08/29/2026
I'm going to drop some fish pictures real soon, and a review of a jig version that I whipped up that resembles an urchin bait. But for now I just wanted to throw out there my thoughts on hook removal.
Take any of this or leave it, but if you want to preserve the integrity of your flies or jigs, using hemostats is not the way to go. They work great, but one of the things that I've noticed is that they mangle any soft bodied flies, or chunks of paint come off of the jig heads etc. Also, on occasion, I'll be down there with those pliers and get a hold of a little bit of the fish's gills. Of course that's death for the fish. I used hemostats all the time, but here over the last 20 years I've switched to more of a simple approach.
I was out ice fishing one day, and the hemostats that I had pinched to my coat came off when I drilled a hole. And sure enough, the first fish I caught swallowed the hook. And although I don't use bait typically when I'm ice fishing I use small enough stuff that yeah they'll get it down there pretty good sometimes. Anyway, so I'm looking around trying to figure out what to use, and I decided my car keys would make a great disgorger. I had one with a flat tip, I push down, I pop the hook out....voila.
My brain started percolating. So I did what we all do, and I went on eBay, and I looked around to see what kind of hook removers were out there, and I found the one pictured below with the red handle. Back then I think they were 15 cents each. Last time I priced them they were $9 each. Anyway, I bought a whole bunch of them, and I haven't looked back. If you're someone who fishes with me often, you probably have one in your box that maybe you use maybe you don't. I will tell you that those who take the time to figure out this simple method of popping out the hooks don't want to go back.
Now, I shared these with a good friend down in Kentucky, and he and his buddy from work decided to take some old screwdrivers they had lying around and a Dremel and make their own. Great idea, and they work just as well or even better. So this is something you can make yourself if you are even moderately mechanically inclined. The second pick you'll see is my good friend's version of this hook remover that I mentioned.
I know there are lots of other methods out there. I know about the toothpick, and the tip of a rocket bobber, and lots of other things and those are all great, and if they follow the same principle, I'm all in. However, I just thought I would share what I like to use, and if it brings value to your life, great! If not, keep doing what you like to do.
With these, you basically just get the little notch at the end on the bend of the hook and push down and pop back just a little bit, and the hook comes out smoothly and does very little damage to the fish. This is great if you're not keeping everything you catch. It takes a few tries to get used to it, but it is fast and easy. And if I can figure out a way to hold the phone while taking a fish off the hook one of these days I'll make a videoš.
Disclaimer...I do not sell these. I may some day get around to putting together one of the ideas running around in my head, but for now I'm too busy making bugs.
