Fish hooks rusting away

[guy with a boat]

[FONT=&quot]I’ve been fishing most of my life and have always heard that a hook left in a fish will rust away quickly. The specifics vary but often suggest that the hook goes away (rusts, “dissolves”, falls out, etc) pretty quickly. I’d like to believe it, but I’ve always had a hard time reconciling that with the rate of corrosion that I see with similar metals in every other context.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]After finding very little in the way of legitimate testing of the concept, I decided to do my own amateur research project. I used Eagle Claw hooks (decent quality but not premium) with a finish that looks like gun blueing. Not sure what it is, but its not a stainless hook and not plated, but also not a cheap hook with no protection at all.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I put two hooks on pieces of mono with a small sinker and hung them in the saltwater in the harbor here in SoCal. The location has good water flow from tide changes and a fair amount of boat traffic. Depth of one hook was about 3' below the surface and the other was at 7'.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Here are the new hooks before going in the water:[/FONT]









After one week in the saltwater, they have some light surface rust:






After another week in the water (2 weeks total):





And after 3 weeks in the water:











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[psneeld]

Awhile back a thread that wound up discussing hooks rusting away (and I have heard varied explanations during my life of fishing), I did a bit of research and read a study or two that discussed this.

While different hooks may or may not rust out quickly, the studies found that fish were able to rid themselves of hooks much like people are able to rid food from between their teeth with their tongue and other methods. Usually much faster than the hooks rusting away.

I hope to see more research on it than just what I have found so far but it is interesting to contemplate.

You test shows that not every hook rusts away just from salt water very quickly.

 

[guy with a boat]

Ok, I got sidetracked but now I’m back. We can’t quit after 3 weeks.

Here is after 4 weeks:




After 5 weeks:



And after 6 weeks and the end of the road for this little test:


The hooks were pretty corroded after 6 weeks but still solid enough that I couldn’t bend them with any reasonable effort.

I’m sure the science wasn’t perfect but if this were mythbusters I think we would be calling this one busted.

 

[guy with a boat]

While different hooks may or may not rust out quickly, the studies found that fish were able to rid themselves of hooks much like people are able to rid food from between their teeth with their tongue and other methods. Usually much faster than the hooks rusting away.

I hope to see more research on it than just what I have found so far but it is interesting to contemplate.

I’m not sure how one would prove or disprove this, but I would be interested in seeing what study(ies) you were able to locate.

Like the concept of rusting away, I would like to think that fish can spit the hooks. It would be great to see if someone was able to determine that it is not a myth.

 

[psneeld]

This is one of the articles I had come across...

https://www.fishingskillz.com/do-fish-hooks-dissolve/

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
I suspect that when the fish is hooked and played the initial puncture hole is enlarged. over time the hole "wears" larger until the hook essentially falls or is spit out. I've heard the rusting out theory and as Mr. g's "test" shows, it's not terribly likely.
On several occasions I have caught fish with larger holes in their lips/cheeks suggesting they've been hooked before.

 

[Mainship Pilot]

The Eagle Claw circle hook you have in the picture is designed specifically for the release of marlin and tuna, 95% of time with the hook left in the mouth, and small parts of leader. When we fish marlin, primarily caught on live bait, ie: Green Back Mackeral, or Cabaittos in Cabo, and So Cal, we will fish light line and use the boat to get to the fish quickly, many times within minutes. We usually fish bait from the bow, and release from the bow, whereby when the fish is close, we grab leader as close to the fish as possible, use the boat and swell and pull the line to break close to the fish, 30# Floro. This process keeps the fish is great shape and swims away strong. The hooks themselves are constantly moving and as suggested here, the hole in the mouth gets enlarged quickly, and the hook falls out, but can also rust out in short order as well, albiet a longer process.

Bringing the fish boatside brings a whole different scenerio and much greater stress on the fish. If you've ever leadered marlin, you understand. The mortality rate is much greater when the fish is boatside, slamming into the side for minutes at a time to try to get a hook out. Most times when we hook a marlin on a lure,we will pull it boatside, just enough to cut the leader close to the hook, however, try to get the hook when possible.

 

[HopCar]

I fish for small fish. I often flatten the barb so if they break the line it is easier for them to shed the hook. Yes I lose more fish.

 

[CharlieO.]

It appears the barb has dissolved, so between that and the lip piercing getting enlarged it should help the fish get rid of the hook.

 

[folivier]

And if the hook is swallowed then stomach acid will probably quicken its dissolving.

 

[rgano]

Is it possible there is a bit of lacquer finish on those hooks which delays the onset of corrosion? I can imagine fish teeth scraping away some of this covering to accelerate the onset. A file run lightly over just a part of the hooks might have yielded different results.

 

[Mainship Pilot]

And if the hook is swallowed then stomach acid will probably quicken its dissolving.

Circle hooks are designed to end up in the mouth, even if you feed the bait to the fish for minutes, and it ends in the stomach, once you come tight, it will slide back up and hook the mouth upon exit. Does it happen? Sure, but mostly with offset circle hooks The highest percentage of circles end up in the mouth, and once hooked, the chances go way up on bringing that fish close to the boat for a quick release.

 

[Hippocampus]

Fish both salt and fresh. Fish fly, Carolina rig, troll, spin and bottom . Fish wire, mono and braided. Observations.
For catch and release don’t touch the fish with ungloved hands ( wet gloves first), ideally don’t touch the fish at all and don’t take it out of the water. Use only barbless single hooks. Think they should stop selling lures with treble hooks and treble hooks. Have multiple sizes of fishing dedicated pliers. If necessary grab the protruding part of hook and cut line so you can pull hook through.
Inspite of this have caught fish that have a hook in them. Sometimes with a bit of line attached. Trout, stripers, blues, black bass, grouper yellow fin etc. just about every local kind. So think hooks don’t rust out. Think link PS posted is correct. So. Think it’s worthwhile to make a good effort to get the hook out if it’s catch and release but don’t kill the fish. Apparently most fish can continue to feed as the ones that have hooks seem to be in good shape. Have no opinion if the hooks eventually fall out. You do see fish with scarring around their mouths but you don’t know what from.

 

[Shrew]

If a fish can spit a hook after a few seconds of no tension on the line, I am fairly confident that given hours after a parted line, that fish can work that hook out. After all, it is literally why the barb was invented.

 

[Ken E.]

Guy, I'm curious what fish you use those circle hooks for?

 

[Larry M]

Guy, I'm curious what fish you use those circle hooks for?

I’m in Florida and when we’re fishing in gulf waters, we have use non-stainless steel circle hooks if we’re using natural bait. That’s State and Federal law. There’s a lot of by catch when we’re using bait and with traditional hooks, the fish will swallow the hook with no chance of survival if they’re released.

 

[guy with a boat]

Guy, I'm curious what fish you use those circle hooks for?

Those hooks were just what I had in the overstuffed tackle drawer, but are something we would use on bigger yellowfin or bluefin tuna. They also can be used for marlin, but I don’t personally fish marlin very often.

We do use similar hooks (all circles, but usually smaller size) for all our live bait fishing. Most common target species here (for us) are tuna and yellowtail, with occasional runs at dorado and white sea bass.

 

[Ken E.]

I use them for halibut in SE AK with wire leader. The hook sets into the heavy cartilage of the lips. They work really well in that application

 

[High Wire]

It appears the barb has dissolved, so between that and the lip piercing getting enlarged it should help the fish get rid of the hook.

Agree. The last couple photos show the barb mostly gone so it can fall out.