I just read this same story in the morning local paper. My first thought was oh great the PETA freaks will once again don those fish suits and a sign that say " ouch" with a hook in the mouth[:@]
To be perfectly honest I always thought they felt some sort of discomfort, but equated it to a cut or anything else we humans endure. It is a bother at first but really doesn' t hinder in daily life and eventually becomes a distant memory. The exception is with fish their mouths heal much faster. I can support both above statements having caught the same fish in the same outing on a occasion, also catching fish with hooks in their mouth that were almost rusted out at the hook, but the actual lure was intact. As far as death when released, it has been largely studied and published that the hooking sight is not the cause of mortality(unless swallowed and then it is a problem) but rather the stress put on a fish or improper handling of the fish. Thats why barbless hooks are important, single hooks versus trebles, minimize the stress put on the fish and contact with the fish is very important when practicing catch and release. If your keeping all you catch well then it is somewhat moot of a point.
My believe is God impowered me to have command over the seas and land.(yeap it is in the bible) So that means he has created fish for us to enjoy and by darn it I do enjoy every minute of it and will continue to do so. To the PETA people who believe they never hurt anything, what about those veggies you all eat...don' t they have feeling as well????
