Hook retractor

[Dryrod]

[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Although I use barbless exclussively, sometimes one just needs to use a retractor. I have several. Some are okay while others do more damage than not. Which one(s) work best for you?[/size][/green][/font]
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[davetclown]

I have several different sizes of hemostats if I can remember to take them.

what I would like to find is a pair of snippers similer to cutical snippers only with handles like those of hemostats that can cut small hooks or at least get down to the eye of the hook and cut the line. this alone will help the survival rate of hook swallowers.

coming up with a good pair of hemostats can be rough at times. I have thown away at least half dozen pairs of cheep ones that I paid top dollar for of which bent the second I tryed to clamp on a hook, and keeping the good ones is hard to do when you are fishing with your biddies, the have a habit of getting up and jumping out of the boat. LOL
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[Dryrod]

[left][font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Hemostats or forcepts [same thing] generally work well. I keep mine on a retractable line. Too expensive to lose. Heres a look at some odd looking devises. The forceps shown are 18" long. That is longer than any fish that I ever caught. lol.[/size][/green][/font][/left] [left][font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]I have a couple of simple looking plastic ones that work okay. But like davetclown said a long pair with a wire cutter on the end would probably save the lives of a few fish from impending death.[/size][/green][/font][/left]

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[Snags_Alot]

I used to own a long hookout ..didn't like it found it ackward to use...so in the garbage it went.

Now I use a long-nose pliers and cutters
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[hpb]

a hook retractor as a kid growing up on Lake Eire was my index finger. If a perch swallowed your hook you just ran your index finger down inside the bend of the hook and stuck the barb in the top of your finger nail. A 2 second deal and the hook popped out. Now that was warm water fish and rarely do I have a trout swallow my fly .
I use a wooden dowel about as round as your finger with a tea cup hook screwed into the bottom it. I had a gentlemen on the Rogue show me this years ago. You have to have 4x or stronger tippet on and at least a #12 hook. This is great for streamer fishing or stillwater fishing with wooly buggers. You just grab the tippet at least a foot above the fish ( I am right handed so I grab it with my left hand)- with the right hand I hook the tea cup hook over the tippet and run it down to the bend of the hook and pull up on it. Your right hand should end up above ( in height) of your left hand. Gravity pulls the hook out. Once you get the hang of it, you don't have to even look and it is a 1 second deal. I have gone to varnishing the dowel and carry one on a zinger on my pontoon boats and one in my chest pack. Simplest, smoothest tool ever. The fish does have to be hooked in the mouth and not down the throat. I have made them in much larger sizes for Salt Water. You never touch the fish ever when doing this. About as slick a catch and relase as there is. Costs about 30 cents to make and much smoother that a Ketchum and release tool I am sure you have seen in fly shops.
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[flygoddess]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][black]I agree that the Katchum's are a waiste. They are way too expensive and then there are three different sizes to choose from. [/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black]I haven't experiensed very many times that forcepts didn't work. However those Dr. Slick Catch and release hemostats look real good. [/black][/font]
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[JapanRon]

Hi Dryrod,

I have a tool that has a handle that looks like an old wire loop pop bottle opener and the other end looks like a tack remover but with rounded corners. the shaft has a flat surface you can utilize to hold the line taught between it and your finger while removing offending hook out of fishy.

Can't say it works as I have always, 100%, without fail, not a single instance otherwise, never-failed, perfectly hooked fishy right in the left corner of its mouth close enough to the front edge that all I had to do was blow on the fly gently in the right direction for it to dislodge and fall to safety. With my hooks being barbless and the added feature of points designed so as to either disintergrate in flesh within 10 minutes of an absence of tension if broken off as well as to enable the wound to be self-healing once the hook point was removed. Having a permanent coating of an anti-bacterial, anti-fungal finish, I am assured that said fishy will not 'catch' anything.

JapanRon
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[Dryrod]

[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Thank you Dr. Ron for your words of wisdom. Another good thing I recently discovered about barbless hooks is that it is a lot easier to remove them from one's flesh than not. [/size][/green][/font] [font "Poor Richard"][#008000][size 3]Where were you when I needed your help? [/size][/#008000][/font]
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[Dryrod]

[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]These two probably work the best for me. The one on the top has a cutting tool that will easily snip a fly hook in half.[/size][/green][/font]

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[JapanRon]

Hi again Dryrod,

My sillyness aside, do you intentionally use a little bigger or smaller fly according to how the fish are biting? (I'm assuming that it's not a time when it's critical to 'match the hatch'.)

In saltwater, I'll use larger stuff just to avoid the dinks! How 'bout yourself .... others?

JapanRon
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[Dryrod]

[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Depending on my mood also known as gut feeling. On top I would be inclined to go smaller and below, larger. Might not make sense but I like to see the fishys have a little fun at my expense.[/size][/green][/font]
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[Fishhound]

Hey there hpb,

I'd like to see a photo of your device, it sounds like something I grew up using for pan fish(bream) down in the Ozarks.

Now-a-days, Most of the time I use forceps(hemstats) for flyfishing - I go barbless almost all of the time.

When I am hardware fishing, and have bigger hooks, Lures, plugs, spinner baits etc, I use long needle nose pliers for the leverage - even when those offerings are barbless, they are more difficult to extract from the fish - and I like to handle the fish as little as possible if I am releasing it.
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[Dryrod]

[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Did you know that if you turn the fish over on it's back it tends to relax? Worth a try to save a fin.[/size][/green][/font]
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