Accidentally killed a pike trying to remove hooks, how can i prevent this in the future?
Hi guys, i am new to fishing and was able to catch my first fish which was a pike. I was using a Len Thompson spoon with the 3 hooks on the end. The spoon was pretty deep in its throat and was hooked on atleast 2 of the 3 hooks. I was trying to remove it with my needlenose pliers, and was really having a hard time as they kept re hooking on different parts of his mouth. I eventually got it out and it jumped back into the water, but it quickly went belly up. There was quite a bit of blood, i feel really terrible about it.
I went from really excited to feeling really bad.
The part that really bugs me is that, I don’t know how i could do it better the next time, and i don’t want to risk killing another fish. This lake is only catch and release. I feel pretty guilty about it and i just don’t know what to do for next time. Can i cut 2 of the hooks off so its just one hook on the spoon? Should i be using a different bait?
Any help would be great