My question is this- What is the effect on a fish that takes a rubber worm or berkley egg cluster and swallows it and the fish unbuttons on you swallowing the rubber..This can't digest. Just got to thinking would that clog a fish up and kill it????Seems to me if it can't be digested it could have some bad affects on fish..TM

Im not sure about rubbers but the fish I hit yesterday had a size 1 or 1/0 Gama in his stomach with a piece of 3 foot mono running from his stomach out his mouth and he seemed to be doing just fine...untill I cracked him over the head with a rock.

Kevin, it is my understanding that these fish can pass these rubber baits through their system...kinda like swallowing bubble gum to them I guess. In the warmwater species that I've dealt with, I've had them vomit other plastic baits out, or **** them out. I guess it depends on the size of the bait as well. Kinda like swallowing a rubber watermelon.... As far as the hook, they release enzymes that will dissolve the hook.

I have a tropical marine tank with an assortment of marine tropicals. I have this one rather gregarious 4 inch Koran Angelfish who spotted a rubber band on the bottom of the tank accidently left after I introduced a new fish. To my horror (the fish cost as much as a good spinning reel) the Koran ate the rubber band. I worried about it, expecting him to croak any minute, hour, or day. Three days later I saw the rubberband half way out of his vent. Couple of hours later it was on the bottom of the tank. And before I could fish it out, the Koran swallowed it again. Three days later it was again at the bottom of the tank and I removed it.

Somehow, I don't think any soft bodied objects will hurt steelhead. They'll just pass it.

Hey Sparkey, congrats, where'd you get the fish (email me).