How do you get them out???????????

[Glenn W]

Deep's lab test on hooks is most appreciated and the results will indeed be interesting. I don't know how much relivance there will or won't be from the results as the most critical factor concerning the oxidization of iron (rust) is the presense or absence of oxygen (disolved or inert). I have no idea how much oxygen levels are inhibited while embedded inside flesh or bone.--- It would seem to retard the rusting process but I don't know.
One thing I do know involves common sense, and that is a philosophy to follow regarding hook removal from Billfish:
If you can esily and safely remove a hook without prolonged effort, the fish is better off for the effort. If however, the fish is fiesty, and/or the hook does not want to cooperate, the fish will be better off with a short term body piercing for a little while as opposed to having the shit beat out of it by the side of the boat or having it's slime and scales removed while attempting to get the hook out. It goes without saying that the leader should be cut as short as reasonably possible.
I've popped off many a billfish intententionally in tournaments and expect this practice to continue unless there is a rule to the contrary.--- may not be the best practice as far has the fish is concerned, but neither is hunting for them in the first place.
Pelagic fish eat some mean stuff on a day to day basis. I can't image a little piece of metal stuck in their jaw (for however long) is going to hurt them but so much.

[Finnseeker]

I know this isn't on a billfish but I've got a picture of a circle hook in a grouper that I caught this past fall. The hook was in the corner of his mouth and his skin/flesh had grown around back around it so bad that you could not get it out. (Believe me, I tried.) There were barnacles growing on the hook itself along with a trace of mono where he had broken off another guy sometime before. I realize that this is a thick wire Eagle Claw hook (looks like it anyway) but take a look at how little it had rusted....this made me rethink the whole "it'll rust out in a day or two" theory.
The thin wire hooks will rust very quickly. I just had to throw out a bunch of them from my boxes that had rusted badly.
Just some food for thought...

From the pic it certainly looks like a coated thicker wire hook. The coated hooks I have objected to, to Eagle Claw time and time again but thye dont want them rusting in tackle boxes etc.

The coated hooks will take a lot and I mean a lot longer to rust out as I have tested and seen and DO NOT LIKE. I would rather buy disposable thin wired circle hooks than thick wired coated or even coated thin wired hooks. Thanks for sharing.

[Deep C]

Update... At 27 hours of soak there is no visible rust on any of the thin wire hooks in the bath. The only one showing rust surprised the heck out of me that being the 3407... That spot being on the shank not near the tip... The finish on the vmc doesn't quite look as shiny as it did nor does the 39951bln. The eagle claw looks shiny but does seem to have a very little tip erosion... Will keep you updated as anything changes...

Looking at the pic above it does appear just low and behind the mandible itself that there is some discoloration and uneven texture to the flesh that is there... Kind of surprised seeing barnacle growth... That takes a while i'm sure...

[Squidnation]

Update... At 27 hours of soak there is no visible rust on any of the thin wire hooks in the bath. The only one showing rust surprised the heck out of me that being the 3407... That spot being on the shank not near the tip... The finish on the vmc doesn't quite look as shiny as it did nor does the 39951bln. The eagle claw looks shiny but does seem to have a very little tip erosion... Will keep you updated as anything changes...

Looking at the pic above it does appear just low and behind the mandible itself that there is some discoloration and uneven texture to the flesh that is there... Kind of surprised seeing barnacle growth... That takes a while i'm sure...

I was thinking about this earlier paul. You need to have this embedded in sails jawbone to have this be a true test. I don't have one handy so I just stuck it in Nico's cheek to see how the enzymes will work on rusting the hook.

Take some pictures and post them.

[Deep C]

I actually have a bill laying around I can use... If no rust in the morn I'll stick em in it... dont have a full jaw joint though unless I use a mackeral jaw ( I have a load of spanish I caught for bait left over from last year)...
I was thinking about another test that would be interesting. Kinda tough to get and gonna stink like hell but I'm thinking I could get some good stomach juice from some mahi as we have a pretty good supply of them and try the test in that... I know theough the years I have seen some way gone hook bits in dolphin guts... Just no Idea how long that took...

[rarhomes]

I don't think stomach juice would be fair to add to the saltwater. In real life I don't think a jaw hooked fish would get much stomach juice on it.

Your test so far is going exactly as I though it would. Also the grouper pictures confirms hooks just don't rust out overnight.

Just think how long it could take for a 18/0 in a marlin to rust out?


Thanks Deep, keep us posted.

[Squidnation]

Here is a serious question. Has anyone every caught a billfish or any fish for that matter with a circle hook in its body already.

I have caught one single wahoo with a circle hook in its stomach. Dale Timmons of the Coastal Fisherman watched me clean it and said that the size and shape of the hook along with the diameter and color of the leader lead him to believe it was from a longliner.

This is not to discount deeps experiement. I would think his experiment will give us a bit of an insite as to the rust rate of a hook but thats about it.

[Deep C]

The only fish I have caught with sport circle in it was a lone silk shark. I have caught blue sharks with PLL circles in them.
I do catch usually between 6-10 other fish during the course of a year with other J hooks in the. Some sails and some dolphin usually...

At 10:Am this morn. This experiment continues. The surprise of the moment seems that the 9174 has gained a coat of rust. The spot of rust on the 3407 has not changed much. The finish on the owner light wire is starting to get pale. The EC, VMC and 39951bln have not done much of anything. Effectively 39+ hours and not much of anything yet. One or two days looks shot...
I go to Miami in a couple days so I may wait til I get back to start a second test invloving a bill and a third test with stomach juice as the medium...

[Finnseeker]

The only fish I have caught with sport circle in it was a lone silk shark. I have caught blue sharks with PLL circles in them.
I do catch usually between 6-10 other fish during the course of a year with other J hooks in the. Some sails and some dolphin usually...

At 10:Am this morn. This experiment continues. The surprise of the moment seems that the 9174 has gained a coat of rust. The spot of rust on the 3407 has not changed much. The finish on the owner light wire is starting to get pale. The EC, VMC and 39951bln have not done much of anything. Effectively 39+ hours and not much of anything yet. One or two days looks shot...
I go to Miami in a couple days so I may wait til I get back to start a second test invloving a bill and a third test with stomach juice as the medium...

Are you using the L2004EL 8'0 thin wired non coated hook ?

[Deep C]

Its the 2004EL but red... The ones IGFA, Billfish Foundation. and NMFS have been giving out/ All the light wire el down here are either red or black. Only non coated hooks here are the 39948z Mustads...

The 48 hour update...
Things starting to perk some. Really all surprises to me. Mustad 9174 short shank heavy wire J is leading the way and is now what could be called fully rusty. The 3407 that was the first to get a rust spot has changed little. Owner octopus light wire and mustad 39951bln are now showing rust right where the shanks start the bend. The EC 2004El has changed color from red to uniform gray and has bare metal exposed but no rust yet. The VMC also red, has also in the last couple hours turned color but not to the extent of the EC...