Hooked

[vince]

Had a first last evening, after over forty years of fishing I buried a hook in my finger. It went in all the way to the bend of the hook. I lifted a trout out of the water with my rod and slid my fingers down the line to unhook it. The trout came off and the loaded rod snapped it into my middle finger. It happened so fast!!!!!!! I took some 30 pd test line made a loop, slipped it over the fly, held the eye of the fly down and gave the loop a sharp jerk and the hook came out real easy. I had read about hook removal in a magazine somewhere and it worked real well. I'm just glad it was a'# 12 trout fly instead of a 1/0 bass jig. Be carefull out there.

[Growler]

Vince, I had that happen a number of years ago, only I didn't have the heavier line to slip over, just used my fly line. You're right, it does work, but it stings awhile.

I have since gone to using a Ketchum Release tool. They are those tools you slide down the line and tap the fly with. Now I don't even have to touch the fish, just slide the KR down, tap the fly, trout swims away. I have been very happy with it.

[Phil Lilley]

What about the fishing????

I've performed that proceedure about 6 times on people here at the resort. Pretty slick- works everytime. I've saved dozens of hours at the ER and over a thousand dollars so far I think.

[Sowbug]

I will tell you....them big bass plug hooks don't come out so easy...arrrgh. I have had numerous hooks in my hands and arms, my brother even hooked me in the head with a rooster tail when we were younger. Some you can push on thru and cut the barb off to get out. Then there were a couple that required a doctors help. One of my friends was crappie fishing with me last year and hung into a big catfish as he was reeling him in the hook came out and shot thru the air right into his eyebrow...ouch!! We had to go to the doc and get that one removed for fear of damaging his eye.

Be careful out there.

[Danoinark]

What about the fishing????

I've performed that proceedure about 6 times on people here at the resort. Pretty slick- works everytime. I've saved dozens of hours at the ER and over a thousand dollars so far I think.

Now forever to be known as Dr. Phil

Dano

[MOBass]

I have taken to crimping or grinding down the barb on my flies. It makes the release easy and if I do put one in my finger it comes out without much fuss.

I saw the post about getting a hook in the eyebrow. That drives home the point to always wear eye protection. Before I had prescription glasses I would wear my sunglasses during the day and clear safety glasses at night. People that saw me wearing them for the first time would laugh and ask what it was about. I just asked if they had ever got a hook in their eye. They would stop laughing and say no. I would say neither have I. At that point they would ask me if I had a spare pair.

[Snow Fly]

MoBass has a good point about eye protection, I don't know how many times a fly has pulled out with the rod loaded and the fly hit the len of the glasses I was wearing. An eye never grows back after it is lost!

[vince]

Phil, Fishing was fair using tan scuds, caught about a dozen. tried a lot of stuff and different colors but no luck on anything else. Was that tree still in front of your dock or did it drift on.

[TexomaOkie]

This removal technique works nicely for bigger hooks, too. A few years ago my son implanted one point of an Excaliber treble hook into a finger, completely burying the barb. After using pliers to remove the hook from the lure, we popped the hook out using this technique. It saved a day's fishing and a couple hundred bucks at the ER.

When we removed the hook, he had his eyes closed and didn't believe that it had come out. It was that painless! Removing the hook from the lure caused him more pain than removing it from his finger. By the way, when the hook came out, the cord threw it so far that we never found it.