You can possess both tags at once, but you can only use 1 per day. There is no exception of any kind for a wounded/dying fish. If it isn't legal to keep (oversize, undersize, no tag, etc), chunk it back in the water. It won't go to waste (crabs and such have to eat too!), and it'll save you a fat ticket.

 

Possession of game has no imagination.

 

Hi, dcarter.
If the hook is in her throat, leave it there. Just cut the leader and let her go.

good luck,
Steve

 

Use circle hooks won't usually kill fish

 

This is an interesting topic. A friend of mine was using plain old 9/0 J-hooks on a particular "red" fish that we're all fond of. I was using circle hooks. I argued a little, and told him we should be using circle hooks (partly because of the law, and also because of the argument that circle hooks are less prone to gut hooking, killing undersized fish, etc). He laughed, and told me i'd be gut hooking more fish with circle hooks than he would with j-hooks.

I had to eat crow as I watched him get very clean lip/jaw hook sets on "red" fish, while i proceeded to gut hook em left and right. I switched to the same 9/0 J-hooks, and have very rarely gut hooked anything. This has held true over quite a few trips. This is only my personal experience. Your mileage may vary.

I think it has a lot to do with the way the fish grab the bait while it drops.

 

GulfCoast1102,

That's what I figured, but I couldn't find that explained anywhere.

 

save your tag for a possible state record bull

 

If you let the fish eat too long they will swallow a circle hook but if you apply pressure when bit correctly the hook will turn and hook in corner of mouth most of the time

 

I fish bulls a lot. I use a large R&R dehooker on the ones that are gut hooked. Once you know how to do it you can easily remove the hook without harming the fish and no blood shed. I get 2 or 3 bull reds hooked that way on every trip. I wish I could teach everybody how to do it.

If it gets DEEP into the pallet just cut it.