Removing hooks from fish

Question
This is going to sound like a REALLY stupid question but what is the easiest and best way to take a hook out of a fish?  I am more-or-less a fishing greenhorn and I think I handle the fish too much.  Plus there are time when I simply cannot get the hook to come back out of their mouth because of that crazy barb on the hook.  And then there are times when the fish sucks the bait so far down its throat that you can't reach it, even with a pair of needlenose pliers.  

Answer
Hi Ray,

A needle nose pliers is good, but for smaller fish like panfish they are a little too thick to get in small mouths.

There are two things that work better.  One is a forceps like a surgeon uses.  They sell them at nearly every tackle shop for under $5.  They usually have straight and curved tips.  The curved one lets you see what you are doing a little better.  They lock on the hook so you have a little more control than a pliers.  

The other item is called a hook disgorger and is also available in tackle shops.  These can be less than $2.00.  They look like a pen with a small plastic ball on each end.  There is a groove in the ball for the line.  you slide it on the line and follow the line down into the fishes mouth to the hook.  When you get to the hook, the hook you push down a little further which pops the hook out backwards.  The hook now gets covered by the end of the disgorger so you can exit the fishes mouth without getting caught on anything else.  It's a slick little system.

The last alternative is to clip the line and leave the hook.  Eventually the fish will dissolve it.  Leave as little as you can in the fish.

Good fishing!