Taking home "fished" fish

[JEAE21]

Will I be able to keep fish that I catch with barbless hooks?
Are their lips gonna be o.k? I'm interested in bluegill.

 

[cmj15]

yes you can fish caught on any hook as long as it follows your state laws, their mouths will heal faster than you know it

 

[hmt321]

I have kept longears, bluegill, and green sunfish collected in this way with good success. Barbeless hooks are the way to go. bring it in fast and get it in a dark colored bucket with aeration, most people will add a little aquarium salt, and i read a NANFA article where one guy would put 3/4" to 1/2" of sand or gravel into the collecting bucket with the fish.

 

[mojo51]

I brought home a LMB I caught on a spinner bait monday. No problems with him at all. I guess it just depends on where you hook the fish.

 

[JEAE21]

it's not good if it's deep down right?

i'm gonna worried that if I catch it on their lips/mouths(like normal people do) it could possibly do big damage since they're thrashing around while they're lips are being tugged on..

should i get any medications or anything?
how long does it take until they get used to the tank/pond and start feeding?

 

[hmt321]

most of mine have eaten with in a few days, in my experience there is little difference between sunfish i have caught on a hook and ones I have dip netted or seined (although i would not even consider trying to keep a fish in a tank that had a torn up mouth, i would probably eat it or give it a wack in the head and throw it on the bank)

 

[id10t]

If you can, get circle hooks. In fact, you may want to consider really tiny fly hooks, in the size 18-20 range. I've caught large gambusia (2") with a $16 light wire hook...

 

[JEAE21]

hmt321; are you the one that's leaving all the bluegill and carp on the bank..? haha..why do people do that? so they don't suffer from hunger?

id10t; gambusia?!! wow they have small mouths though..i'll try in my tank

 

[rodgerpidactor]

if a fish had a torn up lip why would you kill it? if you release it it will heal on its own.. it will heal even in a tank.... i guess it depends on how bad you hook it but ive heard of people successfully keeping fish that even got hooked in the side of its body and healed no problem

 

[teleost]

Please take small fish from the wild. You'll not regret this advise. Young fish adapt easily to life at home. Recovery from wild capture is also limited with small/young fish. Barbless is great and no meds are needed if lip hooked with barbless.