After hooking a fish the other day and then having my line break, it got me to wondering. As often as that happens while fishing, has anyone ever caught a fish that still had a hook and/or jig still hooked in their mouth from a previous catch? I've never seen it but I was wondering if they don't eat until they can shake the old hook out or do they just go back to regular feeding patterns. I've always heard that the hooks would just rust but I figured that'd take awhile.

Have several times caught bass that had lures or just hooks in their jaws .

Back when I chased the green drum, I broke a fish off under a dock, retied, flipped back in and caught the same fish with broke off worm and all in its mouth. Have never caught a crappie with a lure in its mouth, but i have certainly seen spots where they had been caught before.

I caught a crappie one time that had a big crank bait in its mouth. When I flipped
It in the boat the crank bait came out. The hooks were rusted off pretty good

Back in the 60s when Sam Rayburn was all the rage for bass, I watched a TV show featuring a guide. The camera boat captured the action as the rod he was using went overboard when he laid it down to take a fish off for a client. He turned around and lunged for it but it was gone. Next day at the same spot, again filming, he hooks a line and pulls it in and yeah it's his line. He proceeds to pull in his rod n reel and then reel in the 5 lb bass that took the rod overboard.
I've caught bass 2-3 times with worm hooks still in their mouths. Caught crappie once also with gold hook still in the mouth.

When bass fishing I was broke off, re tied and the next fish had my bait that broke off in it's mouth.

Have yet to catch a crappie with a hook or bait in it's mouth from breaking off.

Caught one once with an Aberdeen and ten or so feet of line and another with a pink jig head buried deep. Both at Bardwell Hiview marina.

I was fishing Richland Chambers for crappie one time and caught an undersize fish that had a sore spot marking his mouth and released the fish, dropped my line and before I got down I caught the same fish again!

The same thing happened with a bass on Lake Fork!

I broke off 3 fish in the same exact spot a couple years ago while fishing the KYKX tourney. I went back one week later and caught a spawned out female with all 3 of my baits in her belly. Two lizards and a baby brush hog. The trokar hooks were even still shiny. Nobody believed me.

Hit Richie's and my jig back to back. About a month ago. I reeled it up so it was my catch right?

I caught a blackfin shark , my circle hook was hooked on another circle hook in its jaw.
Mo

I was fishing with a friend and he missed a crappie that took his jig and hook. After about 30 minutes I caught that crappie with my friends jig hooked in his mouth.

caught this one earlier in the year gold hook wasn't mine.

Catfishing one time, my buddy lost a small one in the trees. Little while later, I pull one in that hadn't bit, but had somehow gotten the line he was trailing wrapped up in my treble hook. Was the fish he had lost.

Broke off about a 3 lb. bass one time in a private lake. My dad caught the fish about 30 minutes later.

Pulled in a 12" bass at Texoma in Eisenhauer fishing the shore that had a small lipless crank hooked to both sides of his mouth. Line got tangled on the hooks. Judging by his condition, I think he'd been carrying it for a while. Pulled it out and let him go.

Saw a guy catch a big black drum down at Rockport that had another hook still in his mouth.

Caught two small flatheads within a minute of each other in the exact same spot back in April while crappie fishing. Pretty sure it was the same one twice.