Catch and release - Methodology

[Sundancefisher]

As we are constantly getting new members...it does not hurt to put up a summary of proper catch and release techniques. The more we think about it and pass the tips along to friends and acquaintences the better.

Did I miss anything?

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Many important factors come into effect when looking to successfully release a rainbow trout. These include:

1) Trout need to breath - Rainbow trout, like all other animals, fish and birds, need oxygen to survive. The obvious difference between them is that fish get their oxygen from the water and not from the air. The longer a trout stays out of water the more likely brain damage will occur. If a trout is released but sinks to the bottom, wait a few minutes then try and poke the trout with a net or paddle or rod tip. Often you can get them to try and swim again which is probably their last chance to survive. They sink to the bottom because they were not revived long enough to remove lactic acid from their muscles. Their muscles are frozen and they cannot breath in this state. One rule of thumb is not to remove the trout from the water for more than 30 seconds. Another rule of thumb is to take a deep breath, remove the trout from the water, and when the average person needs to take a breath…so does the trout. Typically anything over 1 minute out of the water is really, really bad for the trout.

2) Trout can freeze - Another rule of thumb is to never bring the trout onto the beach or into a boat or onto the ice. Get the trout back into the water as soon as possible. During ice-over, when air temps are below freezing, rainbow trout should never be removed from water. Exposed to freezing air, their gills freeze almost instantly and are irreparably damaged. Freezing temperatures and ice can also cause frostbite or general tissue damage.

3) Taking a Safe Photo - When taking a photo of your prized catch before releasing, keep the trout in the water at all times with it’s gills fully under water (preferably in a catch and release net) and have the camera and photographer ready to go. A photo of a trout on the shore, gravel, rocks, ice or boat is very damaging to the trout prior to release. Quickly lift the trout up by holding with one hand around the narrow area in front of the tail and cradling the head with your other hand. Cradle the head by holding the trout just slightly behind the two pectoral fins (on the bottom of the trout just behind the gills). Then quickly release the trout back to the water but taking care to make sure it is properly revived before letting go. Be careful not to raise the trout off the ground or bottom of the boat to far as any falls can damage or kill the trout. Never put your fingers in the gill area as significant damage can occur very quickly.

4) Using a Good Net Saves Trout - Always use a net and preferably a catch a release style net. These are often made of rubber coated mesh or other soft and small mesh. Both types of net should be wetted immediately prior to actually capturing the trout. This is important as trout have a slime coating that protects their skin from contracting diseases. Actually touching the trout as little as possible can go a long ways to maintaining a great fishery. When using a net you can keep the trout in the water longer and have better control. You should not allow the trout to contact the bottom of a boat or the ground as impact damage can occur as well as loss of protective slime.

5) Don’t Squeeze Trout - Never put you fingers in the fish’s gills or eyes, squeeze the gills or the trout in general. Your hands can exert a lot of pressure and can easily rupture or damage the internal organs or gills. The gills are super sensitive and consist of fine filaments that filter oxygen out of the water and are essential for the trout’s survival.

6) Never release a bleeding trout - If you have damaged a trout to the point they are bleeding noticeably from the gills or mouth, don’t waste the trout. Consider your trout limit and finish fishing for the day. A trout does not have a lot of blood in them. Serious blood loss is almost always fatal. Always follow the regulations if a trout can not be retained.

7) Bait Kills - Seriously consider not using bait. Studies show that bait fishermen can kill upwards of 40% of the trout they release due to deep hooking in the gills and/or stomach. Also it often takes significantly longer time to remove a hook from a deeply hooked trout, which will deprive the trout of oxygen and then they will suffer brain damage. You may see many people catching and releasing trout that are not using any bait at all. Many of them will help fellow catch and release fishermen…and the added benefit is making a new friend. Fishing buddies are often friends for life!

8) Use Proper Gear - Consider fighting the trout quicker using the appropriate gear. Playing any trout for more than a minute or so can causes their body and muscles to become full of lactic acid. The longer you fight the trout, the more and more lactic acid builds up. This is internal poison for the trout and causes their muscles to freeze and in effect releasing a trout at this point means certain death. The trout may appear to swim away but often they will just eventually sink and die. Make sure the trout has plenty o energy to swim away and let them go in shallow water just in case.

