A couple years back I hooked a nice early summer hatchery fish that was hooked in the gills and bleeding badly. When I landed it, it was about 85 degrees outside and instead of bonking the fish I put it in a small back pool with no way out. Obviously the water was warmer than the river flow but probably no warmer than 55-60 degrees. When I put the fish in there it was still bleeding pretty good. I worked with the fish until it took off out of my hands and proceded to fish down river. When I worked my way back upriver I went to pick my fish up and it was all I could do to catch the fish with my hands. I chased it all over the whole and finally my buddy and I cornered it. Talk about full of piss and vinegar again.

Another situation in the spring my partner and I came into a whole where I hooked a 12lb winter hen. She was bleeding moderately when I released her and we proceded downriver. About an hour later on our way back up my partner made a cast in the same whole hoping there was more than one fish there but ended up hooking that same fish again on nearly the same eggs (hungry eager bugger) and when he landed it he had hooked it in the corner of the mouth and my hook was still in the gills but the bleeding had stopped. It was as if she hadn't even been hooked before other than the fact that she didn't fight near as hard the second time.

To summerize, no I don't think that gill hooked fish die often maybe 10% or so. Think about this, how many dead fish do you see laying around the rivers that look as if they had died for no reason!
Keith Archer

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