Originally Posted by grubby pants

To be honest on that very rare occasion when I do actually catch one I could very well be one of those anglers you see with their fingers deep into a fishes mouth. In fact the only time the forceps would come out would be if I could not reach the hook or if it was hooked in an awkward position where I could not get a proper grip of the hook.

That said there is absolutely no ripping involved quite the opposite. I prefer to unhook with my fingers because it gives me an element of feel and finesse that you simply lose when using forceps.

Either way, great care should be taken to make sure that the hook is eased out following as much as possible the exact path and angle it went in.