9) Practice Proper Release - Carefully release a trout by holding them for a period of time in a net or in the shallows while gently moving them back and forth to pass water over their gills. The time required is directly related to the water temperature and the length of time you fought the trout for. The warmer the water the longer you need to take to revive the trout. This hold true for the longer you take to fight the trout and also for most larger trout. In addition, newly stocked trout have less endurance after initial stocking and often require more care when releasing. When the trout is fully revived it will struggle to get free. A good rule of thumb is to let the trout go the third time it struggles to get free. Remember the rule to minimize skin contact and removal of protective slime.

10) Never cull trout - This means releasing a trout from a stringer and putting a bigger trout in its place. If fishing for fun, release your trout. If fishing for a meal, stop fishing once you have retained a trout. Should you catch and seriously injure the next trout…you will feel bad.

11) Barbless Saves Trout - Use barbless hooks and remove hooks quickly. Barbless hooks come out much more easily and will save the trout, your clothing, you’re hands from more serious damage should you accidentally hook yourself. If a trout swallows a hook too deep, you can quickly cut the line and release the trout. Chances are that the trout will survive. You should not try to remove a difficult to remove hook first but rather you must make this determination to cut the line first and quickly act on that. Remember not to keep trout out of the water for more than 30 seconds when removing a hook. Keeping the trout in a net under the water and using forceps or pliers to gently remove the hook is preferred.

12) Watch for Stress - Carefully gauge the trout’s stress level and condition prior to release. Many of the above noted concerns can also be related to stress. As such one rule of thumb is to see if the trout’s eyes are moving as the trout moves from side to side. If the eyes remain fixed it could be a sign of stress and more care should be taken before releasing. If the trout does not look well after 5-10 minutes and will probably die, you can exercise your right to retain your limit. If you have caught your limit then injured another, it is a shame as you cannot keep it. You must return it to the water. It is strongly recommended that you do not continue fishing after killing a
trout.

13) Teach by Example - Help others by directing them to this article on the website or giving polite advice. We should all be custodians of this recreational fishery and do our best to watch for improper releasing techniques and for illegal fishing such as keeping over the limit or culling. Also remember there is NO LIMIT on the fun you can have fishing!

[Okotokian]

Originally Posted by Sundancefisher

6) Never release a bleeding trout - If you have damaged a trout to the point they are bleeding noticeably from the gills or mouth, don’t waste the trout. Consider your trout limit and finish fishing for the day.

But if you already have your limit or are fishing in a catch-and-release-only situation, you MUST release it. It's unfortunate but that's the law.

[Unknown303]

Originally Posted by Okotokian

But if you already have your limit or are fishing in a catch-and-release-only situation, you MUST release it. It's unfortunate but that's the law.

Yup, I'm not getting fined because of a bleeder. It's sad that it happens sometimes but there isn't much you can do unless you don't want to fish anymore.

[huntsfurfish]

The OPs post could/should apply to all species

Thanks for posting Sundancefisher.

[Willowtrail]

Originally Posted by Okotokian

But if you already have your limit or are fishing in a catch-and-release-only situation, you MUST release it. It's unfortunate but that's the law.

I agree, but, if you've caught your limit it's time to pack up so you dont run into this situation.

Saying this, I do agree with your comment.

[Unknown303]

Originally Posted by Willowtrail

I agree, but, if you've caught your limit it's time to pack up so you dont run into this situation.

Saying this, I do agree with your comment.

Why pack up if you already caught your limit?? By that mentality C&R guys shouldn't even be on the water then, with no intention of keeping any fish why are they on the river?

And I don't want F&W guys catching me with a 20+ inch brown as I leave the Bow.

[tara_13]

Im really glad you posted this... when I was out fishing on the weekend, all there were was trout. People were taking them out of the water, unhooking then they would throw them as far as they could.. I was so angry. I told them to place them back. I usually massage them alittle and then make sure they swim away. They did nothing to hurt us. Right ??

[Unknown303]

Relaxing massage or deep tissue?

[tara_13]

just a little one, to get the little guys going in the water after being hooked..it works.. Heck Im still really new and I wanna hurt em

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by tararuss

just a little one, to get the little guys going in the water after being hooked..it works.. Heck Im still really new and I wanna hurt em

Never massage a fish. If you are serious...don't do it. All you do is damage organs and remove slime. Holding the fish by the tail and gently moving side to side would me the most I would suggest.

