I was fishing this morning with a herring and bobber when I had a fish. He did some great jupms and leaps then it was time for me to bring him in, when I brought him in half of the herring was in his mouth with a trailing hook which had broken off and during the fight the other hook got snaged on his belly, is it wrong to keep this fish? I kept it but thought maybe this is illeagal, whats your input? P.S it was a hatchery fish by the way.

[This message has been edited by Aerofly (edited 09-13-2000).]

Geez, you probally really opened a can of worms here. But if you legally hooked it I would have kept it to because you didn't snag it it came up and grabed your bait.

Tight lines
Kevin

What kind of Fish? Were you in an area where it was legal to retain it? If it was a legal fish in an open area, whats to question?

If it was not a legal fish in an open area it is wrong, immoral and illegal to keep the fish (unless you are a Native American, then you can pretty much do whatever you friggin like as the laws us non natives have to live by don't apply to you.)

edit
Wow, Sorry, that was a bit harsh. In rereading the post it was a question "is the fish snagged?" I don't believe it was. The fish probably got both hooks at first. Was the top hook within the distance it was originally tied? At some point both hooks were probably stuck in at the same time. By the time you make such a thorough examination, the poor critter was probably dead anyhow. If it was a coho in an open area, no worries.
Guts

[This message has been edited by Fishguts (edited 09-13-2000).]

Ha, ha, I love this topic. According to all the naysayers that have been rippin' me a new ass this past week, you have been branded a snagger.LOL

Just kidding! Foul hookups occur all the time with them double hook leaders. But, in this case it appears that I would've released it. My reasoning is that because the mono connection between the two hooks was broken, the fish escaped by breaking off the trailer BEFORE getting snagged by the front hook. If the silver was snagged while still hooked the section of line between the two hooks would not have parted because the pressure would be all on the lead hook.

On the other hand, If the silver was belly hooked, the leader was still intact, and I can find a hook wound in its mouth or head; then I keep it. I see no difference between this situation and another common situation when coho fishing, when a silver gets tail wrapped and is landed backwards but is still mouth-hooked. With the advent of barbless hooks the trailer typically falls out of the fish's mouth when incidently belly hooked and landed foul-hooked.

It was in Area 10 and the season is open for silvers till the 15th of this month. Reason I asked this question is some people think I should have released it . I know what you mean about silvers wrapping them selves up a lot in the leader line Hohawiian, I see this too and people keep it all the time.

Fire up the Barbeque

------------------
Row Quietly and fish a Cataraft }<<(('>----<'))>>{
Release all Wild Fish

What time did you say dinner was???
Good luck and tight lines, Jeff

kind of like playing a fish and get it to the boat and off it comes but floats belly up, do you net it or let it go, it is no longer leagl hooked

I'd net it bonk it and Que it.This happened to me three times during sockeye season.
STRIKE ZONE>

They don't normally get foul hooked in the salt. Also, silvers spin, thrash and jump so much that you probably hooked him in the mouth, his teeth sawed through that hook and because he spun and wrapped himself the other burried itself in his belly. Even if that's not what happened thinking that will make it taste better.

Heck yes...that fish is yours for the eatin'. You seduced him he took it, you won the battle. Its a legitimate hookup, struggle and time for the fry pan. In the old glory days of Cambell River B.C., we would drag cut bait at a 5 knot troll right under the surface. The silvers would slash through those fast baits so quickly, they would frequently miss the hooks on the quick-bite. The solution was to rig a very small sticky sharp trailer right at the tip end of the bait. Half of the time that tiny trailer would catch 'em on the 'outside' edge of the lip. No snaggin', pure and simple outsmarting those bait bandit coho.

Something tells you ,inside, if youre being ethical to the fishery or not. You made the proper choice.