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Please note the description of elestrolysis has been altered alot. The scientific version is not understandable.[ATTACH]14859[/ATTACH]
On a recent trip to my favourite bridge on Hope Island I caught a Trevally, which is not all that unusual except for the amount of hooks he was sporting. A rig from Hell trailing him from nose to tail, five hooks in all, 1mt of 20kg mono and a substantial amount of growth that had formed on the trailing mono. The rig consisted of a central 5/0 octopus stainless, with four high carbon or “chemically sharpened” hooks in a star configuration off it.
Its not all that uncommon to catch a fish with man made injuries, fish like all wild creatures heal extremely well without the intervention of our local vet. In the last year alone I have seen some amazing injuries to fish which you wouldn’t think they could possibly live through, but they do. A bream I caught had most of it’s back eaten away sometime in it’s early life, healed up quite nicely to become a more larger specimen than average.
So fish that escape from the clutches of ill prepared anglers with the hooks still in them will in most cases survive to throw the hooks at a later day. Providing of course there isn’t a huge amount of line accompanying the hooks.
After studying the rig I removed from the Trevally carefully, I began to ponder the theory that hooks left in fish will dissolve away in the fish over just a few days. To me that’s starting to sound like something the “Myth Busters” should get hold of. I have in front of me a rig, with all the growth attached, would indicate its been in the water for around two weeks. The stainless hook has the tip broken off behind the barb. The high carbon hooks have very little corrosion; that surprises me a great deal.
So why do the hooks in my tackle box corrode rapidly and not the ones left in the salt water? The answer is Oxygen: a highly corrosive metal can take many years to break down in salt water as long as it stays away from the upper layers where the oxygen levels are at there highest. Troll that same hook without an anode or similar protection for a day and say goodbye to the hook.
The explanation is not so simple at all to explain. To simplify it, there is a certain amount of static electricity in the air, especially when an off shore wind is blowing. Salt water mixed with the oxygen in the air, plus the static electricity in the wind creates a battery affect. On top of that, the moving boat ads even more oxygen into the lures path, enhancing the over all electricity passing through the metals.
“Electrolysis” The decomposition of a substance by passing electricity through it, as described in the Dictionary, is the effect taking place to the hook’s (Particularly High Carbon) when left in salt water with a high level of oxygen is apparent. This is more noticeable when other metals are linked; for example a shackle rig used under a skirted trolling lure has a Stainless steel shackle, Stainless steel stranded wire, Aluminium crimps and last of all, either a pare of Stainless hooks or High carbon hooks. If Stainless hooks are in the rig all the electrolysis goes to the softest metal being the crimps, then why does a High carbon hook burn away when it’s much harder than the crimp?
In the case of a chemically sharpened hook, or High carbon hook, the hook is the moving part of the rig therefore becoming the anode itself. Without a Zink anode attached to that last hook it will begin to arc away the tip. Stainless hooks don’t corrode under electrolysis, this point alone to me isn’t a good enough reason to use stainless hooks.
This explains away the theory of hooks dissolving away and falling out of fish after just a few days. The reason hooks fall out is a natural process every living thing on the planet goes through. The body gets something stuck in it that’s not natural to it, the body begins the process to rid it’s self of the foreign invader. Along comes the puss created by the infection brought in on the invading object. The tissue around the object becomes rotten and begins breaking down. At this point the tissue around the object is much like a paper bag full of minced Tuna left in a esky all day. The object falls out and the healing process begins.
Fish have there own medical fraternity just as we do, the difference is our Doctors remove the hook before the infection gets to bad and then prescribe Antibiotics, Fish have a mired of cleaners to eat out the rotten flesh allowing the healing process to happen quicker.
The Trevally I caught and released would have lived wether I helped it or not, that doesn’t change the fact that an angler’s pore decision in rigs created the problem in the first place. I catch and release fish all the time, some in better condition than others. The rigs I use are prepared for the species I’m targeting and my fishing ethics are sound, anglers without the same degree of experience deserve a helping hand not a kicking. Every chance I get to educate a young or inexperienced angler I will because I don’t like catching fish with bogus rig’s trailing off them.