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by Okotokian

But if you already have your limit or are fishing in a catch-and-release-only situation, you MUST release it. It's unfortunate but that's the law.

Always follow the regulations if a trout can not be retained.

You missed copying this part of the OP. It is true...don't retain a bleeder if you are not allowed to retain a fish under the limit.

Also if someone is looking to retain fish...retain the first bleeder. If bait fishing...mortality is a higher probability for catch and release...stop fishing to prevent killing more than you want for supper. If you are catch and release fishing...and fish are not doing well...warm water...fighting to long...deep hook sets...consider altering your tactics to reduce this incidental and unintentional mortality.

Kind of common sense stuff to me...

I like the dialog. Helps flesh out misconceptions and bad practices. If ANYONE has a question about their catch and release methods...please feel free to PM me...I can add the comment and a response for all to read but keep the questioner identity secret. To prevent...you know.

Cheers

Sun

[Tezma]

Thanks, This helped me alot!

[Sbrooks]

Thanks for posting this Sun, gotta spread the knowledge out there...

[BCSteel]

For the most part this is good advice but... if lactic acid was actually such a killer then every trout that swims for it life from a predator would die. It doesn't happen that way.

Also, hook size and placement is of much greater concern than if bait is being used. As a die hard bait angler I can assure you that a 40% mortality is straight up false, by about 30-35%.

[Dust1n]

Originally Posted by BCSteel

For the most part this is good advice but... if lactic acid was actually such a killer then every trout that swims for it life from a predator would die. It doesn't happen that way.

Also, hook size and placement is of much greater concern than if bait is being used. As a die hard bait angler I can assure you that a 40% mortality is straight up false, by about 30-35%.

i could also depend if theyre waiting to set the hook using bait or setting it right away like a lure. im sure it ranges alot verrarying between rivers and lakes.

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by BCSteel

For the most part this is good advice but... if lactic acid was actually such a killer then every trout that swims for it life from a predator would die. It doesn't happen that way.

Also, hook size and placement is of much greater concern than if bait is being used. As a die hard bait angler I can assure you that a 40% mortality is straight up false, by about 30-35%.

Actually there is a lot of study and literature on hooking mortality for trout. Lake versus river does have it's differences also so that may be confusing for you...in Alberta...you can't bait fish for rainbows in rivers. I can not argue that for you personally it may be a lower mortality...however there may be things you are doing different such as setting the hook immediately upon getting a bite...however the facts on this one is proven...bait fishing has higher mortality therefore I myself as a bait fisher needs to adjust accordingly. For instance when cut plugging for salmon this Fall...I kept a 13 lb chinook when I know I would catch bigger because the salmon took the cut plug deeper and it was bleeding bad.

There are lots of articles...here is a quickie one to read.

http://wildlife.state.co.us/SiteColl...emortality.pdf

As for lactic acid build up...I can guarantee you that if you fight a trout to exhaustion then toss it back into the lake it will swim a little ways away...seemingly fine...nose dive into the bottom and suffocate. I find that the triploid trout are more prone to this from personal observation as is newly stocked trout. I feel trout have some stamina...just like you and I. Each of us are somewhat different...but if you run either of us to exhaustion then throw us in a lake...our muscle are tightened...oxygen spent...we can die easily ourselves.

There is no need to fight a trout to exhaustion if you size your tackle appropriately...it just does not make sense from a resource management perspective.

As for any of the points...any one of them could in their own right kill a trout...however what most likely happens is enough impact from a variety of factors aids in the unnecessary mortality rates.

I hope people can be part of the solution...not continue being part of the problem is all.

http://www.iphc.int/publications/techrep/tech0050.pdf


"Lactic acid is released into the muscle in acute stress and seems to be retained there, rather than released into the blood stream (Wardle 1978)."

"Accumulation of lactic acid, loss of ATP and breakdown of
histidine-containing compounds may have a detrimental effect on fish muscle quality."

"The effects of lactic acid accumulation and fish death were examined
by Wood et al. (1983). Post-exercise death had been attributed to excess lactic acid in the blood. Wood measured blood lactate levels in stressed fish that recovered and those that died as a result of excessive exercise. Blood lactate levels were 50% higher in fish that died, but well within the normal range of tolerance. However, intracellular lactic acid built up to very high levels in white muscle, which he suggested was the probable cause of mortality. This buildup of lactic acid in the muscle of flatfish has consequences on quality of muscle tissue. Wood’s research also implies that measurement of blood parameters in stressed fi sh may not be an acceptable indicator of fish quality."


