Taking a hook out of your buddy...

Hi all-

Saw a recent post on another thread about a hook that was accidentally embedded in someone's foot. So here's an old technique for removing a hook in the field. Many of the folks on this board have already seen it elsewhere and probably have used it over the years, but I thought I'd pass it along for newbies and others that might have friends that drop their backcasts on occassion....

FIRST A DISCLAIMER: I'm not a Doctor. I don't even play one on TV. Please use your judgement and common sense--- I WOULD NOT use this to remove a hook near an eye, an artery, or anywhere on my mother-in-law.

I've had luck removing hooks by "snatching"... doubling and looping a heavy piece of tippet around the shank, (or fly line for saltwater hooks), slipping it down to the bend, and yanking the doubled line with one hand while pressing down on the top of the shank with the thumb of the other hand.

The hook backs out of the hole it went in, and pressing down on the shank helps the barb stay in the original "wound channel". So far it's worked very well about 10 times over the years, yanking hooks out of arms, bellies, legs, feet, and one ear (don't ask...).

Usually, I say I'm going to count to THREE and yank, but then snatch it out after ONE (before they tense up). It seems to come out easily and often the person doesn't even realize it's out before it's all over.

It beats leaving the water for a hospital waiting room....especially if it's only in your buddy and the fish are biting.

It also works on yourself, but don't ask me how I know this.

Good luck and I hope you never have to use it.

peregrines

I would agree...though I've only used it once and it worked very well.

There are some other choices...

You can just rotate the hook point right on out...did that once to a friend and he didn't feel a thing...I clipped off the eye and some of the shank of the hook first...you could rotate the barb and then cut it off....if I read that other thread correctly the hook was too strong to cut...need a good cutter.

I researched and wrote an article on hook removal methods for "Go Fishing" magazine in Australia, if anybody wants to see it I can oblige.

Sure , do you have a link?

I agree with peregrines method, had to use it last spring. however, I?ll relate a story, I was fishing with 2 friends on a fly-in trip to northern Ontario, we were fishing for BIG pike. at the time 2 of us, tim and me, were in 1 boat trolling large crankbaits( I know should of been using a fly) and tim snagged a branch. he pulled the branch up to the surface, so I reached down to grab it and the lure shot off the snag and lodged in my ear. it embedded to the bend, in the top half of my ear, into the cartilage where it meets the scalp, but did not penetrate all the way through. on its way the hook bounced of my sunglasses, cut my cheek then into the ear, thank God I was wearing sunglasses, that's it for my public service message for protective eyewear. couldn't push it through so back to the cabin. the cabin manager asked if I wanted to call for a plane, I would lose the rest of that day and the next, so I said no. so we, my friends and I, tried some amateur surgery. To prep I drank 5 shots of tequila and washed my hair really well. we had butadiene, scalpel, sutures, but no dikes. cutting through cartilage is very hard, it sounded like there was a buzzsaw in my ear. But finally a hole big enough to push the barb out was made and it was cut off. Put some butterfly bandages on the cut and on my cheek and I was good as new. However I was too drunk to back out fishing so we decided to drink some more, now that I allowed my surgeon to had some. The camp manager came by to look in on me and was impressed that we did the job ourselves. I guess he did not expect a few soft american, cityslickers to be able to handle it.

as moral is always be prepared when away from help, but it's better to avoid troubles than to have to deal with them.

riz- ouch. Reminds me of a t-shirt I saw: "One Tequila, Two Tequila, Three Tequila, Floor." Hope you caught fish, it makes the pain go away.

gringo- your article sounds interesting, and your offer to share is appreciated.

Thanks.

peregrines

the fishing was great. had atleast 15 fish over 15 lbs and dozens in the 32" - 36" class. and lots of walleye and perch. the following trip i took my fly rod and landed several 15 - 17 lb fish.

I have sent my article to Ducksterman, he offered to assist me to upload it... Hope it is of interest or use to somebody. It was published by a couple of fishing/outdoor magazines in Australia. I do a fair bit of "first aid" type writing for this sort of mag. Thanks for being interested anyway.

