Baning stinger hooks

[don]

1 in each of the last comps run in WA.

As you say , hard bodys have counted for deaths as well.

I think it is personal choice . I would hate to catch that kicker fish only to find that it is deap hooked and die.

[Richo]

Originally posted by don
1 in each of the last comps run in WA.

As you say , hard bodys have counted for deaths as well.

I think it is personal choice . I would hate to catch that kicker fish only to find that it is deap hooked and die.

Cheers for that Don, thats how other tournaments look at it as well. As long as it is within the fishing regulations then it is OK. If a fish wont swim away its at the anglers detriment and will cost him/her as it cant be weighed in. One of the reasons I wont risk fishing stingers myself although very tempted. As you said its a personal choice.

I can see this being a hot topic on Friday night, might have to bring a few extra beers I reckon.

cheers

[Stu_000]

I think it's a simple matter of modifying the rig. As Bear has said use a larger wide gap instead of a small suicide type hook. I doubt a hook the size I use is going to be inhaled. I have never hooked a fish beyond the mouth using wide gaps.

Unfortunately the blowie hookup rate is 10 fold

I am as passionate as the next person about C&R and minimising damage to fish. But by the same token let's not get too anal about banning this and banning that when it's a simple matter of looking outside the square. The fish fatalities from stinger setups have be minimal considering the hundreds of fish caught using this method. Two in the last two comps? I'd say that is pretty unlucky and probably could have been avioded by using different hooks.

[Dror]

This is a fairly difficult topic and I doubt that it will be resolved in the near future or at least before the comp this weekend.
Personally I don't use the stingers because of the increased risk to the fish. I know as well as anyone how frustrating it can be to have short takes all day and not be able to hook the fish but at the same time if a fish does attack the plastic aggressively it can quite easily end up being hooked very deep.
I crush the barbs on all my hooks weather it be on a jig head or hard body purely so it is easier to remove them from the fish. So far I don't think it has hurt the rate of landed fish.
If the stingers are allowed to be used for the forseeable future, I think it should be compulsory to make sure that the barb of the hook is crushed completely flat. This at least makes the chances of getting the hook out better and even gives the fish a chance to dislodge it them selves.
For what its worth my vote is yes.

Cheers, Dror

[Shortlite]

Well, the stingers have become more popular on longer plastics and Gulps. I have to say the style of these lures, what they imitate and how they are fished has a lot to do with how the fish strike and bite them, hence the incidence of deep hooked fish on the stinger. It has also been pointed out that many other styles of lures can and have been swallowed, or enable hooks to catch on other parts of the fish.

In addition, the rigging of the hook in the stinger setup for plastics means the angler will feel the strike a little later than if the fish hit the jighead. It's a slack connection, so the fish can easily get the hook well down before you can strike. We all know how fast fish can consume a food item, especially by suction.

Now, all my competition experience has been weight based, dead fish efforts in the past (surf fishing). In a lure only, catch and release competition scenario, dead fish are always a huge disadvantage to the angler, because they reduce the size and weight of your catch. The dead fish is not counted, and in some cases the angler is further penalized more weight. So it becomes the angler's priority to keep his fish in the best condition to survive the day in the live well, and be alive and well for weigh-in, and hopefully for release. I have watched US comp anglers turn loose fish that go belly up in the well, or are bleeding/deep hooked. In each case, every effort is made to keep the fish healthy, even to turn it loose and possibly miss a finish. It's up to the anglers.

I voted no to banning them from comps. They are simply a tool to turn short strikes into hookups. Same thing as trailer hooks on spinnerbaits, and gang hooks on long natural trolling baits. It's up to the angler's discretion whether he/she feels that the risk of possible damage is worth the possible rewards for keeping the fish in the well. And also whether or not it is worth the possible hit to the team. Yes, mere grams can determine the result, so if the decision is made to hold on to a deep hooked fish, every care will have to be taken to monitor the well and keep the fish alive. You'd also probably want to try and upgrade the fish ASAP.

[Evan]

I first started using stingers in comps back in the walpole round of 2004.

i landed 2x 40cm bream that took the stinger on my BM. Both were hooked in the corner of the mouth and both survived no problems. i definately wouldnt have wanted to miss out on those fish by not using stingers....

i have never had a fish inhale a stinger to the extent that you have to perform surgery on it to remove it (if i did you would simply cut the line). In fact i have had more big fish inhale vibes than anything else - should we ban them as well?

as said previously, stingers are another tool in the anglers toolbox. if people are willing to run the risk of fishing them (imo it is minimal) and are prepared to take the time to rig them up then it should be up to them....

JMO but i am all for them....

[matchangler]

i have caught heaps of fish up at moore river on stingers never had a fatality yet or a deep hooked fish,most the fish i used to catch in the uk used to be deep hooked mainly in the back of there mouths with a size 22 hook whic id about the size of a fly clip but using a proper disgorger released the hook no problem and the fish was alive and well in the keep net for 5hrs and swam away strongly after being weighed,so if the odd fish does get deep hooked and the person is confident at retriving that hook no problem my vote would be no