Tuesday afternoon on Richland Chambers. Beautiful day to be on the water. Only boat around and I find sandies schooling about 1/4 mile down from the dam. Quickly catch four on a clear tiny torpedo with two treble hooks. As I'm taking #4 of the hook, the fish zigged and I zagged leaving a hook buried deep into my left thumb. Yow! I'm holding the fish in my right hand and I need to transfer it somehow to my left - so I can the thing off the hook first. I drop the fish once which naturally takes my thumb with it but I manage to get the fish loose. I cut the line and sit down to take stock of the situation. Bleeding more than I should be, I know what has to be done so I get out the wire cutters. I tried backing it out but of course the barb is having none of that. After a couple of deep breaths I grit my teeth and push the hook back out through the skin as far as I could. I cut the part that's showing off but it still won't back out. Now I can't get anything to push back through the skin. Great. I take off for Fisherman's Point dreading having to load the boat one-handed and driving the hour or so back to Dallas with this lure in my thumb. I get tied up and wander in to the little store there, not really knowing if they could help a brother out or not. There, I found, with rays beaming down from heaven, my angel. She tells me her name is Linda and she's a nurse. After I stopped kissing her feet she sits me down, gives me a bottle of water, and tells me to relax, that this isn't her first rodeo. The thumb is throbbing like crazy but it works, I relaxed. She wiggles it a couple of times and it slides right out! I *had* cut the barb. Just couldn't get it loose by myself for some reason. Linda cleans me up and bandages it like a professional and I'm ready to go back out. I declare my love for her on the spot and inform her that I want to have her babies. She wouldn't take any money so I paid for my bottle of water with a twenty and refused the change. Ten minutes later I'm back into the fish, this time with hooks that have the barb mashed down.

LMAO!!(not AT you) I know just how you feel man. I once got a treble hook from a torpedo stuck in my middle finger while the fish was stuck on the other hook. For the life of me I couldn't get that stupid fish off with one hand !! I was about 5 miles from my grandmothers house way out in the middle of nowhere on the Brazos with my three wheeler. Its usually a fun drive but with a flopping fish and a hook stuck in your finger it had to be the worst half hour I've ever spent!! To make a long story short, I was young and they made me go to the hospital. The shear pain of the needles going into my traumatized wound was enough to make me KNOW that the ONLY choice you have when this happens is to suck it up and push her through. That's what they do at the hospital anyways...it just hurts more!!! I commend you for trying to do it the RIGHT way. Sounds like you did a good job too. Sorry that happened to you and thank God for baitstore nurses!!!

I can relate... was on Texhoma in the topwater bite on striper. Well got the fish in grabbed the top of the large chug bug, fish proceeds to roll over the top of my arm burying the front treble in my thumb. Before I could blink, this 6 pounder starts thrashing and buries the barb deep. I hit the floor dosging other rods and lures with my wife in a panic. Her first time to drive my Skeeter, so off to the marina. A good friend is a guide there, he loaded my boat up while I headed to the doc in a box... one needle later, hook was out and I was back getting the boat hooked up. I made sure after that trip that my wife could manage not only the boat, but get it in the trailer and drive the rig down the road. Can still feel that point going deep....

I take kids out fishing all the time and I teach them: 1) Take the pliers, 2) Grab the hook, 3) Unhook the fish, 4) Get the lure hanging outside the boat before messing with the fish...

I did like Bankrunner and that striper got me too, fortunately it stopped just short of the barb, but all my blood dripping down made a big impression on the kids...I imagine my scream had something to do with it too...I hate pain...

Fuzzy hehehe, afraid my discussion of the lineage of that fish was bit more colorful, good thing it was just me and the wife and thqt I was very embarassed later when she reminded me of it.....

I don't know how many times this comes up without no one mentioning the string trick. Being in the thumb, you could have probably done the string trick yourself. It just seems weird after all the times it is mentioned, you always see new posts where someone tries to drive the hook all the way through, etc. Man, there just ain't no need for that pain.

I searched the archives for "string trick" and came up empty. Sorry if it's been posted before but I'm unfamiliar with this. How does it work?

Last saturday at Richland Chambers the same thing happened to my nephew. It was a clear tiny torpedo and it embedded in the knuckle of his little finger. Needless to say I have de-barbed all my trebles now.

Sorry to hear about your hookup, nice to have someone that was willing to help you out.

Had it happen before and had to do it on my own, boy did it hurt!!

Call me a weenie all you want but if I am not using a single hook lure then I am going to use the Jimmy Houston Grapplers to hold those *&%$##@ flip floppin fish.

I saw the string trick on a TV fishing show. They were out to sea and one guy got big hooh in his hand. Thye talked us threw this procedure, Get about 18" of string or strong fishing line (they used 50lb) stick a loop threw the hook shannk between hook and skin hold down on eye of hook,grit teeth yank quickly on string out comes hook threw same hole it went in. Never tried hope never to have to either.


Tommy

gonefission, here's the web site you asked for!

http://www.surviveoutdoors.com/emergency/fishhookremoval.asp

My brother walked behind my mom as she was back-casting once in Canada and imbedded a hook deep in his shoulder. Dad took some heavy line and pulled it around the hook, then pulled the hook out. The idea was that the line would roll under the barb and allow the flesh to slide over. It worked like a charm that time....haven't had to try it again since...knock on wood.

bob holmes (god bless him) saved my day @ RC last year with the "string trick". hard to do on yourself because if you flinch, & that barb catches meat on the way out........but it does work & has earned a pemanent place in my boat for future acts of stupidity. just make sure when you do it you don't really pull, more of a snap & it pops right out.

There must have been something in the air at R/C last week because I did the same thing with a tiny torpedo. I was fishing alone Saturday morning in the boat show when the sandies began to surface. On my third fish it flipped and I caught the back of my knuckle on my left hand. I was able to release the fish and take the lure off the line. There I sat in the bottom of my boat, fish spashing the water all around, fisherman catching as fast as they can and I have a treble hook past the barb that is bleeding all over the place. After several trys, I was able to remove it with a pair of pliers and a little twist. Of course, the fish were finished surfacing and the boat show had moved on. It was a first for me, but I sure did not want to load the boat and head to the hospital. I did get to continue fishing and caught a large hybrid running the Hell/Pet. A good day after all!