CAUTION - included link not for the faint at heart (or those seein hook imbedded in skull).

Anyhow - as you can guess - here's an incident locally that caused a few ewwws and ahhhhs - in all the wrong ways :?

http://www.looneybeaver.com/forum/vi...ighlight=musky


I still cringe .....

Homer Simpson goes musky fishing: "Stand back Flanders and watch this cast.... Doh!"

Yikes! And no tequila either.

Those fish were worth it though, but still.... ewww!

peregrines

Here's what Gringo sent .....I did a simple copy...paste but it won't do the diagrams...

Removing Fish Hooks

By Chris Tyler


?Youch!? is the thought that immediately comes to mind when I think of fish hooks embedded in skin. Hooks are nasty little beggars that are designed to stick into flesh easily and well, without coming out, but are not meant for human flesh. A deeply stuck fish hook can ruin anyone?s day out and I have seen it happen all too often. It is a nuisance, and very painful at best. At worst it can be a serious injury. There are first aid packs available especially for hook removal, but in my opinion the most valuable item in them is the instructions, so I?ll give you that here for free.

I must emphasise that when I am talking about hook removal in this article, I am only thinking about the smallish 16-10 fly hooks and bait hooks/trebles around 5/0 or less, normally stuck into a finger, toe, or ear lobe. Don?t try my advice on great game hooks stuck in your mate?s arm. While the same general principles in removal apply, larger hooks are more likely to involve underlying structures and require anaesthesia and surgical techniques by a doctor. Similarly, if the hook is near or in an eye, or bleeding is severe, or you think that the wound will require stitches or it is numb or white, or the hook is really deeply embedded, please just bandage it up and go to trained medical aid.

In your first aid kit or boat, you should have, as well as bandages and eye pads, some form of artery forceps or clamp to hold the hook, some string, disinfectant wash, and you will also need some type of wire cutter or multi tool.

Identify the type of hook that is embedded before you do anything. If it is embedded in your mate, then he might have to give you a similar hook so you know what you are dealing with. Remember, it?s buried in his flesh so you can?t tell much about barbs and so on. Three commonest types are as follows: Single barbed hook; Multi-barbed or baitholder type hook; and barbed trebles and ganged hooks.



Diagram 1: Types of fish hooks

A. Simple single barbed hook.
B. Multi barbed or bait holder hook.
C. Treble.
Single hooks can be tied together to form ganged hook systems for large baits.

Protect yourself

Take caution with these little things, as they very easily stick straight into the rescuer as well. Wear safety glasses, disposable gloves, and keep the hook secured so it doesn?t cause a secondary injury on removal. Tape up other hooks that are outside the flesh, like on a treble, which will usually embed only one hook. Unattached treble prongs or ganged hooks should be cut off. Also remove the lure part of a hard body, fishing line, bait or anything else that is now attached to the injury site. Wash with an antiseptic.

Hook removal is easiest where the skin is taut, like a hand or foot. On a neck or in an ear lobe you may be able to stretch the skin tight, but bear in mind that the procedure will be more difficult in these locations.

Methods

1. Retrograde technique

This is the simplest and most painless method and works best with barbless and superficially embedded barbed hooks. Apply downward pressure to the shank which will rotate the hook slightly deeper but also disengages the barb portion from tissue, and allows you to ?back out? the hook along the path of entry. If you feel resistance from the barb catching then you should try another method.



Diagram 2: Retrograde technique:

Rotate the hook backwards while applying downward pressure to the shank to release the barb from tissue.

2. String-Yank technique

This one is a little more complex to do but is more effective in the field. Small to medium deeply embedded hooks often will come out with this method but only on fixed areas of skin. Loose skin such as on faces, necks and ear lobes will need to be kept taut and do not respond as well.

Wrap a string around the midpoint of the bend, and hold the free ends tightly. Stabilise the skin area so it is tight. Depress the eye and shank of the hook with your other hand as in the retrograde technique, but keep the shank parallel to the tightened skin, and apply a firm, quick jerk to the string while maintaining downward pressure. As the hook could exit at speed, caution is required.

