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[HOOK]

ha ha no kidding  i use bigger hooks especially when im bait fishing just so they dont swallow that little hook to their stomachs

[brownmancheng]

 

Never said anything about spooky.Your missing the point...a big hook is not needed to catch a steelhead.IMO a small hook is alot more ethical and less damaging to the fish.

Never ceases to amaze me some of the perspectives  on here, yes one hook may be slightly bigger than the other. But, at the end of the day either way we are still ramming a sharpened piece of metal into their jaw and dragging them against their will to shore, please spare us all the righteous "ethics"

[greyghost]

Dions got it right with using forceps, they are very handy for unhooking a deeply hooked fish and  can be used in delicate areas with care. I always have a set clipped inside my jacket.

Agreed! but if it is at all dicey on the quick inspection I just simple cut the line. 

[Geff_t]

Never said anything about spooky.Your missing the point...a big hook is not needed to catch a steelhead.IMO a small hook is alot more ethical and less damaging to the fish.

  Hook size has got nothing to do with ethics, hook size depends on what your using with that hook. Now using bait in an area with a bait ban then now you would be talking unethical as well as illegal.

  Now one day last year when out steelheading I came across an eagle feasting on a dead steelhead. When it flew away I went to have a look and discovered it had line coming out of it's mouth and a hook down into its gill rackers and this fish was had not yet spawned.

[bigblue]

 Hook size has got nothing to do with ethics, hook size depends on what your using with that hook.

Good point. Hook size depends more on the size of presentation.
For example, a #2 hook will work well with size 10 corky or large jensen egg, but a gooey bob will require a larger hook size like a 1/0 due to it's larger profile and firmness.
Of course, someone could use only #2 or smaller hooks by using only presentations which are suitable to those hook size.
I guess it is a matter of choice on part of the fisherman.

[Rodney]

Just to point out Dennis' post regarding hook size. Not sure if a chosen hook size would make one more or less ethical, but hook size can have some impact on a released fish's mortality. Most likely it has little effect on steelhead unless your hook is extremely big or small, but it can make a difference on the trout/juvenile salmonids that you by-catch. For example, in late spring, summer and early fall, when targeting steelhead, chinook, coho, there are times when you'd come across a juvenile steelhead or small trout. If a larger hook is used (1/0, 2/0), it has a tendency to go directly through the small fish's head and instantly kills it. That has occurred during my outings while targeting coho in September so I have made changes in the hook sizes that I use during certain time of the year. Hooks with a bigger shank can also do more damage, eg. create a larger gash and result in too much bleeding.

Of course, one can always say that if we are so concerned about this, then we should stop fishing totally, but it is just something to consider. Little changes can sometimes make a huge difference IMO.

[Sage2106]

As for me 1/0 for bait fishin and #2's for wool ties and such. As for deep hookin fish i will just cut the line rather than riskin it.

[river walker]

Or maybe it has to do with hookset timing.perhaps the fish are chewing before the bite is detected?

[Every Day]

Or maybe it has to do with hookset timing.perhaps the fish are chewing before the bite is detected?

As said before, all of these fish were HARD float downs on which I set the hook instantly.
I have not changed what I have been doing since starting out 4 years ago.

[cutthroat22]

Upon further review of this case....

I think your roe fly just looks to real.

[Dennis.t]

oh my gosh...."more ethical" ! I hope you are kidding because that is a ridiculous and unfounded statement!

The bigger the hook the more damage it does to the fish.What dont you understand?Like i said before and will say again in all the yrs i have fished steelhead and the hundreds upon hundreds i have landed,only a few were bleeders.They simply dont swallow a #2 hook and it does very little damage to the fish.Rod you make a good point regarding bycatch using a 1 odd hook.I couldnt agree more.

[standalone]

big hook,kill it;small swallow,will not survive after release;keep it,don't want to or illegal.I stay at home watching fishing show.

[DionJL]

big hook,kill it;small swallow,will not survive after release;keep it,don't want to or illegal.I stay at home watching fishing show.

WTF does this even mean? If you can't be bothered to put a comprehensibly post together, then don't post at all. The purpose of a forum is to share ideas and discuss things, not post jibberish.

[Bently]

WTF does this even mean? If you can't be bothered to put a comprehensibly post together, then don't post at all. The purpose of a forum is to share ideas and discuss things, not post jibberish.

I think it's "bwoken engrish", maybe you should cut him some slack there, Gestapo Brat 

[troutbreath]

For some English is a second language. You could kinda make out what the guy was trying to post.