SELECTIVE FISHING
Catching bigger fish is everyone’s 
wish and the easiest way to target 
the bigger fish and exclude the 
smaller fish is to make sure your bait, 
hook, or lure is big enough to deter 
the pickers from getting hooked.
Lure fishing by nature seldom hurts 
fish from hooks being ingested 
into the throat of the fish. Most 
fish are lip or mouth hooked which 
means they are in good condition 
for release if they are unwanted. 
Bait fishing has higher mortality 
rates of unwanted fish caught and 
killed because when fish swallow 
a baited hook past its mouth and 
into its throat it's over for the fish.
Using 7/0 or larger hooks for bait 
fishing is best when using suicide 
style hooks, with circle hooks being 
the best choice of hook for bait 
fishing. Circle hooks by design are 
made to flick into the corner of the 
mouth and lip hook their quarry. 
Black Magic KLT Tournament 
hooks are a good example of a 
non-offset style circle hook to 
avoid the hook being swallowed.
The other key point when bait 
fishing is to fish actively and don’t 
give the fish too much time to 
swallow the bait. Don’t leave the 
rod in the holder while you have 
a nap and giving undersized fish 
ample time to swallow your bait.
If you do have a gut hooked fish 
the best thing to do is cut the line 
instead of trying to remove the hook. 
Trying to remove the hook from 
its throat or gut will undoubtedly 
cause enough trauma to kill it.
NETS AND BARBLESS HOOKS
First, take steps to ensure you 
prevent fish from having their 
slime removed during the release 
procedure. There are several key 
moments that need a bit of care 
to increase the chances of a fish’s 
survival. One of the most common 
scenarios is returning undersized fish 
(like snapper) or oversized older fish.
Invest in a rubber mesh net if you 
don’t have one. A rubber net is less 
likely to remove the protective slime 
compared to nets that have the 
nylon knotted mesh. Contain the 
fish in the net so it’s not flapping 
around in the boat and removing 
When releasing larger fish, 
make sure it spends minimal 
time out of the water with hook 
removal and taking photos. 
Feature
32  FISHING IN GODZONE MAGAZINE

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