Unfortunately I have seen many highly skilled anglers turn there backs on the disadvantaged but very keen fisho’s, who we see every day around our waterways. These are the people who don’t know how to tie a knot or know that wire isn’t necessary to catch whiting. Unskilled anglers are the ones that leave all the crap around our wharfs and bridges, some due to lack of knowledge, others don’t give a shit. You simply can’t help a person who doesn’t care, but the others do want to care and would love nothing more than to be shown how, he then may even have the thrill of watching his catch swim away again.
It’s a great feeling teaching someone a particular technique, then watching him catch the fish they want to catch. I urge every angler to share even a small amount of time, passing on a little bit of info to help a disadvantaged angler. You may just be the teacher that prevents the next 50mt’s of line left tangled on the rocks around your favourite fishing hole.
Last edited by MitchCalcutt; 22-10-2007 at 07:31 PM. Reason: forgot photo
Please note the description of elestrolysis has been altered alot. The scientific version is not understandable.[ATTACH]14859[/ATTACH]
Old rex hunt always says that the hook disolves in a day or 2, im thinking it would be weeks at least.
good reading mitch ive always wondered myself how long it does take even in the fresh water, knowing salt has to be quicker. cheers bdowdy...brett
Great post Mitch, good information.
Hi allecat, I love your dog photo.Originally Posted by alleycat
Rex did the right thing by saying that on TV, you know how the general public would have reacted if if told it as it is.
Good fishing
Mitch
Very informative mate. Thanks.
Cuzza
thanks mitch, he is 10 months old now and loves going out in the boat, yesterday he pulled over my lemon tree and dragged a sheet of the clothes line, for 10 minutes he was a giveaway and was lucky i couldnt catch him lol.
Along similar lines.
Last time I was up north, I was hanging arround withe the regular jetty crowd a bit.
The subject turned to.... where's so & so........ well he had been in hospital after a dose of blood poisoning.
hed been out on the reef and caught a "large whatever".......... well he slit it open from end to end .... stuck his hand istraight n to pull out the guts and got a hand full of a hook the fish had swallowed.
the hook didn't go in too deep and came out easy enough.... but by the time he got back to shore, his hand had puffed up and was throbbing like a beauty.
so he went up to the hospital & didn't come out for a week or so.
So the message is not to be too gung ho and have a bit of a look befor you stick your hand in.
cheers
Up maroochy river last winter with my brother... (Im going to tell the story although it is unbelievable, it happened... I was night fishing with a strip bait and a red baitholder hook under the bridge in the river, I had a double tied to the hook. I got onto a good fish it turned out to be a 45cm bream, I thought it was a snapper in the dark. I went to get the hook out and saw that it was not my hook in its mouth, it was a improperly closed single gang hook, "Did you change my hook over" I called to my brother, "No why?"...
It turned out that the double had slipped into the gap in the hook's ring. I caught a 45 cm bream, the biggest I have ever caught, and i didnt even hook it!
I felt bad keeping such an awesome it after it had escaped once but i decided it must have been its time.
Great catch mate, did you buy a lotto ticket later?
very interesting mitch, i used to go by what rex said when i was little, but i always thought it took longer.lol
cam
Australian Native Fish VidsSpecialize in Terapontida's, Perches, Cods, Gobies & Gudgeons
That was a good read, MitchCalcutt.
I do a lot of kayak fishing and generally practice CPR (catch, photograph and release). Occasionally I will keep a fish for the table especially if its been injured and bleeding.
Cheers,
Tom
when i go fishing i always end up catching a few moses perch (fingermark) the seem to always swallow the hook pretty deep.
is it better for the fish if i pull it out or just leave it in.
i always use mustad hooks.
cheers
Hi mate how are you?
I don't have the answer to that, just keep doing what you think is right.
I'm no saint, i have killed fish in the past trying too hard in remove the hook when in hind sight i should have left it in and just replaced the hook.
A little tool thats been around for ever is the old hook remover. You just slide it down the line untill it reaches the curve of the hook, hold the line and the tool and push down and hooks comes out (some times )
Good fishing
Mitch
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