Diagram 3: String-yank technique.
1. Tie a lie or string to bend of hook.
2. Apply downward pressure to shank of hook to release barb.
3. Quickly pull string in opposite direction of entry to remove hook.



3. Needle cover technique

This technique is more for trained medical people as skin preparation and local anaesthesia is required. However, I put it in here in case you are on a trawler 50 kilometres out to sea with a good first aid kit and some 18g needles, and feeling partial to a bit of DIY surgery.

With this method the needle is advanced along the path of entry of the hook until the bevel is level with the hook point. The hook is then advanced to disengage the barb and twisted so that the barb enters the lumen of the needle, and the whole lot is removed together. If necessary this can also be done with a sterile scalpel blade as the incision makes room for the barb to back out. I must stress that as this is an invasive procedure and some tissue damage is inevitable, and it is not for untrained use.


Diagram 4: Needle cover technique


4. Advance and cur technique

This one too is generally for trained medical personnel, as additional trauma to surrounding tissue will be incurred. It will also require skin preparation and anaesthetic. However, the general principle is worth knowing as the same surgical technique can be employed for stubborn little hooks that are embedded with their point close to the skin surface.

With single barb hooks, grip the shank with forceps or pliers and advance the hook so that the point pokes through the skin. Cut off the barbed point of the hook and back it out through the entry point.

With multi barbed or baitholder hooks, a similar method is employed but the hook cannot be backed out due to the barbs along the shank, so it is pushed through the surface of the skin and continues to be advanced through the skin after the eye has been removed by wire cutters.



Diagram 5: Advance and cut, single barb.

Advance and cut technique ? single barb
1. Advance hook through skin
2. Remove barb with wire cutters
3. Back out hook through point of entry.


Diagram 6: Advance and cut, multi barb:

1. Advance hook through skin
2. Remove eye with wire cutters
3. Pull remaining portion of hook through wound created by advancing the point.

Wound care

Inspect the wound for foreign bodies such as bait or hook fragments, and ensure you have the entire hook out if you have cut any of it. Wash with antiseptic, and bandage. As a general rule antibiotics are not usually given unless a deep wound has resulted or other structures such as tendon or bone are involved. Tetanus toxoid is usually required though if your last booster was five years or more ago. If it becomes painful or inflamed see your doctor.

Prevention

Always better than cure - especially on yourself!

As with all things, a little thought beforehand can help avoid a painful mishap that would dampen your enthusiasm for a great fishing trip.

My number one hint is to remove or flatten all barbs. They serve very little purpose in keeping the hook in the fish; it is the tight line that does that. In fact, many experts claim that unbarbed hooks enter the fish?s mouth easier and deeper. There are also scientific studies that report no fish catching advantage in using barbed hooks. Barbless hooks aid catch and release fishing with improved survival rates.

From your own point of view, barbless hooks will ruin a lot less clothing, carpet and boat upholstery without affecting your fishing results. As well, if you stick one in your pinky it will pop out a lot easier and not ruin your trip, so flatten those barbs, and make your mates do the same.

The other valuable asset to protect is your eyes. Eye injury from hooks is very common and potentially blinding, so wear glasses at all times when fishing or casting. Wear gloves if you can. Sungloves are a good idea anyway, and I find mine aid in fish handling too. Lastly, wear shoes, as hooks through feet are extremely painful and debilitating.


Hint - flatten those barbs, and make your boat a ?barbless boat.?

Hint ? pack wire cutters, string, and forceps as well as first aid gear.

well say you really don't like the guy, just grab that hook and pull :D

Its easier to remove hooks if they are barbless

We usually post this at least one a year, here is the article with photos:
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/feature ... can21.html

Thanks, LadyFisher. I remembered that article, but my hook wasn't interested in coming peacefully. Now if you have a foolproof article on the avoidance of getting hooked or hooking others.... :wink:

Ed

MY buddies tell me this story from time to time.
Long story short.
My buddy got a hook in his lip. It was a hot day. Both of them had their shirts off. They were REAL close to each other as one was trying to get the hook out of the other.

Car drives by. Stops. Driver looks and sees this site...............and speeds off!!

Not a pretty site!
:lol: