Does a fish hook rust away and "unhook" itself from a fish's mouth?

Forums: Fish, Fishing, Shark, Fishing Hook, Shark Bite
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I was watching something on TV yesterday about a surfer who caught a spinner shark. He then wanted to take the hook out of its mouth and release it, except that, of course, the shark bit his hand. Thank God spinner sharks don't have several rows of jagged teeth, but only one row of sharp pointy teeth, and the guy's hand was not torn off. Anyways, after he got his hand out (by separating the jaws of the shark), they threw the shark back into the ocean, and the narrator said that that hook will rust off with no problem. I always thought that hooks stayed lodged in the mouth of the fish until they die.
How does it "rust off" and how does the hook "unhook" itself, and does this really happen?

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@RadAndRandom,

Yes it does. They are designed that way. The fish lives. You can kill it if you try to get the hook out.

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Metal goes rusty pretty quickly in or near salt water. The metal gets progrssivly weaker and eventually breaks. Then the hook just falls out.

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@Amigo,

Depends on the hook. We use Mustad barbless SS hooks for tuna . THey hold their shapes and secure the catch better. The blued steel and nickel steel barbed hooks all will rust out, but the Stainless hooks are pretty much there for good (Most all stainless shark hooks are barbed and some are trebbles, so thats a trebble whammy).

If he reacted and the shark slipped away, its too bad. Can the shark live like that? Id say yes but it may be uncomfortable with a hook in your lip for a few years.

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@farmerman,

I'm a fresh water guy. Your info is more accurate

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@farmerman,

farmerman wrote:

Depends on the hook. We use Mustad barbless SS hooks for tuna . THey hold their shapes and secure the catch better. The blued steel and nickel steel barbed hooks all will rust out, but the Stainless hooks are pretty much there for good (Most all stainless shark hooks are barbed and some are trebbles, so thats a trebble whammy).

If he reacted and the shark slipped away, its too bad. Can the shark live like that? Id say yes but it may be uncomfortable with a hook in your lip for a few years.

I 've heard that sharks feel no pain.

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@OmSigDAVID,

yep, theyre all lawyers

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@farmerman,

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Id say yes but it may be uncomfortable with a hook in your lip for a few years.

Don't seem to bother a whole passel of humans none.

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Amigo said,

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You can kill it if you try to get the hook out.

Oh, really? How? Will it cause the fish to bleed to death?

Dadpad said,

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The metal gets progrssivly weaker and eventually breaks.

Oh, well that makes sense. Yay for fish. Smile

Farmerman said,

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Stainless hooks are pretty much there for good

Won't it be troublesome, though, if the line is cut too long and it leaves a long trail hanging from its mouth? Or if the line breaks, and extends several feet from the hook, and the hook won't rust, wouldn't the fish get all tangled up in something and become an easy prey for someone?

JTT said,

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Don't seem to bother a whole passel of humans none.

Haha. Exactly my thought when I read Farmerman's reply. But then again, the hook is INSIDE the mouth, not on the lip. Though we have tongue piercings going around too, so if it doesn't bother a human, it shouldn't bother a shark, I suppose.

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Does a fish hook rust away and "unhook" itself from a fish's mouth?

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