Hooks in hand

[slothman]

I saw that video earlier. Ouch!

[moguy1973]

For the first time I had to use the string trick to get a hook out of my left thumb.  I’m glad I had my brother in law around to help out.  It was a Spro crank bait and we had to cut the split ring to separate the hook from the bait.  Once we did that we doubled over some 17lb mono and he yanked while I pushed the shank of the hook down and it popped right out.  He had never seen that technique and he couldn’t believe how little it bled afterwards.  It really didn’t even hurt except when we tried the first time and he didn’t pull fast enough.  That hurt.  A lot. 

[Al Agnew]

Yeah, some goofball on the internet was "testing" the different methods of getting hooks out by sticking a big hook in his own arm.  When it came to the string trick, he had another guy that was supposed to be pushing down on the eye of the hook, pushing it toward the buried barb as you're supposed to do.  But he only told the guy to hold his thumb on the eye; he didn't tell him to push down on it.  He gave the string a yank, the eye slipped out from under the other guy's thumb, and the hook just rotated, actually bringing the barb back out through the skin with the rest of the hook still buried.  Which made it easy to cut the barb off and get the hook out, but was extremely painful.  Pushing down HARD on the eye is one of the really, really important things to do for the trick to work.  If you do, and give the string a hard, sharp yank (not an easy pull, a sharp yank), the hook will come out almost painlessly.  (and go flying off into the sunset, never to be found again, usually, so turn your own head away when you give it the yank--it would be a bummer to get the hook out only to have it stick you in the eye!)

Trust me, I've done it enough by now to be an expert.  It's never failed yet.  Last time was just a couple weeks ago, when I had to get one out of my belly.  Most difficult time was a couple years ago when I got one in my hand, when fishing alone.  You almost need two hands, one to push on the eye, one to give the string a yank.  But I figured it out by going up on the bank, finding a log with a nice little bump of a knot on it, pushing the eye down with the knot, and yanking with the other hand.  I breathed a sigh of relief when it worked.  Only time recently I couldn't get it done was when I hooked myself on the back of the arm where I couldn't see it or reach it.  Had to drive home and have Mary push on the eye and do the yank.  It was her first time, but she did it perfectly.

[Al Agnew]

And by the way, I've decided to crimp the barbs on many of my walk the dog topwaters, especially those with three treble hooks.  I've found it doesn't make me lose hardly any more fish, and it removes a lot of the danger.  I got one in my finger day before yesterday, and slipped it right back out.

[Gavin]

Debarb all trebles. Makes it easy to release the fish or get a hook out of you. Have retrieved most floating baits that a fish broke off after waiting a couple minutes. First thing I do after removing a lure from the package.

[tjm]

I read an article back in the '70s or '80s that claimed barbless hooks actually held the fish better because the barb acts like a saw as the fish fights enlarging the entry hole. Don't know if it's true or not, but,  coupled with cutting a hook out of my partners ear the week before caused me to de-barb all my hooks since. The barb was developed to hold the wire while the hook was shaped, I believe.

Use them bolt cutters with one hand?

[snagged in outlet 3]

Put a couple wraps of the string on the hook and it won’t going flying when you snatch it out.

[1farmer]

7 hours ago, tjm said:

I read an article back in the '70s or '80s that claimed barbless hooks actually held the fish better because the barb acts like a saw as the fish fights enlarging the entry hole. Don't know if it's true or not, but,  coupled with cutting a hook out of my partners ear the week before caused me to de-barb all my hooks since. The barb was developed to hold the wire while the hook was shaped, I believe.

Use them bolt cutters with one hand?

Yes, tension spring opens them, they fit in hand just like pliers.