a good idea to me.
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For me its a no brainer using any type of snag safe lead clip as the vast majority of snags are caused by the feeder. If its the hook well.I just pull until the hook bends and comes free. One or two of the pegs I fish on the Trent are quite snaggy and the final straw was around 3 seasons ago when I lost a very large Barbel less than a rod length out, I searched the internet high and low for a weaklink of varying strengths to accomodate a huge variety of swims I fish. Enterprise, fishtek and a titanium reusable one from the states. Since using them and snagging whilst with a Barbel on, one quick tug releases the feeder and generally ends up with a fish on the bank rather than a fish running round the river bed with a rig hanging from its bottom lip.
Another tip is if you are fishing snaggy swims then you have to be on your rods immediately when a bite is indicated or all will be lost. some people will not like this, but if your not geared up for snag fishing then you shouldnt and its just down right bad angling.

Fish safety andgood angling comes first
 
Barbed hooks should be banned.I eject anybody found fishing in my lakes with barbed hooks."Brabed hooks do less damage than barbless"is often quoted by inadequate anglers.Well thats my view.
 
Bit of a bold statement that one Chris. Does that mean that anglers who use micro barbed hooks are only partially inadequate ? :D There are pros and cons for both type of hook .Inevitably a barb is going to be less easy for a fish to shed than a none barbed one . But with regard to the less or more damage infilicted argument, I am not as convinced that barbless is the way .
 
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I fish the Wye at on hols at least twice a season and due to the nature of the bottom ie boulders,rocks and sunken trees etc you can loose about 20% of fish hooked and Ive yet to catch a fish trailing hooklinks apart for one fish which was hooked in the dorsal with a very small hook.On the basis of this Im sure that fish must get rid of the hooks...teathered fish is obviously different though...just my thoughts
 
A couple of tips.

On rocky bottoms always do a high, quick lift and wind like mad when bringing your gear in. This will prevent a number of lost rigs.

Prior to hooking a fish, make sure you have adequate tackle/line strength and can play the fish firmly without them being allowed to run any distance along the bottom. Play them with your rod held high and not straight out, always trying to keep them up a bit in the water.

I once saw a supposed accomplish angler / well known angling writer lose 4 fish one after the other by fishing a Wye deeper gulley and keeping his rod in normal mode for playing the fish. I had a word!

Over the 3 years spent on the Wye, adopting these practices led to only about 1 in 100 fish getting snagged, and a trip downstream as far as possible before trying again led to most coming out..

Re Barbless/Barbed. I'm sure that barbless do more damage from seeing the number of times they can tear flesh and bury deeply up to the eye because of the movement potential.
Having said that I'm also sure they can be ejected better if a fish is left with a hook in it's mouth.
 
That's the catch 22 situation we are faced with, isn't it Graham? Both sides of the argument have merit, with lots of experienced anglers at odds over which is best. I have used barbless for quite a number of years now, not through choice, but rather because club rules forced me to, much to my horror. However, since that time (and much to my surprise) I can honestly say I have never had a problem with them. I have seen very little evidence of the hook causing excessive damage, and have not lost a single fish due to the hook falling out, as many fear they will.

Some clubs/fisheries ban barbed hooks...and others ban barbless. I remember Ian Welch of Cemex fame banning barbless....and my clubs ban barbed. I don't think we will ever get agreement on this one....bit like the otter issue :p:D

Cheers, Dave.
 
Go to a busy fishery that allows barbed hooks and one that doesn't.You will soon see the diference.I fish many waters(lakes,Wensum,Broads and the Wye)and have used barbless for many years now and have lost very few fish.Even when Pike fishing I now use single barbless hooks.With experience,I now loose no more pike then when I used barbed trebles.It does take a little time and slightly diferent playing of the fish.I see some holidaymakers(bless em) catching Pike and it absolutly horrifies me to see them struggling to unhook a Pike with barbed trebles.If anybody should witness such events then I feel sure they would soon be advocates of barbless hooks
 
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