Foul!

[Geezle]

Well my work day got cut short (stupid delivery guys) so I headed down to the river for a bit. Hooked into a big (~9lbs) pike that gave me a pretty good run for my money. I was really pumped as I was fighting him, and even more pumped once I saw how big he was...until I saw that I'd foul hooked him in the back :(

By the time I finally got him in to shore he had no fight left in him...I quickly unhooked him, and for as much as I wanted to take a pic, I felt bad and sent him on his way.

I dunno...the fight is fun at first, but once I realize I've foul hooked a fish it's just not the same...:o

[mooseknuckle]

It happens from time to time. 9lber!!!! Nice! I hooked like 3 inch shiner last week even my 5 year old made fun of me.

[Geezle]

It happens from time to time. 9lber!!!! Nice! I hooked like 3 inch shiner last week even my 5 year old made fun of me.
I'd ask how you managed to hook a shiner, but I've managed to hook a tiny leech before, so I guess anything's possible.

It kills me that the two biggest fish I've landed out of that spot now have both been foul hooked :( I want to catch 'em fair and square!

[mooseknuckle]

All in good time my friend it will happen.

[KyleM]

Did you check the mouth?
Foul hooking happens from time to time, its all part of it.

I find a lot of times they will shake the hook and it will stick them in the back right away.

[hunter49]

By the time I finally got him in to shore he had no fight left in him...I quickly unhooked him, and for as much as I wanted to take a pic, I felt bad and sent him on his way.

Good to hear some people on here still respect the fish, and dont need pics "just cause"
Also, dont get bummed about foul hooking a fish. More than likely all that happened was he swiped at it, missed it and you managed to hook him.
They always are HUGE until you see they are snagged :sHa_sarcasticlol:

[Jamie]

Toughest fis=ght I ever had was with a foul hooked Salmon.

Guide guessed he tried to swat the bait with his tail and got himself hooked.

That was a 30 minute fight and he had all the leverage.

Still though, it didnt seem right. Kinda took the joy out of it.

Jamie

[walleyechaser]

lots pike get foul hooked when im throwing spoons... seems as though they come to hit it hard and miss and get hooked in the back, but a couple times its been near the tail, so im not too sure what they are up too

[luckyme]

do you think they likely die because of the injury? some thing hit me back when i was in the Bow last season. a rainbow hooked on it's side (it's must be try to injured what he think a bait fish) but i managed to reeled and release him quickly.:sad0125:

[floppychicken]

I agree with KyleM and WalleyeChaser..

Many a FOUL hook is from a 'Bad Attempt' at hitting your Lure... The Fish can't ALL have GREAT eyesight right? :)

[tatonkagp]

i don't think it will kill the fish to foul in the back after all I have caught some pike with some old bite marks on them that were pretty bad.

[surface2feather]

One time I hooked a carp that was at least 20lbs, right by the tail. I too felt bad for it. But the fight was insane, it took about 15 minutes just to get sight of him.
S2F

[walleyechaser]

i foul hooked a pike, which left a gash in its back, not even three casts later i caught the same pike in the mouth.. not sure If he had a death wish, or if the first foul hook had no effect on him (im thinking the latter)

[STP]

Well my work day got cut short (stupid delivery guys) so I headed down to the river for a bit. Hooked into a big (~9lbs) pike that gave me a pretty good run for my money. I was really pumped as I was fighting him, and even more pumped once I saw how big he was...until I saw that I'd foul hooked him in the back :(

By the time I finally got him in to shore he had no fight left in him...I quickly unhooked him, and for as much as I wanted to take a pic, I felt bad and sent him on his way.

I dunno...the fight is fun at first, but once I realize I've foul hooked a fish it's just not the same...:o

Hey Geez. Great post.
Especially the play by play action.
Thanks.

[Geezle]

Good to hear some people on here still respect the fish, and dont need pics "just cause"
Also, dont get bummed about foul hooking a fish. More than likely all that happened was he swiped at it, missed it and you managed to hook him.
They always are HUGE until you see they are snagged :sHa_sarcasticlol:

Well, I'd like to think he took a swing at it and ended up hooking himself in the back, but who knows :o

And this guy really was HUGE when I got him in to shore.

There was a little guy fishing out there with his dad and he ran over to see what I'd caught. He asked why I didn't take the fish out of the water, and just let him go as soon as I unhooked him instead. I tried to explain that I accidentally hooked the fish in the back, and that it wasn't a fair fight. A little tough to explain to a 6-7 year old though I think :o

[fitzy]

I've seen pike slam the hook into their back shaking their heads, it happens a lot mostly with big plugs and spoons.

[FishBrain]

I hoked a little cutty that way when at sibbald, like you said it felt like a big fish, and I let him go too. kept a few but when you hook like that its best for him to get to heal and swim another day

[fitzy]

I watched a buddy of mine battle what we thought was a monster pike at Winnifred Lake. After about 15 min it turned out to be a whitefish that would weigh in at around 7 lbs caught just in front of the tail. At least its an easy release.

[Jayball]

Good to hear some people on here still respect the fish, and dont need pics "just cause"
Also, dont get bummed about foul hooking a fish. More than likely all that happened was he swiped at it, missed it and you managed to hook him.
They always are HUGE until you see they are snagged :sHa_sarcasticlol:

x2... well done on letting her go right away.

[The Fisherman Guy]

I too know the foul hooked let down.

Halibut fishing on the west coast last summer, I hooked into a beast. Would not budge from the bottom, almost like it was snagged. We were adrift, and this fish was pulling hard, similar to a Hali over 100lbs. Took 25 minutes, and three runs back to bottom before I got a sight of it, an 18lb hali hooked in the tail meat, just before the fin. Here I thought I had the fish of a lifetime on!!

Still tasted amazing though!

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

I compare fowl hooking a fish to Gut shooting a deer , crappy crappy feeling .

But the only way to remedy this is , do more of whatever it is your doing .Your not gonna be an expert the first time out . Ive been fishing since I was 4 years old , and still fowl hook the odd fish . And I like to think Im a pretty good fishermen knowing what im doing .

[walleyechaser]

BBJ I have to say most of the times When fishing for pike I don't think one can control whether you are gonna foul hook, as often they just miss it and get snagged especially when using spoons it seems, just wondering whether you think its angler error or miscalculation on the fishes part

[buckfever]

BBJ I have to say most of the times When fishing for pike I don't think one can control whether you are gonna foul hook, as often they just miss it and get snagged especially when using spoons it seems, just wondering whether you think its angler error or miscalculation on the fishes part

i snagged a trout last week on a pickerel rig, imho its just wrong timing and the wrong place 4 the fish. ive heard whitefish swat spoons with their tails and get snagged all the time so i dont blame the fisherman

[Geezle]

BBJ I have to say most of the times When fishing for pike I don't think one can control whether you are gonna foul hook, as often they just miss it and get snagged especially when using spoons it seems, just wondering whether you think its angler error or miscalculation on the fishes part

I think when you're fishing lures such as spoons/spinners and so on, you don't have a lot of control over whether or not you're going to foul hook a fish, unless the water is crazy clear and you can always see your lure. You have no way to see if a fish is going to get 'in the way' of a hook that's coming by it. Ditto if the fish takes a swing at the lure and misses it. I think it'll always be difficult to avoid.

[WayneChristie]

I do lots of sight fishing for pike, they sometimes bodycheck your lure or bait to stun it, on purpose. Not much you can do about it except what you did, or if its badly hooked eat it. Not out of your river tho, ick!!!