Hook size and shape is also important and needs to go on the list. It should fall under using proper gear...

[chubbdarter]

Im gonna wait for the movie to come out

[Jayhad]

Originally Posted by Sundancefisher

6) Never release a bleeding trout - If you have damaged a trout to the point they are bleeding noticeably from the gills or mouth, don’t waste the trout. Consider your trout limit and finish fishing for the day. A trout does not have a lot of blood in them. Serious blood loss is almost always fatal. Always follow the regulations if a trout can not be retained.

Can you sight a source please. Trout can bleed like crazy when out of water as their blood uses water to clot, once put in the water the bleeding stops quickly in many cases.

[BCSteel]

Sundance, when I used to catch fish, for the hatchery - for 6 years, by rod and reel, they specifically told me to play the fish longer so it would be easier to handle and put into the live tube. Here's the thing, every single fish that I caught that didn't have some kind of outward laceration lived to spawn anywhere from 3 to 7 weeks later. I can assure you that those fish have under gone far more stress than most c&r anglers will ever put on a fish. IME, the biggest killer of fish under a prolonged time of stress is loss of their protective slime covering. Removal of the slime is much more serious than most people realize and leaves the fish open to a myriad of infections.

Will some fish die from poor handling and or being over played, of course. But on the other side, most fish and certainly from my experiences, trout, are far more rugged and resilient than most people give them credit for.

As long as people aren't being completely moronic with how they treat the fish then their chance of survival is very good.

[Alex K]

Good post Sundance,

Now no respect intended here as I always appreciate education as the best tool available to reduce mortality in released fish. However a few points here are scewed.

One slime removal is not as critical as proper handling. When we started filming I was hammered by arm chair biologists. One complaint was handling fish with a tailing glove and the fear I was removing slime. Well after a sit down with 2 biologists it was noted that removal of slime is not as critical as some would have you believe. Yes it is there protective coating but it also reproduces faster than your body produces siliva. One biologist said to me go ahead and try to spit out all your siliva. Rather odd comparison, but point was you never run out. As a matter of fact I ended up participating a Grayling egg take on quarry pond and I was shocked to see they actually took all the male fish and before they squeezed out their milt they would take a terry towel and dry them off completely. It was explained to me they had to do this so the eggs would not contact water until they were mixed with the eggs. Otherwise the milt was already useless in fertilizing the eggs. Water gets the cycle started on the sperm and they need to buy time so to speak. Then all the fish were released safe and sound.
Now keep in mind they don't want average joe doing this to fish. But point was is it is much less harmful to handle a fish with a glove and never mind worrying about the slime. More important not to drop the fish which you are much more likely to do with a wet bare hand. So careful how much emphasis is put on that. Lets focus more on proper handling techniques.

Second point is the barbless versus barbed, and single versus treble. There is no science that solidly suuports any of this. The first study that was done did show a higher mortality on fish caught with single barbless versus barbed trebles. Now since then another group found that study to be flawed. But by then states like Idaho jumped on this study and implemented a single barbless law. Since then other studies have shown a higher mortality in fish caught with single barbless than trebles. The way the biologist I spoke with that dug up all these studies explained his thoughts to me was that any good scientist knows that you can never base anything on just one study. You need a large number of studies then you can start to establish consistencies.
So really this is just a feel good law and yes it does make it easier for some to release fish easier. But it also creates a problem in another way that I continue to witness. I see alot of anglers take way more time trying to dig out a hook that is way to deep to remove killing the fish trying. It needs to be expressed barb or no barb cut the line as close to the mouth if it is hooked deep and let it go sooner with less handling.
Can you imagine if laws were passed on the later studies and only trebles were allowed. There would be some pretty ****ed off fly fishers.

Anyway just my thoughts

Alex Kreis

[Alex K]

Sorry I ment to say no disrespect at the beginning of last post.

Better proof read better next time. LOL

Alex Kreis

[Unknown303]

Alex what kind of problems is a fish going to have that swallows a hook? To me that's just a time bomb in that fishes gut since it's probably going to block anything that would normally pass through the fish.

[Pudelpointer]

8) Use Proper Gear - Consider fighting the trout quicker using the appropriate gear. Playing any trout for more than a minute or so can causes their body and muscles to become full of lactic acid. The longer you fight the trout, the more and more lactic acid builds up. ....

Sorry, but as others have already responded, this is not a simple cause/effect consideration.

While I agree with the general statement about using proper gear (as well as every other point you had), there are many variables that enter into the influence of lactic acid build up in trout survival.

I have fought some large trout for well over 20 minutes (steelhead) to land them, and know that they have survived the ordeal just fine. Anadromous fish are designed to deal with long periods of heavy exertion, and most other fish are quite able to deal with it. The key is in the handling of the fish and recovery time.

A properly played trout (fish) will be tired enough to not flip/flop/fly while you are unhooking it, nor will it be so exhausted that it can not recover.

A good rule of thumb is that you should allow as much time for a fish to recover as it took to land it. Often it will not take a fish that long to recover, but you should be willing to spend that much time to allow it.

[Alex K]

Fish are tougher than we give them credit for here. The hook will dissolve just don't use sal****er stainless steel hooks in fresh water and it will be gone on its own. The point I was making is to much time is spent by some anglers digging hooks out that are swallowed to deep. And these fish are being miss handled in most of these cases by an inexperienced angler. As most experienced anglers know to spend as little time handling the fish in the first place and they would have already cut the line.

Hope this helps

Alex Kreis

[Alex K]

Originally Posted by Pudelpointer

8) Use Proper Gear - Consider fighting the trout quicker using the appropriate gear. Playing any trout for more than a minute or so can causes their body and muscles to become full of lactic acid. The longer you fight the trout, the more and more lactic acid builds up. ....

Sorry, but as others have already responded, this is not a simple cause/effect consideration.

While I agree with the general statement about using proper gear (as well as every other point you had), there are many variables that enter into the influence of lactic acid build up in trout survival.

I have fought some large trout for well over 20 minutes (steelhead) to land them, and know that they have survived the ordeal just fine. Anadromous fish are designed to deal with long periods of heavy exertion, and most other fish are quite able to deal with it. The key is in the handling of the fish and recovery time.

A properly played trout (fish) will be tired enough to not flip/flop/fly while you are unhooking it, nor will it be so exhausted that it can not recover.

A good rule of thumb is that you should allow as much time for a fish to recover as it took to land it. Often it will not take a fish that long to recover, but you should be willing to spend that much time to allow it.

Good point made.

As some fish can handle long runs and fights better than others as they are conditioned to run long and fast most of there life for survival. Other fish like big Northerns that sit at the top of their food chain and are more conditioned to fast short ambush attacks cannot handle long fights and do die if fought to long. Yes spend as much time reviving as needed but in some cases these big pike have a hard time of it.

Alex Kreis

[DarkAisling]

Great post, Sun. Thanks!

While there are some points that are being argued, your post is still an excellent guide and full of great information. I think it is pretty safe to say that the points you've posted err on the side of caution, which is exactly where I think they should be when educating newcomers to the sport.

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by BCSteel

Sundance, when I used to catch fish, for the hatchery - for 6 years, by rod and reel, they specifically told me to play the fish longer so it would be easier to handle and put into the live tube. Here's the thing, every single fish that I caught that didn't have some kind of outward laceration lived to spawn anywhere from 3 to 7 weeks later. I can assure you that those fish have under gone far more stress than most c&r anglers will ever put on a fish. IME, the biggest killer of fish under a prolonged time of stress is loss of their protective slime covering. Removal of the slime is much more serious than most people realize and leaves the fish open to a myriad of infections.

Will some fish die from poor handling and or being over played, of course. But on the other side, most fish and certainly from my experiences, trout, are far more rugged and resilient than most people give them credit for.

As long as people aren't being completely moronic with how they treat the fish then their chance of survival is very good.

I see a level of bias in your response...the bias I see is that you may be a very seasoned and careful catch and release fisherman. You may get away with playing a fish long and then you probably took the time to ensure those fish had fully recovered before release. The fight itself does not kill the fish...it is how the fish is handled afterwards. I believe you would agree...that the majority of anglers are probably not as skilled as yourself in the process you described...nor used recovery tubs, nor monitored them afterwards. The majority of anglers making this bad error would likely fight the fish to exhaustion then bring into the boat...flop, flop...snap a picture...flop...snap a picture...drop headfirst back into the water. The majority of those fish...will die...and yes the loss of slime will be an additional factor. The fish swim a bit...fall to the bottom...their gill plates are closed...pinned to the bottom and they suffocate. I see this behavoir sadly a lot in lakes.

What I am saying is that...your example is not a real world example...do you agree?

Sun

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by Pudelpointer

8) Use Proper Gear - Consider fighting the trout quicker using the appropriate gear. Playing any trout for more than a minute or so can causes their body and muscles to become full of lactic acid. The longer you fight the trout, the more and more lactic acid builds up. ....

Sorry, but as others have already responded, this is not a simple cause/effect consideration.

While I agree with the general statement about using proper gear (as well as every other point you had), there are many variables that enter into the influence of lactic acid build up in trout survival.

I have fought some large trout for well over 20 minutes (steelhead) to land them, and know that they have survived the ordeal just fine. Anadromous fish are designed to deal with long periods of heavy exertion, and most other fish are quite able to deal with it. The key is in the handling of the fish and recovery time.

A properly played trout (fish) will be tired enough to not flip/flop/fly while you are unhooking it, nor will it be so exhausted that it can not recover.

A good rule of thumb is that you should allow as much time for a fish to recover as it took to land it. Often it will not take a fish that long to recover, but you should be willing to spend that much time to allow it.

There is a clear cause and effect to over fighting a fish and releasing it too quickly. There is a bias in many people IMHO on this topic as they get defensive and figure they are perfect at releasing fish. I call NOT on that and from experience I am not perfect either. Still we all try to the level we feel we need to. You and I are probably of the subset that try really hard to revive regardless of water temperature. Others unfortunately are not either that knowledgeable or experienced to know any better. Hense this discussion is a great forum to cover the topic. If you disagree to these points so be it...however you may be following them without knowing and taking steps to mitigate what you are doing...which many do not. It is all about education IMHO.

Actually the "a minute" or so was a typo. Various fish of various sizes in various water temperatures have a range of endurance. Fighting a fish past that critical point where they are too exhausted to swim away is not good. That is the point...maybe a change of wording would work to clarify that. A minute is exaggerated...but the premise holds true. Using ultra light fly tippet and fighting a fish to exhaustion and then releasing...is a bad thing. Worse in warmer water for sure...but the thought that the fish kicked hard and disappeared is far from a guarantee that beauty you released is now not dead.

You point about taking the time to revive it is critical. So is the fact the fish probably used a ton of O2 fighting and probably has low O2 levels in their blood, you should probably take real care not to take the fish out of the water for any length of time.

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by Jayhad

Can you sight a source please. Trout can bleed like crazy when out of water as their blood uses water to clot, once put in the water the bleeding stops quickly in many cases.

It is common sense IMHO. This is something you can not measure in the field...and as for bleeding out a fish for study...I am sure someone did it...for a masters...

Think about how much blood is in a fish. If you nic a gill arch...the fish is a goner...I have seen it over and over again. I have seen it in all trout and a number of salmon. If you snag a fish and there is a few drops...that is something different.

A bleeding trout can clot...but if enough blood is gone...so is the fish. All animals run into shock and organ shut down and stroke when deprived of blood and blood pressure.

Feel free to do a search on the topic but to me common sense stuff like this is not required. Maybe someone can find a link for you.

Cheers

Sun

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by Alex K

Fish are tougher than we give them credit for here. The hook will dissolve just don't use sal****er stainless steel hooks in fresh water and it will be gone on its own. The point I was making is to much time is spent by some anglers digging hooks out that are swallowed to deep. And these fish are being miss handled in most of these cases by an inexperienced angler. As most experienced anglers know to spend as little time handling the fish in the first place and they would have already cut the line.

Hope this helps

Alex Kreis

I have seen a lot of hooks in fishes mouths over the years. They are slow to rust out in fresh water...however the fish do survive subject to I have seen a fair bit of disease and infection depending upon where the hook is. That being said a small fly in a throat is not as bad as a multi hooked plug or a large hook attached to a pickeral rig.

Your point is valid though...keeping a fish out of water, squeezing, dropping and digging away at the hook...especially if in the stomach entrance or near the gills is usually a very bad thing indeed.