can plastics harm fish?

[sami0115]

this last weekend i was fishing with Yum dingers (senko style baits), just hammerin' the smallies. here is the story: i had a strike, i reared back and swung. the hook came flying back at me at like mach 6 (without my YUM dinger on it) a short strike. oh heck i yell.. oh well... so 2 hours later i am back at the same spot... get a strike, rear back and hammer him... this time he is not getting away. the smally does his usual tail dance on the water and i see my lure go flying (or so i think) what actually went flying was the YUM dinger that i lost earlier in the day (it came flying out of his mouth) so here are the questions: 1.could he have choked on it. 2. swallowed it and not be able to digest it. (by the way this happened to me twice this weekend)

also i was totally amazed that a fish would hold onto a plastic for this long.. maybe this LPT technology really works!

------------------
YIPPPPEEEEEEEE

[CrappieJohn]

In all the years of fishing plastics that I have done, I have never seen a plastic "eaten" and retained in the gut of a fish. That is not to say that it hasn't happened-I'm sure it has- I just have not witnessed it. The softer water based baits like the Brekley Gulp and paste trout bait, yes I have seen both of those inside the guts of fish. Not plastic. I think the fish would likely regurgitate anything like that. And even though the fish tend to hold onto plastic well, it is my opinion that plastics cause far less hooking mortality than water based baits and live bait.

------------------
Plastics...making better fishermen without bait! Good Fishing Guys! CrappieTom

muckbootsonline.com Pro Staff
Culprit Tackle Crappie Pro Staff
Catch-n Tackle
[email protected]

[sami0115]

so why would a fish hold onto a bait for that long.... it was at least 2 hours, no kidding. was it stuck in his mouth/throat somewhere? or was he trying to eat it and just not having any luck?

[CrappieJohn]

That's a tough to try and answer. I'll speculate here and say the fish either had the bait lodged inside it's mouth or had possibly even swallowed it. In the first instance, hitting the second time could have easily created the room needed to dislodge it and the headshaking violence of the fight may have helped it along. In the second situation. I'd assume that it was ejected from the gut from a "panic" type reflex. In very clear water I have seen basically every kind of fish toss it's previous meal while doing battle with a lure in the mouth.

------------------
Plastics...making better fishermen without bait! Good Fishing Guys! CrappieTom

muckbootsonline.com Pro Staff
Culprit Tackle Crappie Pro Staff
Catch-n Tackle
[email protected]

[huskiesplayer15]

This may be kind of off topic but, when I fish smallies in the bdub, when one person catches one the other person throws a jig behind the smallie and usually will get a smallies that was following the first one to pick it up, maybe that second fish thinks it was spit up from the first one.
Best Fishes
Chris