Ouch!!!

[Nick Kuhn]

There was still a fish attached to the other treble when that happened. I don't think a small pike has ever been slammed back into the water with more fury than the one that did that to me.

[Kettle]

I have seen some gnarly things working on an ambulance but I don't know what it is about fish hooks in hands but just seeing these pics sends shivers up spine. I might go barbless after all.

Kettle

[leech~~]

Funny thing when I was in the emg room up in Brainerd a few years ago having the hook taken out. The Doc told me the number one injury that they work on in the "Brainerd lakes area" each summer is fish hook removal. Go figure!

[Tom Sawyer]

Not to deminish your wound at all; but I will never forget the pain of having one buried in the knuckle of my thumb, with a hammer handle thrashing along with it. Since it was in my right hand, I had to find out if my girlfriend could cut a triple grip off with a side cutter.

Would be nice to carry some Xylocaine on board

[Kettle]

Funny thing when I was in the emg room up in Brainerd a few years ago having the hook taken out. The Doc told me the number one injury that they work on in the "Brainerd lakes area" each summer is fish hook removal. Go figure!

We have a tally number on each opening of fishing how many come into our local ER, it is very common. That and deer season and stand falls. It sounds morbid but I have done both. I carry some outdated lidocaine, a few large needles, very helpful for using as a pry to get hooks out, a pair of diagonal cutters and a small stitches kit. Glad I learned how to sew, probably one of the best things my father of all people taught me.

Tom Sawyer- The knuckle? Really? Just made me cringe thinking about it! That and having a fish on the end of it and then fish slime in the wound, that stings like the dickens, I hate fish slime in cuts

Kettle

[Nick Kuhn]

Funny thing when I was in the emg room up in Brainerd a few years ago having the hook taken out. The Doc told me the number one injury that they work on in the "Brainerd lakes area" each summer is fish hook removal. Go figure!

It's the same as when I went to the local hospital in Amery. They had a hook removal kit that was basically some garage tools. The 4/0 treble I had in my hand was actually too much for the doctors. My dad had to do a lot of the work because the doctors weren't strong enough to turn or cut the hook. Basically we could have done it in the boat if we had novacaine and something to sterilize.

[Slabasaurus]

This thread is full of examples of why I use barbless hooks on all of my large flies.

[cruiseforever]

I am one to land bass by giving them a lip lock. Well today I went to Cabelas and bought a couple of lip grabbers. The crankbaits's hooks in a bass seem to be able to dectect your fingers and lung for them. Or maybe I should just stick to single hook lures.

[Ufatz]

Single hooks are a good idea. There have been studies which indicate a good single hook is way better and much more effective than a treble hook. I think one study was done by USF&WS some years back.

In the fly fishing world there have been several studies showing that a BARBLESS hook hold fish very well and I have watched demonstrations (and done them myself) of having fish swim around my feet with a barbless #16 fly in their mouth and NOT come off until I took some action myself.

If you just can't bring yourself to going barbless (like maybe it's against your deeply held religious beliefs) at least go to ONE good quality hook with a SMALL barb. You are starting to see more and more of these on the market.These hooks HAVE barbs but they are much smaller and more streamlined

Part of the result is fewer fish with ripped up faces.

And fewer anglers with big bandages and medical bills.

And I will now climb down from my soapbox and let my maimed and bloody fellow anglers continue their old primitive and painful ways of doing things.

[CASTnBLAST]

I'm assuming you had someone with being you were in the passenger seat in picture. Several feet of braided line and a buddy would have made short work of that. Have done it more times than I care to remember. A couple good aspirin and a few shots of what ever is available makes it quite a bit more painless but could make rest of day a bit interesting if not done fishing...