Lol this thread is too much. I guess its more common than I initially thought. That being said.....its only fair some anglers taste the pain at least once. I heard fish don't feel pain when we hook the through their mouth. A quick google search indicated:
A research team from the Roslin Institute and the University of Edinburgh found “conclusive evidence of pain perception in fish”. The lead researcher, Dr Lynne Sneddon, said the team's work "fulfils the criteria for animal pain" - April 2003
Scientific America reported that goldfish “do experience pain consciously, rather than simply reacting with a reflex” - September 2009.
Norwegian School of Veterinary Science doctoral student Janicke Nordgreen studied nociception and pain in fish and concluded that it is very likely they can feel pain - Reported in Science Daily, 15 Jan 2010)
Other reports indicate fish feel negative stimuli and will react but it may not be pain per se. All I know is that when I got hooked (finger as well).....it hurt like a motherloveer.
If you just regularly hook a fish somewhere in the mouth and don't bring it to exhaustion while reeling it in, it doesn't experience a tremendous amount of pain. Fish will sometimes hit the same bait right after being released. A sting here or there is part of nature for many creatures.
If you've ever experienced the difference in a steelhead on the end of your line that's hooked in the mouth versus one that's swallowed your bait, you will know that they probably feel significantly more pain when there's a hook lodged somewhere in their throat. Fortunately, they usually end up being hooked in the mouth.
If you bring in a fish and find that it's swallowed your bait, that might not be a bad fish to keep.
I've had frogs go after my lure, get stuck for a bit on the hook, fall off, and go for it again. It likely felt some pain from the hook, but not enough to deter it from striking again. Hooking one and using it for bait is a different story, better use a frog imitation lure or a dead one which you can still create lifelike action with.
