Fish biology question for Barbawang

Saltwater Inshore Discussion
1

Last year I went fishing in Louisiana for a catch and release trout tournament we started with RO20. During prefishing, I caught a 24" trout, which is a real nice one for there - kinda like a 24 here. When it came to the boat it was hemorrhaging blood. The hook had penetrated in that thin slice of flesh on the bottom of the mouth between the gills, kinda in the back of the tongue. Needless to say, despite our best efforts, it didn’t make it.

Yesterday, I caught a really nice red over 30" and it was hooked in the same place. When I removed the hook - it wasn’t in the gills - it started hemorrhaging blood - looked like a murder scene… I released it but betting it probably will die.

So my question is, is there an artery down there right below the skin? Seems like there must be…

Thanks in advance!

2

I did get a reply from Joey at DNR about this; For anyone interested, yes, there is a major blood vessel in the bottom of the mouth just below the skin. It can be better to leave the hook and cut the line than to remove it in that case. It’s an unfortunate possibility when fishing that you are gonna hook them there every so often…

3

I think you’re correct, Op. Should be the artery that connects the gills straight to the heart.

Good news is that based on the number of fish you’ve caught, it sounds like about a 0.0001% chance of hitting it with a hook point :laughing:

4

:slight_smile: I always say that if you’re fishing with artificial lures using good technique (ie. semi connected to the line at all times) that you rarely, if ever, gut hook a fish. It is rare but it sure is a heartbreaker when it happens.