There is nothing more frustrating than a deeply hooked fish, also in these enlightened times of “catch and release” and conservation, releasing fish as quickly and simply as possible is very important. This is where disgorgers can be a big help. They aim to release the hook from a fish with the minimum of fuss and stress.
We will have a look at the most popular types of disgorger and learn when and how to use them.
I picked 3 main types, but narrowed this down to 2 as you will see later. The image below shows the disgorgers…
The yellow disgorger is really for use on smaller fish such as flatfish – plaice/flounder etc, but in all honesty, I usually find that a small pair of artery forceps can be just as effective, so we shall ignore this type of disgorger for now, and concentrate on the other 2.
Gemini Disgorger
The first disgorger we will look at in more detail, is the Gemini disgorger…
The Gemini is made from tough plastic, it is fairly compact, and is great for un-hooking small or medium sized fish. I find it particularly useful for unhooking dogfish. Fishing in the Bristol Channel can be quite annoying when you are pulling in dogfish every few minutes, after a hectic day’s fishing, the dogfishes rough skin can really take it toll on your hands…
Now the clever little Gemini has a loop of wire at the end…
There is a bit of a knack to using the Gemini. First, you have to slide the wire loop over your trace line, so that the line runs through the loop. Then, grab the trace line in your left hand, and hold the handle of the Gemini in your right hand. With your right hand, slide the loop along the line and try to get it as close to the hook as possible (if you can, try to position it on the bend of the hook being removed). Then, pull the trace line down with your left hand, whilst at the same time, lifting the disgorger upwards. Do this in a quick “jerking” action, and the weight of the fish should force it off the hook. As I say, there is a bit of a knack to it, but once you get it, you will never look back. It makes really short work of unhooking deeply hooked fish.
T-Bar
The other disgorger I use, is the T-Bar…
The T-bar is more suitable for unhooking larger fish such as huss, conger and tope. Its alot tougher than the Gemini, and the design also makes it a bit easier to release fish at the side of the kayak whilst they are still in the water so you don’t even have to lift them into the kayak.
The T-bar I use, is hand made in the UK from Machined 6mm Stainless bar with a 16mm Stainless Handle.
The T-bar has a hook or “J” on the end of it, and works on a similar principle to the Gemini…
You hold the trace line with one hand and slide the J of the T-bar along the line and as close to the bend of the hook as you can get, then pull down the line with one hand and lift the hook on the T-bar with your other hand at the same time, and the weight of the fish should help to un-hook it.
Both of these disgorgers are great for un-hooking fish, I would recomend the Gemini for small to medium fish and the T-Bar for larger fish.
Both disgorgers are available from Veals Mail order…
Gemini Disgorger…
https://www.veals.co.uk/acatalog/gemini-disgorger-259.html
T- Bar…
https://www.veals.co.uk/acatalog/t-bar-disgorger-large-62.html