The bitter: It died.
Using a J-hooked sucker with a 3-minute time-to-hookset, the fish we caught today succumbed to its injuries. It was hooked just outside the esophagus, but I suspect the hook tore through tissue deeper within the fish.No doubt some of you are reading this and screaming, "WHY ON EARTH ARE YOU USING J-HOOKS? THEY HAVE BEEN PROVEN TO KILL MUSKIES!" This is true (see Terry Margenau's "Effects of angling with a single-hook and live bait on muskellunge survival" published in 2007. There was also an article on the study in the August/September 2002 issue of Musky Hunter). However, muskies in that study were allowed to swallow suckers for an average time of 17 minutes and a range of 4-37.
In this study we are attempting to find a) alternatives to using J-hooks and b) ways to use J-hooks that still hook muskies but without them swallowing the bait. Therefore, we are testing using quick-strike rigs, circle hooks, and J-hooks with 1-minute and 3-minute times-to-hookset (times less than those used in Margenau's study).
Let me return to why we are using J-hooks at all. GENERALIST anglers (and perhaps some specialized) still use J-hooks. They are so pervasive that regulations banning their use are unlikely and would likely be nearly impossible to enforce. Therefore, changing angler behavior (through showing anglers there are better, safer ways to use live-bait that minimize injury and mortality) may be a better alternative to outright banning J-hooks.
So far we have hooked three muskies using quick-strike rigs. We could not boat all three, but did note that they were all hooked in the corner of the mouth.
The passing of this fish may provide additional evidence that using live-bait should be done actively (i.e., setting the hook immediately) to avoid deep-hooking and subsequent mortality. We have had other muskies pick-up suckers on J-hooks and have given them one or three minutes before setting the hook, but in all instances we could not hook any. This might suggest that the only effective way of using J-hooks is to let the muskies swallow the bait, something that Margenau showed causes significant mortality (83% over a one-year period), and something that he considers (as do I) "unacceptable for trophy muskellunge management".
Seems hard to understand why J hooks should not be banned when there is a viable alternative that presents far less lethal consequences for the fish. Let's hope that your efforts will add sufficient evidence to a body of knowledge that can begin to change behaviour .... as a minimum.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with outright banning is two-fold. First, massive enforcement issues. Second, stakeholder conflict (i.e., bait/tackle dealers, generalist anglers, etc.). This is a highly contentious issue and everyone's needs have to be taken into consideration if regulatory decisions are to made. We'll see what we find...
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